Diversity

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Higher Education

What do American college students look like?

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding a P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Jan Costenbader

Before I enter the classroom each quarter (sometimes virtually), I always wonder about what my class looks like. Sometimes there are more women than men, sometimes it is a very diverse group, sometimes there are adult students, but one thing is certain, every year the incoming freshmen look younger and younger. Certainly, this is not because of my own advancing age, but seeing their youthful faces embarking on a new journey in today’s technological age, leaves me with the question, “what do they look like technically?” As more and more of our courses rely on online components, you have to ask yourself, “are our students prepared to deal with the challenges of D2L, online quizzes, and video captured lectures?”

Every year, the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA conducts a nationwide study of incoming college freshmen. The study conducted by UCLA [1] includes survey responses from almost 166,000 freshmen representing 234 institutions. For the first time in 2013, the survey added two questions about the respondents’ use of Open Educational Resources (OER) such as Khan Academy, MIT’s OpenCourseware and other MOOC’s. These two questions were in addition to the recurring questions about using the Internet for research, social media use, video games. So, what does the incoming freshman class look like technically? How prepared are they to use the online tools? I found some of the results quite surprising.

First of all, what about using the Internet for research? Interestingly, the responses for ‘frequently’ was the only category reported. 81.8% of all students attending Baccalaureate institutions used the Internet for research or homework. The results were similar across all types of institutions with only Historically Black Colleges and Universities being slightly lower at 76.0%. So, one can, perhaps, conclude that these incoming students speak Google. Whether or not they can use the tools effectively or the research is valid is yet another story. I do know that some faculty instruct their students on the proper use of Internet search tools and how to determine if research is credible. Searching and researching strategies on the Internet may make a good introductory course for our Liberal Studies Program.

Online social networks like Facebook and Twitter have high participation rates with only 5.6% of the respondents saying that they never use these sites. On the other hand, 50% of the respondents spent between 1 to 5 hours per week on the sites and, of course, that means that roughly 43% spent more than 5 hours per week.

Anecdotally, the teen usage of Facebook has declined by 25% over the past three years. [2] Twitter and Instagram are becoming increasingly popular destinations for the younger generations. This is dramatically illustrated by this graphic from Piper Jaffray which portrays the decline in Facebook and the fairly dramatic increase in Instagram usage.

“Friends and the Internet dominate teen influences and combine in social media environments. Instagram and Twitter are the two most used social media sites, implying teens are increasingly visual and sound bite communicators.” [3]

Increasingly, faculty and various department and organizations are establishing a presence on these social media sites. For example, the College of Science and Health Advising Office is very active on Twitter @CSHAdvising with 397 followers, as is @DePaul Chemistry with 466 followers. Some faculty post a Twitter feed on their D2L homepage and regularly tweet course news and information. Of course, you are limited to 140 characters, but as indicated above, teens are sound bite communicators. This may lead me to establishing a Twitter or Instagram feed for my own Math 100 course, as I am finding that students don’t always seem to read or even get emails that I send to them.

One of the most interesting aspects of the UCLA study was the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) by incoming freshmen. Two new questions were added to the survey, asking how often students have “used an online instructional website (e.g., Khan Academy, Coursera): as assigned for a class, or to learn something on your own” in the past year.

“About four out of ten (41.8%) incoming students ‘frequently’ or ‘occasionally’ used an online instructional website as assigned for a class in the past year. Students were, however, much more likely to utilize these resources independently—almost seven out of ten (69.2%) incoming first-year students have used such sites ‘frequently’ or ‘occasionally’ to learn something on their own.” [4]

What was most surprising about the results was that freshmen bound for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) exceeded the averages significantly with 53.4% using these sites for assignments and a whopping 87.5% using the sites on their own. This speaks well to the abilities and interests of our incoming freshmen when it comes to preparedness to use online resources in coursework.

Finally, there was an additional piece of data regarding college choice. The students were asked about the reasons for making a college choice that were “Very important”. Of course, the academic reputation of the college was the top response. However, only 3.8% of the students would rate the ability to take an online course as “Very Important”. This does not say that students don’t want to take an online course, but it is not a factor in choosing a college. This, most likely, doesn’t bode well for those fully online institutions.

So then, our incoming freshmen are really digital natives. They not only look really young, but they are well versed in all things digital. Come to think of it, the World Wide Web went public on August 9, 1991! None of the incoming freshmen class were even born then. Perhaps, just perhaps, we need to meet them where they are.

[1] Eagan, K., Lozano, J. B., Hurtado, S., & Case, M. H. (2013). The American freshman: National norms fall 2013. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. http://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/TheAmericanFreshman2013.pdf
[2] http://istrategylabs.com/2014/01/3-million-teens-leave-facebook-in-3-years-the-2014-facebook-demographic-report/
[3] http://www.piperjaffray.com/2col.aspx?id=287&releaseid=1975435
[4] Eagan, K., Lozano, J. B., Hurtado, S., & Case, M. H. (2013). The American freshman: National norms fall 2013. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. Pg 8
 
This post originally appeared on Iddblog, and was republished with permission.
 
Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 
____________________
 
Jan Costenbader came to DePaul from California State University, Chico in November of 2010. There, he taught Mathematics and developed an online hybrid Mathematics course for General Education Mathematics. He also assisted faculty in course design as an instructional designer. Currently, he provides instructional design consultation to the College of Science and Health, the Quantitative Reasoning program and several departments within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. In addition, he teaches fully online developmental Mathematics and blended Quantitive Reasoning courses.
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Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Matthew Lynch, OpEducation, Policy & Reform, Teachers

Diversity: Why Classrooms Need It

School climate and school culture directly impact student success. As a result, it is particularly important for the school culture (and the classroom culture) to reflect, acknowledge, and celebrate diversity.  Taking these feel-good ideals and making them a reality can be tough for educators, especially with so many other initiatives on their ever-tighter schedules.

Even diversity itself is not exactly straightforward. Not only must schools recognize diversity evident among broad racial and ethnic groups (e.g., Asian or Hispanic), but the diversity within these groups must be recognized as well. For example Chinese and Japanese students may share common cultural characteristics as a result of being Asian, but will also have distinctly Chinese and Japanese cultural characteristics that differ from each other. The same is true of Caucasian students who come from vastly different family backgrounds, even from the same neighborhoods. In the interest of treating students equally, giving them equal chances for success, and equal access to the curriculum, teachers and administrators must recognize the uniqueness and individuality of their students.

Diversity in Practice

Teachers have a particular responsibility to recognize and structure their lessons to reflect student differences.  This encourages students to recognize themselves and others as individuals.  It also encourages the appreciation of a diverse school population, and brings a sense of connection between disparate cultural heritages within a single school’s culture. It is certainly in the best interest of students and teachers to focus on the richness of our diversity.  Recognizing and acknowledging our differences is part of treating students fairly and equally.

One reason for seeking out and acknowledging cultural differences among students is the idea that learning involves transfer of information from prior knowledge and experiences.  To facilitate this transfer process, it is important to acknowledge the students’ background, and to validate and incorporate their previous knowledge into the process of acquiring new information.  All students begin school with a framework of skills and information based on their home cultures. This may include a rudimentary understanding of the alphabet, numbers, computer functions, some basic knowledge of a second language, or the ability to spell and write their names. It also includes a set of habits, etiquette and social expectations derived from the home.

If a student cannot relate new information to his own experiences, or connect the new material to a familiar concept, he may perceive the new information as frustrating, difficult or dismiss it completely, believing it to be in conflict with his already tenuous understanding of the world.  Teachers have the responsibility to seek out cultural building blocks students already possess, in order to help build a framework for understanding.  Some educational pedagogy refers to this process as “scaffolding.”  Recognition of a student’s cultural differences provides a positive basis for effective learning, and a “safe” classroom environment. Every group of students will respond differently to curriculum and teachers must constantly adjust to be sure their methods are diverse, both in theory and in practice.

What are some easy ways you’ve found to promote diversity in your classroom?

photo credit: woodleywonderworks via photopin cc

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Matthew Lynch published in Policy & Reform, Teachers

Student surveys: Measuring what tests cannot

Student surveys are being viewed by an increasing number of school officials, policymakers and researchers as the most effective tool currently available in measuring social and emotional goals for schools and their students. Qualities such as student-teacher relations, student engagement and growth mindset are not only being examined, but incorporated into accountability systems. This means that along with test scores and graduation rates, student state of mind will come into play when rating schools.

Researchers are convinced that students’ attitudes regarding learning, their skillfulness in working well with others and ability to self-regulate and persevere account for more than half of their long-term success.

Students will now be able to rate themselves on important indicators of achievement, such as social awareness and self-management. It has been documented that short, 20 minute surveys, in addition to teacher reports can accurately predict test scores, GPA, suspension and attendance outcomes.

Several school districts have joined forces with Panorama Education, a for-profit startup to analyze and administer these school surveys. With Panorama’s tools, schools are able to ask questions about what they deem important. Guidance is also provided by the company on which type of questions are backed by the best research. Access to questions other school systems have asked and what they have done to improve results is also provided.

Many school leaders find these non-academic factors crucial and are searching for means to document their progress. Increasingly, schools are viewing the academic component and standardized test results as only a fraction of the puzzle.

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity

Using words, not swords: The black experience of white privilege

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Ginger McCarty 

More than 100 racially diverse students gathered on Thursday, Nov. 12. at the Garrett Hall bus stop near the amphitheater, summoned by – among other invitations – the Tab, marketed as “a Cambridge University’s Online Tabloid,”  launched in 2009, with a local reach initially, and after a few years (still only online) into college and university communities in the UK (now up to 45 of them) and now into college and University communities in the U.S.

Located in some – not yet all of the original colonies along the east coast of North America: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,  Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, South Carolina and Georgia (these last three are not yet represented), who gained independence as a new nation, nearly 240 years ago, when Thomas Jefferson was 33 years old, in 1776 .

There are occasional issues devoted to print publications of The Tab, traditionally twice annually, and categorically irreverent, if not strategically disruptive, perhaps similar in tone to a publication such as the Onion, in the U.S.

Officially sponsored by the Black Student Alliance and the University Chapter of the NAACP, though, the gathering on Thursday was called in order to demonstrate solidarity with students at Yale, the University of Missouri and anonymous threats on Wednesday night, evidently, at Howard University.

Writing in the Washington Post on Thursday morning, Susan Svriuga explains:

An anonymous threat to Howard University circulated on social media Wednesday night, with the author saying that anyone on the historically black university’s campus after 10 a.m. Thursday would “be the first to go” and closing with: “After all, it’s not murder if they’re black. …”

“I left MU yesterday because I couldn’t put up with it anymore,” the message continues, but expresses frustration about seeing the same issues in Maryland, alleging that black people are causing trouble everywhere. “Turn on the news and it’s always the [racial slur deleted] causing trouble everywhere.

“So I’ve decided. Any [n-word] left at Howard University after 10 tomorrow will be the first to go.” Any that try to escape on the Metro will regret that, the message continues. “I’ll go out a hero knowing I made the world better. I just hope at least someone else can see it too and continue the fight…” “After all, it’s not murder if they’re black.”

Although there seems to have been no indication that this threat was ‘credible,’ the message itself is quite is troubling – whether it was written,  as we are invited to believe, by a University of Missouri student, or whether it was written by someone whose purpose is to disrupt by intention, as a contrivance to be put to good effect, whether black or white. Desperate times – as some may well believe – will call for desperate measures.

During the gathering on Thursday, following a song and before inviting students to share their thoughts and experiences there was a recitation of the poem, “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay (1889-1948). A Jamaican-American author, he was a  key figure in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, fans of Boardwalk Empire may recall that in season three Lester White recommends McKay’s work to his sister Maybelle White, and offers to lend her his copy of “Spaghetti and Coffee.”

Like Malcolm X, McKay was an advocate of self-determination, believing that African-Americans could do well in becoming self-reliant. In his view, that was the path to being truly free no matter what one’s circumstances entailed, whether black or while. The collection of McKay’s work,s entitled Harlem Shadows: The Poems of Claude McKay, was first released in 1922. It is available here, online. The Autobiography of Malcolm X is also available online, here, as an offering of the National Humanities Center.
The scrupulously-verified book on which the prize-winning HBO series, is based –  which features brilliant portrayals of African-American characters –  is entitled Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City, written by Nelson Johnson, who is now a Superior Court Judge, who was enormously curious about the history of the people and the place where he was raised.
One of the organizers of the gathering, fourth-year College of Arts & Sciences’ student Jenné Nurse, is president of the University Chapter of the NAACP, and noted that she had experienced what she believes to have been racially motivated incidents here  at the University, since she arrived, and she observed that she  is not alone in this experience; believing that white privilege is not something that someone who is white themselves would have a need to  understand or to appreciate the kind of effect is might have on those who do not experience that privilege, and who may be deeply aware of it – as an experience of pain and vulnerability.

In an article appearing in The Tab on Friday, entitled A freshman’s reflection on the events at Yale and Mizzou, Osariemen Ogbemudia writes:

I was confused as to why, even in the midst of people who looked like me, I couldn’t fathom why everything that should be seamless was so incongruous. I was confused as to why I would return to my suite and feel a strange, hollow sense of abandonment. A permeating sense I don’t belong. Smiling gradually became more laborious. Even when you are hurting, you must smile. This week changed that. This week, being vulnerable was okay.

This week, black women who attend Yale University stopped the world and became vulnerable, openly. …

Time moved like a whirlwind and the internet blew up. People who seemed kind were suddenly vicious. Protests and demonstrations were almost a daily occurrence. I was amazed by Yalies, truly.

Over the course of a week, instead of these discussions being cries into a void, other races and genders listened. I was marveled people cared. People who didn’t need to care because it wasn’t their pain, shouldered our pain with us. I remember being surprised by the people who stood by my side as we yelled.

I was surprised people lined outside of the Af-Am house to see us be vulnerable. I remember being surprised when strangers held me. And I remember being surprised when I allowed myself to cry and be vulnerable.

I remember being moved when Yetunde Meroe, a student, said to me: “We did this last year in the hopes that you wouldn’t have to.”

Haden Parrish, a second-year College student at UVa, was interviewed by the Cavalier Daily, as he explained his reasons for attending the gathering on Thursday:

“This is a fight for a black issue, but as a white person, as an ally, it is our duty to support that fight There was a great turnout, but it needs to be bigger. We need to be able to fill up our amphitheater …”

Also, earlier in the day, on Thursday, the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American Studies held its second forum “Black Girls Matter,” in a year-long series of programs, “Engaging Race,”a series of dialogues and deliberation aimed at heightening an awareness about an ongoing challenge folks in the African-American community still face.

The reference in the heading of this article to Words, Not Swords is a nod to the 1992 publication now in its 16th printing, from Farzeneh Milani, a faculty member in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures, and woman’s studies here at the University, which is an interdisciplinary program in the study of gender and sexualities “with an emphasis on transnational perspectives.”  It was announced in September that Prof. Milani was the 2015 winner of U.Va.’s Elizabeth Zintl Leadership Award, which honors a female employee for her professionalism, creativity and commitment to the University and to her field.

The Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center presents the award annually in memory of Elizabeth Zintl, an accomplished writer and journalist who served as chief of staff in the Office of the President and made significant contributions to the University.
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Ginger McCarty reports information of public interest relating to the University of Virginia, the International Center for Jefferson Studies, the Library at Monticello,the Library of Congress and the Library of Virginia. She is a volunteer programmer for the listener-supported community radio station at the University of Virginia — 91.1 FM, and on wtju.net — where she co-host’s for the international music program, ‘World Turning.’ You may Contact Ginger at: www.gingermccarthy.com or @gingermccarthy on Twitter.

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Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Fostering Diversity: A Necessary Step for HBCU Survival

Historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, have provided a top-notch education for African Americans since pre-Civil War days. These schools, founded prior to 1964 with the goal of serving black students, once provided windows to educational pursuits when other doors were slammed shut to African Americans. With diversity at all American colleges and universities on the rise, and the emergence of flexible online programs, where do HBCUs fit in the contemporary higher education picture?

A Powerful Educational Presence

According to ThinkHBCU.org, 70 percent of the nation’s African American physicians and dentists earned their degrees at HBCUs. Over 50 percent of public school teachers of African American descent earned their degrees at HBCUs. African Americans with communication technology degrees from HBCUs make up 44 percent of the nation’s total and 43 percent of mathematics degrees awarded to African Americans come from HBCUs. The range of industries addressed in the offerings of HBCUs is vast, contributing to a larger and more integral African American presence in the workforce.

Women gain an especially strong advantage when they earn a degree from an HBCU. The United Negro College Fund has reported that females who graduate from Bennett and Spelman Colleges make up more than half of the African American women who eventually earn science doctorates. To put that in perspective, that number is higher than the amount produced by all seven Ivy League sister schools put together. In a workplace when minorities often still struggle to reach the highest ranks, African American women hold a strong advantage with a degree from a HBCU.

Remaining Relevant

When HBCUs first began popping up in America, they were a necessity to higher educational paths for African American young people. Benefactors like John Rockefeller founded Spelman College in Atlanta (named after his wife, by the way) in order to give black students a shot in a nation still very much in the throes of Jim Crowe-law domination. Most of the 105 HBCUs were founded in former slave areas that still presented steep challenges for African Americans that aspired to higher education but faced discrimination in dominantly white college settings.

The original intent of HBCUs worked. Some of the nation’s brightest and most influential minds came out of HBCUs. Langston Hughes was a Lincoln University graduate. Martin Luther King Jr. earned his degree from Morehouse College. Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, education expert Marva Collins and Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons all earned degrees from HBCUs (from Tennessee State University, Clark Atlanta University and Dillard University, respectively). These powerful pillars of the African American community were able to achieve optimal success in life because of the education they received from HBCUs.
What about now? With white students quickly becoming one small aspect of non-HBCU settings, do ambitious African American students really need a HBCU to achieve success? Perhaps a more poignant question is this: does it help or hinder the African American community when its members attend a HBCU today? I think the answer is grounded in the particular student’s intent. Young African Americans today do not NEED a HBCU to obtain a general education, but they may find particular programs at individual schools meet their career objectives. Some may even find academic inspiration in the original founding purpose of a HBCU and that feeling of carrying on tradition may fuel them to graduate, make an impact in the world and give back to their college or university.

The Future of HBCUs

The original purpose of HBCUs is no longer the only reason but that does not mean that these institutions lack other attractive qualities. In fact, many students with white European, Latino or Asian roots are choosing HBCUs because of the strength of the academic programs and generally lower tuition costs. During the 2011 – 2012 school year, West Virginia State, Kentucky State and Delaware State universities all reported that more than 25 percent of their populations were made up of white Americans. A continued push for diversity on HBCU campuses is the only way these schools can transition from the necessity of the past to the potential of the future. This means implementing more online course options and flexible degree programs so that all students can picture themselves succeeding at a HBCU. Gratitude for the original intent of HBCUs combined with forward educational thinking for students of all heritages will carry HBCUs to the next level of achievement in higher learning circles.

Read all of our posts about HBCUs by clicking here.

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, EdTech & Innovation, Teachers

Goalbook publishes white paper on universally designed instruction

5-Step Instructional Design Process makes learning rigorous and accessible for all learners

SAN MATEO, Calif. (September 22, 2015) – Goalbook has published a white paper, Different Paths Up the Same Mountain, which outlines a 5-Step Instructional Design Process for educators to apply in the classroom.

The new state and Common Core standards were intended to prepare all students to be college and career ready in the 21st century.  This transition has occurred as general education classrooms have increased in diversity, including students with special needs and English Language Learners. Diversity and variability is the norm – not the exception – in the US K-12 classroom.  School and district leaders across the country are adapting their instructional approach to address the diversity of learners present in classrooms.

Rob Neu, Superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools, states, “At Oklahoma City Public Schools, we are committed to providing our diverse student population a wide range of opportunities for learning and experiences that prepare them well for the future.  Increasing academic rigor is a central pillar of our district strategic plan.”

Neu observed, “Goalbook’s white paper articulates a clear approach for how educators can design instruction that provides access to high levels of learning for all students.”

Research organizations such as the National Center on Universal Design for Learning have emphasized the importance of acknowledging learner variability: the idea that there is no such thing as the “average student.”  Different Paths Up the Same Mountain presents actionable steps for educators to incorporate best practices from pedagogical research into instructional design.

“Instructional practice is the key to student success.  Our 5-Step Instructional Design Process unifies two important frameworks for educators, standards-based instruction and Universal Design for Learning,” states Daniel Jhin Yoo, Founder of Goalbook and author of the white paper.

Yoo puts forward, “Every student can learn – planning instruction for a diverse group of students doesn’t require multiple lesson plans – instead, it’s about offering students multiple pathways for success.  We help teachers make this instructional approach easier to apply.”

The full publication is available for download at www.goalbookapp.com/differentpaths.

About Goalbook

Goalbook empowers teachers to transform instruction so that ALL students succeed.  Goalbook’s Toolkit and Pathways blend pedagogical research and intuitive technology into its easy-to-use online tool and leading professional development for educators.  The team partners with over 500 district customers in 45 states, working closely with district and school leaders to create scalable and sustainable change to instructional practice. Founded by former teachers and administrators, Daniel Jhin Yoo and Justin Su, Goalbook was part of ImagineK12’s inaugural class and the first company funded through New Schools’ Ed-Tech Seed Fund.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity, Policy & Reform, Teachers

6 Ways Teachers can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom

A multicultural society is best served by a culturally responsive curriculum.  Schools that acknowledge the diversity of their student population understand the importance of promoting cultural awareness.  Teachers who are interested in fostering a cultural awareness in their classroom should actively demonstrate to their students that they genuinely care about their cultural, emotional, and intellectual needs.  To this end, there are several strategies that you can use to build trusting relationships with diverse students. To incorporate cultural awareness into your classroom curriculum, you should:

1.  Express interest in the ethnic background of your students.  Encourage your students to research and share information about their ethnic background as a means of fostering a trusting relationship with fellow classmates.  Analyze and celebrate differences in traditions, beliefs, and social behaviors.  It is of note that this task helps European-American students realize that their beliefs and traditions constitute a culture as well, which is a necessary breakthrough in the development of a truly culturally responsive classroom.  Also, take the time to learn the proper pronunciation of student names and express interest in the etymology of interesting and diverse names.

2.  Redirect your role in the classroom from instructor to facilitator.  Another important requirement for creating a nurturing environment for students is reducing the power differential between the instructor and students.  Students in an authoritarian classroom may sometimes display negative behaviors as a result of a perceived sense of social injustice; in the culturally diverse classroom, the teacher thus acts more like a facilitator than an instructor.  Providing students with questionnaires about what they find to be interesting or important provides them with a measure of power over what they get to learn and provides them with greater intrinsic motivation and connectedness to the material.  Allowing students to bring in their own reading material and present it to the class provides them with an opportunity to both interact with and share stories, thoughts, and ideas that are important to their cultural and social perspective.

3.  Maintain a strict level of sensitivity to language concerns.  In traditional classrooms, students who are not native English speakers often feel marginalized, lost, and pressured into discarding their original language in favor of English.  In a culturally responsive classroom, diversity of language is celebrated and the level of instructional materials provided to non-native speakers are tailored to their level of English fluency.  Accompanying materials should be provided in the student’s primary language and the student should be encouraged to master English.

4.  Maintain high expectations for student performance.  Given that culturally responsive instruction is a student-centered philosophy, it should come as no surprise that expectations for achievement are determined and assigned individually for each student.  Students don’t receive lavish praise for simple tasks but do receive praise in proportion to their accomplishments. If a student is not completing her work, then one should engage the student positively and help guide the student toward explaining how to complete the initial steps that need to be done to complete a given assignment or task.

5.  Incorporate methods for self-testing.  Another potent method for helping students become active participants in learning is to reframe the concept of testing.  While testing is usually associated with grades (and therefore stress) in traditional classrooms, in a culturally responsive classroom frequent non-graded tests can be used to provide progress checks and ensure that students don’t fall behind on required material. Teaching students to self-test while learning new information will help them better remember and use what they’ve learned in class and will help them realize on their own when they need to study a topic in greater depth.

6.  Maintain an “inclusive” curriculum that remains respectful of differences.  A culturally responsive curriculum is both inclusive in that it ensures that all students are included within all aspects of the school and it acknowledges the unique differences students may possess. A culturally responsive curriculum also encourages teachers’ understanding and recognition of each student’s non-school cultural life and background, and provides a means for them to incorporate this information into the curriculum, thus promoting inclusion.

Schools have the responsibility to teach all students how to synthesize cultural differences into their knowledge base, in order to facilitate students’ personal and professional success in a diverse world.  A culturally responsive curriculum helps students from a minority ethnic/racial background develop a sense of identity as individuals, as well as proudly identify with their particular culture group. Teachers can play a big role in helping these students succeed through the establishment of culturally responsive classrooms.

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity, Higher Education

Why diversity on college campuses matters to the real world

It’s easy to think of college campuses as islands – academic havens with little interaction with the greater world beyond. In reality, the work done on the grounds of colleges and universities has a big impact on society, from medical breakthroughs to mass adoption of social change. It’s important then that U.S. institutions of higher learning are representative of society as whole in their student bodies and staff. That’s easier said than done, of course, but multicultural representation on college campuses should be a top priority. Beyond the boost a multicultural campus brings to the immediate student and faculty body, there are some reasons why diversity on college campuses matter in the real world.

Eliminating the wage gap

There is a gender wage gap and there is a minority wage gap. Unless you are a white male, you are probably making less than white males who do the same job as you. Some argue that the wage gap doesn’t exist but statistics show otherwise. The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that women make 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the U.S. The racial pay gap varies but in industries like technology, minority workers make $3,000 to $8,000+ less than white counterparts.

Even if these numbers are not 100 percent accurate, they are telling of an overarching problem with the American workforce: people are not paid equally. By having more diversity in the amount of highly educated workers, Americans have a better shot at getting rid of the nasty wage gap for good. Not only will these educated workers be more apt to ask for what they are worth, but it stands to reason that more diversity will emerge in positions of leadership (i.e. – those that make salary decisions). Feeding diversity into the professional workforce goes a long way toward pay equality and ups the standard of living for minorities and women.

Getting rid of discrimination

Racial tensions have spiked in the past year or so around the country, accented by the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City. Though a lot of people like to believe that discrimination is no longer an issue in the U.S., these incidents and reactions to them highlight just how much more work needs to be done to eliminate prejudices, injustice and discrimination between races. In my experience, it is easier to judge and alienate hypothetical people that you have never actually met. Once you’ve spent some time with the very people you once judged, it becomes more difficult to not view them as equals. Unfortunately when it comes to our nation’s public schools, diversity is difficult to achieve in districted areas. Kids go to school alongside their neighbors – people who often look like them, have a similar socioeconomic background, and who have the same basic life experience. Colleges and universities are able to break out of this mold and can be the first pass at diversity students experience. It’s important to maximize that opportunity by making sure not just campuses, but individual programs, are well represented with students from a variety of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is harder to discriminate against a friend and colleague than a nameless ideal of a person.

Stronger U.S. competition on the world stage

The more ideas brought to a discussion, the better the chance of a good one. When a variety of perspectives are pooled, innovation and creativity emerge. Nations like Japan have always had an academic edge but Americans often win out because of the one thing that just can’t be taught: visionary thinking. When everyone brings the same experience to a problem, there will be less ways to solve it. A diverse college body means a more diverse workforce after graduation. This helps EVERYONE. When the U.S. succeeds on the world stage, Americans all benefit.

Diversity matters on college campuses and not just for the benefit of those institutions. Could the next generation of college grads be the one to help the U.S. surge ahead of world competitors through collective creativity? To eliminate the wage gap? To put an end to discrimination? All of these accomplishments are on the horizon in the U.S. – and colleges and universities can give them all a boost by fostering multiculturalism and diversity on campuses.

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