FIVE STEPS TO IMPLEMENTING CULTURALLY COMPETENT

STRATEGIES IN THE CLASSROOM

Andrea Dardello, PhD

Assistant Professor of

English

Frederick Community

College

DEFINITION OF CULTURAL COMPETENCY

“the ability to successfully teach students who come from cultures other than your own”

--Jean Moule in Cultural Competence: A Primer for Educators

FIVE INDIVIDUAL CULTURAL COMPETENCE SKILLS

1. Being aware of and accepting the fact that we are different, as opposed to the same

2. Being aware of one’s own biases and prejudices

3. Being aware of different cultural styles, including communication styles and values

4. Being aware of the cultural specificity from which theories and texts are taken

5. Being aware of cultural learning styles and the need to adapt one’s teaching style to fit how students learn

THIS IS SOME PEOPLE’S REACTION WHEN THEY HEAR THE WORDS “CULTURAL COMPETENCY.”

UNDERSTAND THAT CULTURAL COMPETENCY DOES REQUIRE INNER WORK.

AND THE WORK IS ONGOING….

BUT HERE ARE 5 ACTION STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO GET STARTED:

STEP 1: ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT AS OPPOSED TO THE SAME. THIS STEP:

makes us aware of the other person’s reality.

makes us open to hearing the other person’s reality.

challenges the assumption that a preferred reality is the only legitimate one.

validates other’s experiences.

STEP 2: ADMIT THAT WE ALL HAVE BIASES AND PREJUDICES.

This simple admission helps to usher out shame, blame, and guilt

and allows for authentic conversation.

Each of us has a preferential lens with which we view the

world.

None of us is immune from bias:

“[N]early everyone born and raised in the United States

inherits the racial biases of the society.”

(Sue, et al. “Racial Miccroaggressions in Everyday Life”)

STEP 3: RESPECT DIFFERENT CULTURAL STYLES, INCLUDING COMMUNICATION STYLES AND VALUES, BY NOT IMPOSING VALUE OF ONE OVER THE OTHER.

Observe without judgment and allow others to

express how they feel while leaving the

conversation open.While one person might value subtlety, indirectness, and withholding strong emotions, another might prefer being direct, passionate, and open with their feelings.

STEP 4: CLOSELY EXAMINE THE TEXTS YOU USE FOR BIASES:

Who are the “experts” of the texts chosen for the course?

How many different perspectives are represented in the texts?

How might you incorporate the missing voices or perspectives not

represented in the text?

STEP 5: BECOME AWARE OF STUDENTS’ CULTURAL LEARNING STYLES AND BE WILLING TO ADAPT YOUR TEACHING STYLE TO FIT HOW STUDENTS LEARN.

Take in inventory of students’ learning styles the first day and

adapt accordingly:

Visual

Auditory

Kinesthetic

Read-write

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gay, Geneva. Culturally Responsive Teaching. 2nd ed. New York:

Teachers College, 2010. Print.

Moule, Jean. Cultural Competence: A Primer for Educators. 2nd

ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage, 2012. Print.

Sue, Derald Wing. Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence:

Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race.

Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2015. Print.

IMAGES

Miller, Guido. “Sonnenblumen un Maisfeld.” Adobe. File no.

68297248. Web. 19 August 2015.

Pathdoc. “Duh moment senior man realizes mistake.” File no.

64426796. Web. 19 August 2015.

Photoplus07. “Jeune femme Africaine en meditation.” File no.

78657704. Web. 19 August 2015.