“Frozen Up Like an Ice Cube!”: The Influence of Situated Learning on Pre-Service Teachers' Cultural and Linguistic Awareness

The overall goal of this study was to explore the influence of situated learning experiences on pre-service teachers' perceptions and understandings of their future Arab students. This study investigated in part the interaction between culturally diverse families and pre-service teachers. It also explored changes in pre-service teachers’ attitudes and knowledge, their perceived applications of the situated experience to their future teaching, and the families’ reactions to this experience. Twelve Arab families volunteered to host 25 pre-service teachers as participants of this study. Results showed that the situated learning experience helped the pre-service teachers develop their cultural knowledge as well as learn about Arab families, Arab culture, and their future classrooms. The study concluded that the experience helped the pre-service teachers gain new knowledge, positive attitudes, and some ideas for their future diverse classrooms. It offered a great opportunity for families to explore how important it is to meet with teachers and it also empowered pre-service teachers with some powerful authentic experiences including meeting the family, sharing their knowledge, exploring their understandings, and discussing and comparing their knowledge with each other.

Engaging Latino Families as Mathematicians

We share our experiences and those of culturally diverse families who participated in math workshops. We tie our experiences with the importance of family engagement, in particular, viewing families as a resource to be tapped into. We do so, in hopes that other school personnel take on a similar venture.