Pedagogy of Authenticity in the Online Learning Environment

Genuineness, or authenticity, has long been established as the core attribute of excellent teachers. To reach their diverse learners, caring educators build genuine connections. Congruence has been described as the core condition for a meaningful learning and restorative growth, along with unconditional positive regard and empathetic understanding. While ample research has been generated on effectiveness in online education, few studies have focused on the notion and transferability of genuineness in the virtual classroom. This chapter presents a review of the interdisciplinary literature on authenticity, explores its link to diversity, and discusses the ways of cultivating authenticity online. It explores how faculty integrate the holistic self into course content, the virtual environment, and student interaction, and concludes with a review of best practices in course design and facilitation that convey authentic care for students online.

Globalization and Localization in Online Settings

In designing online instruction, increasingly educators need to consider cultural aspects of the educational philosophy, concepts, language, resources, teaching strategies, ICT literacy, learning activities, and student interaction. These elements largely depend on the learning outcomes and the learners' situation. While some factors are universal, such as declarative knowledge and basic human needs, others are much more culturally defined, such as “soft” skills and prior educational experience. This chapter focuses on evaluating the need for globalizing or localizing resources and experiences based on needs assessment. It also gives strategies on ways to globalize or localize these resources and experiences.

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, National Culture, and Online Instruction

Cultural diversity is the anticipated norm in online learning environments that include international students, or which are part of international educational programs. Expressions of national culture inevitably shape the ways in which international students respond to the learning experience and perform within it. This chapter considers the roles and responsibilities of the culturally responsive online instructor in creating and facilitating online distance learning spaces that are inclusive, diverse, and supportive. It reviews a conceptual framework, derived from Hofstede's culture model, which may be useful in recognizing and anticipating national culture difference. The chapter also provides suggestions and recommendations to assist the instructor/facilitator in leading culturally different students to a place where they can learn successfully.

Strategies to Support Teachers in Designing Culturally Responsive Curricula in Online Learning Environments

The purpose of this theoretical chapter is to identify strategies that help educators develop online learning curricula to meet the needs of culturally diverse students. The first part of this chapter offers insights into culturally responsive teaching (CRT) from multiple perspectives. Specifically, the authors explore the importance of CRT in teacher education programs, how to evaluate teachers' cultural competencies, how to initiate the transformation process into culturally responsive educators, how teachers perceive the value of CRT programs, what pre-service and novice teachers typically struggle with in their attempts to teach diverse student populations, and how students perceive cultural diversity. The second part of the chapter is dedicated to an in-depth discussion of practical approaches to developing culturally responsive online curricula for both 2D and 3D learning environments, how to prepare faculty to meet the needs of diverse students in online courses, and how to stimulate pre-service teachers' reflections on CRT.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Inclusion for Online Students With Exceptionalities and Other Needs

Teaching learning-diverse students, English learners (Els), and students with disabilities has become of paramount importance as it relates to each unique student's need, directed by an Individual Education Plan (IEP), 504, English Language Plan, and related services, especially for those students served primarily under the Individual Disabilities Education Act. The students' unique cultural and familial needs also become important used to promote achievement in both the F2F and online educational setting, inclusive of multiple intelligences (MI), learning styles, and appropriate differentiated instruction. As such, the purpose of this chapter is to examine the learners and the diversity that they bring to the online learning community so that instructors may prepare culturally responsive and inclusive pedagogy and online universally designed learner-centered (UDLC) and differentiated practices that include them beyond their disability or exceptionality and to become culturally responsive instructional leaders (CRIL).

Care and Cultural Responsiveness of Online College Courses

The chapter is a review and critique of the appropriateness of current approaches and a sample of current criteria used to evaluate the quality of online courses at the postsecondary level and care and cultural responsiveness. Based on the review, the authors suggest modifications of existing criteria and additional criteria appropriate to assessing and evaluating care and cultural responsiveness of online courses. The chapter concludes with suggestions for best practices for applying these preliminary criteria and suggestions for further research.

Cultural Diversity in Online Learning

This chapter explored the perceptions of minority graduate students about cultural diversity and the challenges they face in online learning environments. Thirty-five minority graduate students enrolled in online graduate programs in education in the Southeastern United States participated in the study. A qualitative research design using interviews and observations was used to collect and analyze the data. Findings revealed four themes: (1) the need to recognize and use multicultural resources for knowledge building in the online learning environment, (2) the need for more diversity inclusion in online learning, (3) collaborative learning activities as effective instructional strategy to promote cultural diversity in online environments, and (4) the lack of multicultural contents, communications, language barriers, and culturally relevant activities hinder online learning. The findings demonstrate the need for online instructors to recognize cultural differences of students and diverse cultural experiences they bring to the online learning environments.

Toward Culturally Restorative

This mixed-method study examines the interaction between teacher sense of efficacy (TSE) in the use of culturally responsive teaching practices (CRTP). Framework analysis confirms a significant relationship between the affective dimensions of a teacher's sense of efficacy in using the methods of culturally responsive teaching. The achievement orientation of teaching efficacy mediates the use of culturally sensitive teaching practices. Accumulated teaching efficacy in using non-indigenous cultural practices interrupts the fractal interconnectedness of culturally responsive teaching practices.

Designing Caring and Inclusive Online Classroom Environments for Non-Traditional Learners

Does andragogy successfully satisfy non-traditional learning needs and demands of a contemporary knowledge and performance-oriented economy? In her chapter on designing caring and inclusive online classrooms for non-traditional learners, the author explores the adult learning theory of andragogy supplementing it with an autoethnographic case study listing andragogical teaching strategies and then questions the need and validity of andragogy as the comprehensive holistic adult learning theory and model to design, develop, and implement online learning environments based on the three focal elements of caring, diversity, and cultural inclusivity for non-traditional learners. The author argues for the contemporary learning theory of heutagogy as the mantra of the knowledge and performance-oriented society.

Strategies and Reflections on Teaching Diversity in Digital Learning Space(s)

This chapter aims to introduce readers to critical theoretical orientations necessary for online pedagogues, including feminist pedagogies, praxis pedagogy, culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy, and embodied practices. These critical theoretical orientations undergird a critical digital pedagogy in an online master's course, Diverse College Students. Critical digital pedagogical strategies employed by the authors, such as high context communication, community and relationship building, and visual and audio pedagogies, are discussed. The authors conclude the chapter by engaging in a self-reflexive activity, opening space for insights about the role of current political events, personal student successes, and an engaged community beyond the classroom. Recommendations for faculty wishing to engage a critical digital pedagogy are offered, as are recommendations for future research.