How can teachers be culturally aware

Culturally competent teaching and learning involves accommodating individual learners. Respect for the learner is a critical component of effective teaching. In addition to pedagogical and subject matter knowledge, competent instructors relate well to their students and possess dispositions such as compassion, fairness, integrity and respect for diversity.

Teaching that is respectful and learner focused will naturally involve individual accommodations. Good teachers not only learn from, but learn about their students. Learning about the cultures and languages of individual students provides a foundation for implementing effective accommodations that facilitate learning. Learning about students involves listening to them, interacting with them, and modeling for them. Effective accommodations for diverse students may include extra time on exams to accommodate the additional load on mental processing, exams in another room where students are able to write, read aloud, then revise their answers to test questions, or time to verbally elaborate on their written responses with the instructor.

Culturally competent teaching and learning requires the use of intercultural communication skills. Culturally competent instructors are willing to learn from their students; they recognize the potential of intercultural communication as a means for enhancing the learning of the entire learning community. Effective communication with others who are linguistically and culturally different includes the use of techniques like active listening, elaboration, paraphrasing, and restatement.

Active listening is a process where both the sender and receiver are fully engaged, the listener is focused and attentive, and distractions are minimized. Active listening strategies are especially important when participants speak different languages. Intercultural communication strategies such as active listening inform learning and facilitate critical reflection. Over my many years in the classroom, I have taught in a wide range of different schools.

Some have been homogeneous in culture, and others very diverse. I have learned that a diverse school is a wonderful place for students to learn and grow. Diverse student populations infuse schools with a wonderful range of life experiences.

Cultural variety provides all students with the opportunity to learn about ways of life that differ from their own. In a multicultural environment, students learn to be more culturally aware. This is a skill that is important in our increasingly global world. With the obvious benefits of a diverse school come some challenges as well. Teachers sometimes struggle to create a classroom that is culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of their students.

I know that as good teachers, we all invest the time and effort to get to know our students. Relationships are the bedrock of good teaching in any classroom. This becomes even more important when teaching in a culturally diverse school. Students have unique skills and experiences that can enrich your classroom culture. Take the time to understand what students value as well as their strengths and needs. Engage in conversations, give student surveys or ask questions on exit slips.

Learn about hobbies and interests you can tap into when planning your lessons. It is important to make a strong effort to understand each student as a unique and complex individual, beyond his or her cultural identity.

This will help you to create engaging lessons that can bridge cultural barriers. It is so common for art teachers to fall into the habit of focusing exclusively on western artists.

Although Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Rembrandt are wonderful artists, they are not the only group of artists students should be exposed to in art class. After you have taken the time to get to know your students, it will be much easier to craft projects that connect to their identities and unique personal interests. With deep knowledge about your students, you will be able to present them with culturally relevant, engaging lessons. When I taught my lesson about Mehndi designs that year, she was excited to see something from her home culture represented in my class.

I will never forget her smile when she came to me after class to share her enthusiasm for the lesson. She felt so much more connected to the rest of the students after that experience. When working and learning with people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures present in the classroom, students gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

It also teaches students how to use their own strengths and points of view to contribute in a diverse working environment. This will make them open to new ideas and be able to attain a greater comprehension on a topic by taking in different points of view.

Students who learn about different cultures during their education feel more comfortable and safe with these differences later in life. This allows them to interact in a wider range of social groups and feel more confident in themselves as well as in their interactions with others.

If students are exposed to diversity and learn cultural awareness in the classroom, it sets them up to flourish in the workforce. How do you Manage Diversity in the Classroom? Get to Know Your Students Ensuring that cultural awareness is promoted in the classroom starts with the teacher understanding each individual student.

Demonstrating a genuine interest in learning about each student and their culture will help establish trust and allow you to form a bond with them so they feel valued. Maintain Consistent Communication Aside from getting to know your students, teachers should also continue to maintain ongoing communication throughout the semester or school year. Students can talk about whether they felt included in the classroom culture. This can help identify issues or ways to improve the overall experience. When appropriate, teachers should encourage students to research and learn about their own ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

This allows them to better understand their own culture as well as the differences and nuances with their peers. As a bonus, this can be a great ice breaker assignment, allowing students to give presentations about their family traditions and culture to help expose the class to concepts outside of their own familiar comfort zone.