High-Impact Practices

This chapter explores how combining carefully selected high-impact educational practices in the critical first-year of college can benefit students, particularly traditionally underserved student populations, and promote cultural sensitivity and communication with a wider campus audience than is typically available to the traditional college freshmen. The First Year Experience Study Abroad (FYESA) program combines three high-impact educational experiences; freshman seminar, service-learning, and global learning, in one innovative program targeting freshman students in their second semester. The purpose of the program is to provide students with an extension of the Freshman Seminar through their entire first-year, coupled with strategies for increasing diversity awareness and sensitivity in the classroom and abroad by engaging in experiential learning in the form of service-learning. As part of the program, freshman students will plan a service-learning project in the host country over the spring semester and then deliver the project during the travel abroad portion of the course.

Reengaging Texts, French, and Cultural Narratives

This chapter examines a course model through which first-year college students engage in advanced reflective communication (i.e. discussion, writing, field trip investigations) in order to embrace diverse voices, perspectives, and populations. To determine how freshmen can achieve a high level of multiculturalism and insightful expression at the same time, the author investigates the effectiveness of his freshman-only Reflective Tutorial, “Global Travel through Cultural Studies.” Drawing jointly from the Humanities and experiential learning, this course invites students to embrace conversations and research on global cultural narratives and to interact with spaces outside of the college classroom that both demonstrate and question these narratives. And by synthesizing reflective writing with experiential observation and analysis, the proposed course model promotes effective communication and awareness of diversity that will prepare students for the kind of crosscultural critical thinking that future experiences at the college level, but also the future itself will require.

Thinking Transnationally

Wagner College is participating in a ground-breaking project that brings migrant families together after years of separation. This project has been not only inspirational for both faculty members and students, but is also a great opportunity to learn about forced migration and alternatives to keep families together. The “Transnational Project: San Jerónimo Xayacatlán-Port Richmond” was created to connect communities in both the United States and Mexico and to preserve their cultural identities that have been threatened by forced migration. In this chapter, I would like to present the project focusing on three aspects: the history of the project, the individual stories of members who migrated and of those who stayed in their homeland, and the impact of this educational opportunity in the classroom. I will use a series of interviews with the members of Ñani Migrante (the group formed by the members of both the San Jerónimo and the Port Richmond communities), the presentations of both panels that took place at Wagner College, and the reflections of students who attended them.

Are Teaching Practices Suitable for Classes of Six-Year-Old Children?

The present study is the result of an investigation carried out for eight months, from March to October 2006, comprises Grade 1 classes at the São Paulo Public Education System, Brazil. Forty teacher students performing literacy activities during their pre-service activities simultaneously conducted this action research in 40 Grade 1. Six-year-old children were moved from preschool education to elementary schools since 2006 in order to respect the legal determinations defined by the Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional (Brasil, 1996), which expanded basic education from 8 to 9 years. Such democratic governmental action, however, has raised issues concerning the way very young children are taught in a typically school-like context. From this perspective, our study enables us to raise sociocultural problems regarding the non-inclusive pedagogical practices in use. Results show non-inclusive pedagogical practices, as well some paths to change this educational setting.

Fostering Development of 21st Century Competencies and Global Citizenship through Constructivist-Based and Learning-Style Responsive Pedagogy

The purpose of this chapter is to provide practical applications for successful implementation of constructivist-based and learning-style responsive pedagogy that supports the development of 21st century competencies needed for college and career readiness leading toward global citizenship. In alignment with the objectives of this book, the content of this chapter will support the book's mission of helping educators “use what they glean to support children and families toward becoming successful in our global society”.

Learning to Partner

This chapter uses the cognitive framework to reveal the strengths and challenges of our high school English Language Arts workshop partnership. The chapter begins by describing a partnership with a medium sized district and one comprehensive high school. Then the chapter reviews central aspects of the cognitive framework of implementation. Next, the chapter illuminate factors enabling and constraining the trajectory of our partnership activities. The chapter concludes by discussing implications for reformers, educational leaders, and other stakeholders.

From “Oh My Gosh I'm Going to Get Mugged” to “See[ing] Them as People Who Are Just Like Me”

Since the “service” component exposes college students to individuals in the community who often differ from them in their ethnoracial, socioeconomic, linguistic background, and age, etc. these classes present an ideal opportunity to test Allport's (1954) intergroup contact hypothesis. This theory stipulates that prejudice can be reduced if certain criteria are met. This case study about freshmen students' service learning experiences with a local West African community tested this theory and found that over the semester students' stereotypes changed. In addition, this research project showed that the experiences of ethnoracial minority and/or immigrant students differed from their White peers; due to race, ethnicity, language, and/or immigration status, they were cultural insiders which enabled them to build more meaningful relationships with the community members.

Public Libraries

The author, as part of a Master Thesis study, analyzes the impact public library services and programs have in the lives of local Mexican mothers with children attending school in the United States and provides suggestions on ways to improve outreach of services and support. Results related to library use, parental involvement, service and programs, challenges including funding, Spanish-speaking staff, pre-conceived ideas, and awareness issues, as well as the largest issue of outreach are all discussed. In addition, outreach solutions are offered and the overall benefits of the study are assessed.

Dynamics of Culture and Curriculum Design

The population of the United States of America is becoming more diverse ethnically, racially, and linguistically (Hobbs, Stoops, & Long, 2002). The challenge this poses to faculty of teacher education programs is to edify teacher candidates who are prepared to teach children who might be from a culture other than their own. In this chapter, the author presents a curriculum design model and describes course implementation for exploration of the topic of culture with undergraduate early childhood teacher candidates in a foundations course. Through the course design the preservice teachers are offered an understanding of what is needed to develop the knowledge and skills to be a culturally competent teacher capable of developing a culturally responsive curriculum.

Culturally Responsive Pathway Pedagogues

The Eynesbury Institute of Business and Technology (EIBT) is a pre-university pathway institution to The University of Adelaide or the University of South Australia. This chapter contributes to improving the understanding of effective communication across culturally diverse classrooms. As evidenced in the qualitative data collected from a small number of EIBT educators, in order to become a culturally relevant pedagogue, one must be prepared to engage in a reflective process about what it means to teach students and communicate with those who come from a different cultural background. Pedagogical preferences must be (re)conceptualised in a manner that recognises and respects the intricacies of cultural difference. As a pathway institution, EIBT is a unique educational setting and this work presents ‘authentic' educator-practitioner narratives that contribute to a rather shallow body of knowledge pertaining to this increasingly important sector of Higher Education (HE).