CEDUC 4350 Embracing Diversity in Classroom Communities
Through this course students will explore the complexity of factors impacting on their identities and the identities of students they will teach, and they will develop strategies for responding to students' diverse identities in the K-12 classroom. They will critically examine the intersections of race, class, culture, gender, language, sexuality, ability, and other experiential factors that affect student identity. Through experience and reflection, they will explore strategies for communicating with and reaching out to diverse parents and communities. They will explore teaching approaches to promote critical multiculturalism and inclusion in the classroom, such as community building, critical pedagogy, social action projects, and connecting to students' funds of knowledge. Throughout the semester students will use literature on student diversity and social justice to refine their views of the student, the community, and the curriculum through a strengths perspective, and they will synthesize this learning through the development of a culturally responsive teaching vision.