Teaching Across Cultural Strengths

Co-published with Promoting learning among college students is an elusive challenge, and all the more so when faculty and students come from differing cultures. This comprehensive guide addresses the continuing gaps in our knowledge about the role of culture in learning; and offers an empirically-based framework and model, together with practical strategies, to assist faculty in transforming college teaching for all their students through an understanding of and teaching to their strengths.Recognizing that each student learns in culturally influenced ways, and that each instructor’s teaching is equally influenced by her or his background and experiences, the authors offer an approach by which teachers can progressively learn about culture while they transform their teaching through reflection and the application of new practices that enrich student learning.The key premise of the book is that deepening student learning and increasing retention and graduation rates requires teaching from a strengths based perspective that recognizes the cultural assets that students bring to higher education, and to their own learning. Derived through research and practice, the authors present their Model of Cultural Frameworks in College Teaching and Learning that highlights eight continua towards achieving the transformation of teaching, and developing more culturally balanced and inclusive practices, over time. They present techniques – illustrated by numerous examples and narratives – for building on cultural strengths in teaching; offer tips and strategies for teaching through cultural dilemmas; and provide culturally reflective exercises. This guide is intended for all faculty, faculty developers or administrators in higher education concerned with equitable outcomes in higher education and with ensuring that all student cultural groups learn and graduate at the same rates.

Promoting learning among college students is an elusive challenge, and all the more so when faculty and students come from differing cultures. This comprehensive guide addresses the continuing gaps in our knowledge about the role of culture in learning; and offers an empirically-based framework and model, together with practical strategies, to assist faculty in transforming college teaching for all their students through an understanding of and teaching to their strengths. Recognizing that each student learns in culturally influenced ways, and that each instructor's teaching is equally influenced by her or his background and experiences, the authors offer an approach by which teachers can progressively learn about culture while they transform their teaching through reflection and the application of new practices that enrich student learning. The key premise of the book is that deepening student learning and increasing retention and graduation rates requires teaching from a strengths based perspective that recognizes the cultural assets that students bring to higher education, and to their own learning. Derived through research and practice, the authors present their Model of Cultural Frameworks in College Teaching and Learning that highlights eight continua towards achieving the transformation of teaching, and developing more culturally balanced and inclusive practices, over time. They present techniques - illustrated by numerous examples and narratives - for building on cultural strengths in teaching; offer tips and strategies for teaching through cultural dilemmas; and provide culturally reflective exercises. This guide is intended for all faculty, faculty developers or administrators in higher education concerned with equitable outcomes in higher education and with ensuring that all student cultural groups learn and graduate at the same rates. --

Teaching across Cultures: Building Pedagogical Relationships in Diverse Contexts captures the tensions, complexities as well as the transformational potentials of teaching across multiple cultural contexts. The book evolved from cumulative self-studies that examined one teacher educator’s teaching practice, the cultural impact on this practice, and how she facilitated transformative teaching and learning. While every act of teaching occurs across cultures such as institutional culture, invisible cultures, classroom cultures, among others, educators who teach as cultural outsiders have to navigate the tensions, complexities and contradictory realities of cross-cultural teaching. The tensions can be reduced or managed through responsive pedagogy, relationship building and teaching in the third space. These transformational approaches not only help to identify and close the perpetual gaps in teaching and learning but also position effective teaching within a pedagogical common ground that values student voices, facilitates pedagogical flexibility and uses diversity as a teaching tool. In a world of ubiquitous and interactive learning environments, both the physical and virtual spaces play a vital role in teaching and teacher-student relationships. The book points to the necessity of teacher educators’ learning through diverse professional networks but more importantly through self-study. It is only through this introspective examination of one’s teaching and students’ learning as well as taking an ontological attitude to teaching that educators can achieve success in diverse contexts.

A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation—until now. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction. The book includes: Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships Ten “key moves” to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection

This book investigates how educators and researchers in the sciences, social sciences, and the arts, connect concepts of sustainability to work in their fields of study and in the classrooms where they teach the next generation. Sustainability, with a focus on justice, authenticity and inclusivity, can be integrated into many different courses or disciplines even if it is beyond their historical focus. The narratives describe sustainability education in the classroom, the laboratory, and the field (broadly defined) and how the authors navigate the complexities of particular sustainability issues, such as climate change, water quality, soil health, biodiversity, resource use, and education in authentic ways that convey their complexity, the sociopolitical context, and their hopes for the future. The chapters explore how faculty engage students in learning about sustainability and the ways in which working at the edge of what we know about sustainability can be a significant source of engagement, motivation, and challenge. The authors discuss how they create learning experiences that foster democratic practices in which students are not just following protocols, but have a stake in creative decision-making, collecting and analysing data, and posing authentic questions. They also describe what happens when students are not just passively receiving information, but actively analysing, debating, dialoguing, arguing from evidence, and constructing nuanced understandings of complex socioscientific sustainability issues. The narratives include undergraduate student perspectives on what it means to engage in sustainability research and learning, how students navigate the complexities and contradictions inherent in sustainability issues, what makes for authentic, empowering learning experiences, and how students are encouraged to persevere in the field. This is an open access book.

Learning and Teaching Across Cultures in Higher Education contains theoretical rationale, resources and examples to help readers understand and deal with situations involving contact between learners or educators from different cultural backgrounds, as well as giving insights into the new global context of higher education.

As education continues to take great strides to become more inclusive and understanding of diverse students and cultures, teaching practices and methods for learning are an essential part of the puzzle and must be addressed to create culturally responsive educational experiences. Teachers must make meaningful connections between a student’s culture, language, life experiences, and background to what the student is learning in the classroom. By integrating culture into the classroom, student achievement can be fostered, and students can excel. Underserved populations may face discrimination when it comes to culture, language, or race, and their needs can often be neglected. By implementing culturally responsive teaching, students can feel valued, motivated, understood, and included in their education. The Research Anthology on Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning displays the best practices and lessons learned for culturally responsive teaching and learning across different types of institutions, classroom subjects, and with different types of students from diverse cultural backgrounds. The chapters focus on culturally responsive practices and how these methods for teaching can impact student success, empowerment, and cultural competence. This book is essential in understanding cultural diversity and inequity in education as well as the ways to address it. This book is ideal for faculty, teachers, counselors, administrators, principals, curriculum developers, instructional designers, professionals, researchers, and students seeking to improve their understanding of culturally responsive teaching and learning.

This book provides a Finnish perspective on high-quality teaching in higher education and explores Finnish approaches on teaching, learning and supporting students. It addresses the concepts of quality in teaching, teaching excellence and effective teaching in today’s higher education in which the student body has become increasingly international and heterogenous. The book discusses how the role of the teacher has changed from authority to facilitator in the past decades while many students still value their university experience based on the teachers they encounter. The book provides a practitioner view on how students can be supported through communication, compassion and expertise and how professional and pedagogical development are essential for high-quality teaching in an increasingly competitive, diverse and online world of higher education. The book introduces the principles of Finnish higher education and universities, and the Finnish education system in connection with the approach to teaching, teacher education and the highly valued profession of a teacher. What is good teaching in higher education? It can consist of the learning environment, the location, the students and the teacher, and many studies show that effective, compassionate, skilled and humanist teachers will leave their mark on students. It is also equally important for teachers to invest in pedagogical training and conduct research on teaching practices, experiments and students’ perceptions as part of professional development. International classrooms also require specific considerations, as does online learning. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a substantial transfer to online and blended learning in higher education, but can quality teaching exist online, or have we passed the baton to students to be in charge of their learning, to study even more independently?