Domain 1: Culture (Cross- Cultural Communication)

University of Florida College of Education/School of Teaching and Learning FLE 6167 Cross Cultural Communication for Educators Online Course www.online.education.ufl.edu Instructor: Maria R. Coady, Ph.D. E- mail: mcoady@coe.ufl.edu Office: 2414 Norman Hall School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 Office hours by appointment (f2f, Skype, or Oovoo) Required Reading Materials: Spring, J. (2007/8, 4 th Ed.) The intersection of cultures: Multicultural Schools and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in the United States and the Global Economy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. ISBN: 978-0- 8058-6139- 6 (REQUIRED) Additional readings available on ARES- UF course reserves system. You must sign up for an account on ARES. To do so, please go to http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufproxy.html and follow the directions for signing up. Then, you can search for our course (FLE 6167) and the documents should be accessible to you with your Gatorlink ID. (REQUIRED) Course Goals Welcome to this online course, Cross Cultural Communication for Educators. This course is designed to deepen your understanding and further your exploration of issues of culture and communication, as well as the context (social realities) that impact all students in educational settings. This class has a strong emphasis on English language learners and how culture affects classroom instruction for those students. As classrooms become increasingly diverse, educators must develop what Bennett (2003) calls multicultural competence, the process of becoming conscious of your own as well as other cultural perspectives as a foundation for informed cross- cultural interactions (p. 14). In addition, the world we live in is dynamic and increasingly global and diverse. This course will address issues of diversity (language and culture) in the context of Florida, the United States, and the global world in which we live. This course begins with examination of one s own cultural perspectives. It then explores broader constructs and frameworks related to education, including but not limited to: immigration, discrimination, racism, linguicism, classism, sexism, war,

peace, social justice, caring, and humanization. As a result of this course, it is my sincere hope that you will better understand how culture shapes one s ideologies and the way that these affect education. To guide us along in this process, we will ask a multitude of questions, including: - How do culture and concepts related to cross- cultural communication affect the teaching and learning of all students? linguistically and culturally diverse students? - What culture- based assumptions about prior knowledge or experience are reflected in materials and instructional strategies used with culturally diverse students? - How can educators evaluate and improve the local learning environment and the society of which it is a part? - How can we teach in accord with our commitment to social justice, locally, nationally, and internationally? Coming to terms with such questions entails consideration of historical, social, and philosophical foundations of multicultural education. NOTE to students in Florida seeking to obtain the ESOL Endorsement: The following professional competencies will be developed in this course: Florida s ESOL Standards Covered in this Course This course covers all of the ESOL Standards in Domain 1 for the ESOL Endorsement, Revised in 2010 by the State of Florida Department of Education as per the following table. For Standard 1, students will be ASSESSED twice to ensure they have mastered the Standard. For the six Performance Indicators, these will be ADDRESSED during the course one time each. Please direct questions to your instructor. Domain 1: Culture (Cross- Cultural Communication) ESOL Standard and Performance Indicators I. Standard 1: Culture as a Factor in ELLs Learning Teachers will know and apply understanding of theories related to the Task Addressed Assessed 1 Assessed 2 Service Learning paper and experience X 2

effect of culture in language learning and school achievement for ELLs from diverse backgrounds. Teachers will identify and understand the nature and role of culture, cultural groups, and individual cultural identities. II. Performance Indicators Personal Educational History paper X 1.1. a. Understand and apply knowledge about cultural values and beliefs in the context of teaching and learning of ELLs, from diverse backgrounds and at varying English proficiency levels. 1.1.b. Understand and apply knowledge of concepts of cultural competence, particularly knowledge about how cultural identities affect learning and academic progress for students from diverse backgrounds and at varying English proficiency levels. 1.1.c. Use a range of resources in learning about the cultural experiences of ELLs and their families to guide curriculum development and instruction. Scenario, Weeks 4 and 7 CDFs (Class Discussion Forums), Weeks 1 and 2 CDF Week 6; R & R (Read and Respond) Week 8; Scenario Week 7 1.1. d. Understand and R&R Week 2; 3

apply knowledge about the effects of racism, stereotyping, and discrimination in teaching and learning of ELLs from diverse backgrounds and at varying English proficiency levels. 1.1.e. Understand and apply knowledge about home/school connections to build partnerships with ELLs families (e.g., Parent Leadership Councils (PLCs). 1.1.f. Understand and apply knowledge about concepts related to the interrelationship between language and culture for students from diverse backgrounds and at varying English proficiency levels. CDF Week 6 R&R Week 5 CDF Week 3 To meet the State of Florida requirements for the ESOL endorsement in this course, you must demonstrate and apply knowledge of the ESOL Standard (above) and each of the six indicators. Assessment of the standard (Culture, Standard 1) is as follows: RUBRIC: Accomplished. The candidate consistently demonstrates knowledge of and the ability to apply knowledge about culture and theories related to the effect of culture in language learning and school achievement for ELLs from diverse backgrounds. Developing. The candidate demonstrates developing knowledge and ability to apply knowledge about culture and theories related to the effect of culture in language learning and school achievement for ELLs from diverse backgrounds. 4

Unsatisfactory. The candidate demonstrates little or no knowledge of or ability to apply knowledge about culture and theories related to the effect of culture in language learning and school achievement for ELLs from diverse backgrounds. The tasks in this course are designed for you to provide an opportunity to demonstrate this knowledge and its application. Both course assignments (personal educational history paper and service learning project and paper) will be used to demonstrate this, as follows: Course Requirements: The course is designed as an eight (8) week format. To begin the course and allow for time to access the online course materials, including readings on the ARES system and syllabus, please access the course on the initial start date. Use this first day to review the syllabus, course requirements, and obtain all necessary materials (including appropriate computer and online accesses). Graded participation begins with Week One (see Course Agenda). While I am highly aware of banking education (as described by the Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire) and awarding points for performance, we are also constrained by institutional demands. That said, I am also vigilant of your participation in this course and evidence of engagement in an online environment. I will use several course activities to guide my evaluation of your work. Grading Scale A 93-100 A- 90-92 B+ 87-89 B 83-86 B- 80-82 C+ 77-79 C 73-76 C- 70-72 D/F/Incompletes: See Instructor Students are expected to follow the university honesty policy regarding cheating and use of copyrighted materials (http://www.aa.ufl.edu/aa/rules/4017.htm). Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation at the beginning of class sessions. 5

I. Online, Course Interaction and Postings A. Class Discussion Forum (CDF) (Weeks One, Three, and Six) For each of the above- indicated weeks, you will post a response to the instructor s (or leader s) posting. Two thoughtful and reflective weekly responses are required each week. ***One posting should be an original response to the questions posed for the week from the article(s) or readings. The second posting should be a response or comment to a colleague s post.*** Refer to the course discussion guidelines, netiquette and rubric, posted under the Course Resources. Each posting MUST either respond thoughtfully to the article(s) assigned to that week or directly to the question / issues posed by the instructor. Additional comments add to the conversation and are encouraged (reflected in the overall participation grade), but are not considered responses to the readings (for course credit). B. Read and Reflect (R & R) (Weeks Two, Five, and Eight) Three times during the eight weeks, you will be asked to write a 4-500 word (maximum) response to the author indicated. The details of that response are on the course website and agenda. All course articles are available on ARES the University of Florida online course reserves system. Please post your R & R on that particular week s discussion forum. The responses, then, are open for others to view. Please then comment on at least one additional R & R from a classmate for that week. (Thus, for weeks 2, 5 and 8, you will write a 4-500 word response (maximum), post it, and then comment on at least one classmate s R & R.) C. Scenarios (Weeks Four and Seven) During weeks four and seven, the course postings on the Discussion Forum will be in the form of a scenario. In this activity, you will work with your team (assigned by the instructor) to develop a response to the scenario posted by the instructor. An example of a scenario may be: An 8 th grade, immigrant student from South Korea was asked by her teacher, why do all you Koreans do well in math but the Spanish kids don t? Your task is to work with your group / team to respond to the teacher and refer back to the readings assigned for that week to support the response. Each team should post the group / team response to the scenario, and then each student (individually) should comment on a scenario response presented by another team. (Thus, you will work with your team to draft a response [citing readings from class] to the scenario, post the response as a group, then comment [individually] on another team s response.) 6

II. Written and Uploaded (individual) Papers A. Personal Educational History Project Intergenerational Trajectory The purpose of this project is to encourage you to reflect upon how your personal educational experience is part of an intergenerational trajectory (Menard- Warwick, 2005) of education in your family. The notion here is that your perspectives on education are mediated by implicit and explicit messages you have received from your parents and/or caregivers and their experiences with schooling. These, in turn, are embedded within a broader social context. By reflecting upon your intergenerational educational trajectory you will be better able to appreciate that of your students. Here are some questions to get you started: Where did you go to school? How did you feel about school? Did you see yourself as successful why or why not? What made school easy for you compared to other students (e.g., parents were able to help you with homework, pay for private tutoring, SAT prep courses, etc.)? What made school difficult for you compared to other students? What effect did race, class, language, ethnicity, gender, ability have on your educational opportunities? What connections can you remember about your parents (grandparents, caregivers) and school? Next, develop a set of questions that you might want to ask members of your family, including parents, grandparents, other caregivers, and siblings (you might begin by asking the questions you asked yourself, above). Using class readings to inform your research, construct a 5 page (maximum), double- spaced (12 point font, do NOT right justify the margin, please) history of your personal educational experiences as influenced by two key people in your life (family members, caregivers). This should not be a recount but rather an analysis of issues that affected those experiences based on topics presented in the course (for example, immigration, race, discrimination, ethnicity, gender, language, poverty, etc.). This paper should be uploaded on to the course web site by 8 pm on the due date. Reference Menard- Warwick, J. (2005). Intergenerational trajectories and sociopolitical context: Latina immigrants in adult ESL. TESOL Quarterly 39 (165-185). 7

B. Service Learning Project and Paper This is the major project for this class, culminating in a reflective paper (10 page maximum, 12 pages with citations) with personal reflection. In this project you will 1) participate in a project with a particular minority or underserved individual or group of your choice in your community; 2) reflect upon that experience and investigate the culture and history that group in the community; and 3) write about the experience and how it relates to (a) cross cultural communication theories, English learners in particular, and (b) how this work can be applied to educational settings. While the service project is a course requirement, working with English Language Learners (ELLs) is required for students seeking the ESOL Endorsement. For all other students, working with ELLs is strongly encouraged. There is an eight (8) contact hours minimum commitment in 8 weeks for this project. More is better! Less than 8 hours will not meet this requirement. This paper should be uploaded to the course website by 8 pm on the due date (also online). Examples of past and current service projects: (1) Volunteer in your home community. This can be school- based or organized by a group outside of school (community organizations, church groups, etc.). For example, there is an after- school tutoring project at Lincoln Middle School to benefit the Carver Gardens neighborhood in Gainesville, FL. For information on this project, contact Dr. Coady. (2) Alachua County Immigrant/ESOL/Title I student fundraising benefit. This project requires a group of students to design a fundraising (shoe/ sneaker drive; backpacks; school and snack items) event to benefit low income and immigrant/ell students in Alachua County. For more information, please contact Dr. Coady. (3) Libros de Familia (Family Books). In this project, students are assigned a bilingual or Spanish- dominant migrant farm working family as volunteers. Volunteers go through a short training, then obtain bilingual/ multicultural books and bring the books to the children s home one evening per week for 6 weeks. Volunteers engage in reading with bilingual learners for 1 to 1 ½ hours per week. The minimum number of visits to migrant homes is 6 (over an 8 week course), and visits must be spread out across the course (i.e., no three visits in one week to catch up ). Typically, volunteers are bilingual or have enough fluency in Spanish to hold an adult conversation. To participate (limited spaces) please contact Dr. Coady and Laura Castanos / Victoria Gomez de la Torre of the Migrant Education Office (Alachua County). 8

(4) Traveling Suitcases from Latin America. In this project, students choose a suitcase of artifacts representing one country from Latin America from the UF Center for Latin American Studies. You will become familiar with the materials in your suitcase and create curriculum that may be used in local, educational settings. It is useful to have an understanding of curriculum development. For online examples and template, please see http://www.siopinstitute.net/classroom.html. At least two mini- lessons must be created from the suitcases and at least one of those must be around a theme from this class (e.g., discrimination, classism, sexism, linguicism, racism, implications of religion or poverty on education). Lesson plan templates may also be found on the course webpage. For more information, contact Dr. Coady and Mary Risner at the Center for Latin American Studies at UF. (5) Open service option to serve an historically underserved or marginalized group in our local community, especially English language learners. This option must be fully developed, discussed with the instructor, and approved before beginning. Your project should have an education focus. Be creative and submit your ideas to the instructor. Examples in the past include women s shelter participants, and feeding the homeless. (6) Case study of an English learner (EL) student. **If you are conducting a case study, please refer to the Cooper et al. textbook for our course, pages 103-108 on the Biography of an EL.** See Dr. Coady for citation. In this project, you should plan on working directly (direct service) with the student and/or family to assist in some particular way (e.g., providing tutoring, advocating to support the student s or family member s education). You should keep detailed notes regarding the type and quantity of interactions/service and your accomplishments. For practicing teachers (e.g., in the TLSI program) this work can be a student in the classroom but you must dig deeper than what you already know about the student. Service learning projects will also include research on the context of the participants lives, including relevant information about the cultural group, for example, the nature of informants communities (e.g., typical family structure, the sorts of jobs do people have, the predominant religion, attitudes towards education, ties with the country of origin, reasons for migrating, etc.) and general demographic questions (e.g., number of people of this ethnicity in Florida; average income; high school graduation rate; immigration status, etc.). All projects must be approved by Dr. Coady! If for any reason you are uncertain of the details of your project, please ask. 9

Citations of Additional Course Readings (Everyone) Cummins, J. (2003). Language and the human spirit. TESOL Matters, 13(1). Gee, J. (2003). Opportunity to learn: A language- based perspective on assessment. Assessment in Education, 10(1), 27-46. Graman, T. (1988). Education for humanization: Applying Paulo Freire s pedagogy to learning a second language. Harvard Educational Review, 58(4). Hodgkinson, H. (1995). What should we call people? Phi Delta Kappan, 173-179. Midobuche, E. (2001). More than empty footprints in the sand: Educating immigrant children. Harvard Educational Review, 71(3), 529-535. Miner, H. (1956). Body ritual among the Nacirema. American Anthropologist, 58(3) [Online available:] http://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html Wilson, J. (2006). Apologies to Sandra Cisneros: How ETS computer- based writing assessment misses the mark. Rethinking Schools 20(3), 42-46. 10

Citations of Additional Course Readings (required for all doctoral students; optional for master s students) Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In A.M. Araújo Freire & Macedo, D. (Eds.) The Paulo Freire Reader. New York: Continuum. Gutiérrez, K. and Rogoff, B. (2003). Cultural ways of learning: Individual traits or repertoires of practice. Educational Researcher, 32(5), 19-25. Hoffman, D. (1996). Culture and self in multicultural education: Reflections on discourse, text, and practice. American Educational Research Journal, 33(3), 545-569. Hytten, K. & Warren, J. (2003). Engaging whiteness: How racial power gets reified in education. Qualitative Studies in Education, 16(1), 65-89. Noddings, N. (1999). Care, justice, and equity. In M. Katz, N. Noddings, and K. Strike (Eds.) Justice and Caring: The Search for Common Ground in Education. New York: Teachers College Press. Ogbu, J. (1987). Variability in minority school performance: A problem in search of an explanation. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 18(4), 312-334. 11