Cultural Competency in
the Classroom
Creating welcoming learning environments
for all students
Goals:
 Increasing our understanding about what cultural
competency is and what it looks like in the
classroom
 Share strategies to use to create a more inclusive
learning environment
 Provide tools to assess how systemic bias impacts
access and success for students and strategies to
address these barriers
Ground Rules
 Mutual Respect
 Listen to others - no side conversations or
interruptions
 Confidentiality regarding any personal sharing
 Right to pass regarding personal sharing
 Honor cultural differences and varying beliefs
Small Group Activity
 How do you define “cultural
competency”?
 What does it look like in the classroom
setting?
 What skills does an instructor need to
be culturally competent?
Key Definitions
 Culture – the values, norms, and traditions that
affect how individuals of a particular group
perceive, think, interact, behave, and make
judgments about their world.
 Cultural Competency – the ability to interact
effectively with people of different cultures and
backgrounds (specifically to understand,
communicate with, and effectively interact with
people across cultures).
Definitions continued
 Cultural Competency Skills involve:
1. Awareness of one’s own cultural world view
2. Attitude towards cultural differences
3. Knowledge of different cultural practices & world
views
4. Cross-cultural skills
 Systemic Bias – socially constructed, historical,
institutionalized mechanisms that privilege (provide
more access/normalize) some people while
oppressing/disadvantaging others, based on “rank”
categories
Creating a “Safe Space” for Learning
1.
Small Group Activity
Brainstorm and list strategies to build a learning
community in your class:
 Ice breaker activities that help students get to know
each other and learn about their cultural differences
 Strategies that you use as an instructor to get to
know the students prior knowledge on the topic
area, such as a focused autobiography (brief)
statement, reflection statements at the end of a
class period, etc.
Curriculum Planning
 Learn about and connect your curriculum to
student’s prior knowledge on the subject
 Use formative assessments to keep track of how
well the students are learning the material
 Make sure your material is inclusive of diverse
theorists and cultural perspectives in your field of
study
 Provide encouragement and diverse methods for
students to connect with you individually
Understanding and Identifying the
Impact of Systemic Bias
Socially Prescribed Rank Roles – from Leticia Nieto’s book “Beyond Inclusion, Beyond
Empowerment”

The ranking system sorts each of us into Target and Agent ranks.

Rank is an essentially artificial or cultural marker, something determined by society,
based on socially ascribed memberships, such as age, ethnicity, religion, and gender.

The ranking mechanism reflects programmed behavior, convention, role-bound
consciousness.

This ranking mechanism acts very fast, before our conscious thought can catch up.

The rank role is a prescribed script, given to each individual early in life, which
determines how that person is supposed to behave in the world.

Becoming aware of the operation of the rank system enables us to act as free human
beings, regardless of prescribed rank roles.
The “ADRESSING”
Acronym
Agent Skills Model
Target Skills Model
Dr. Leticia Nieto’s Website
 http://www.cuetzpalin.com
Small Group Activity
The culturally competent teacher demonstrates skills
as an “ally” or “re-centered target” in the classroom.
Modeling these skills supports students in learning.
 What are the strengths you have in one of the
“rank” categories? What else can be done to help
the “Target” students feel supported in the learning
environment?
 What “rank” area presents the greatest challenge for
you? List some ideas to learn more about improving
your skills and curriculum resources in this area.
Self-Assessment Activity
 Write down your answers to the Self-Assessment
questions
 What are your strengths in terms of welcoming
diverse students, including those on the “Target” list?
 What are the challenges and barriers for you
personally and within your institution regarding areas
of systemic/institutional bias?
 What are next steps that you would like to take to
develop your own cultural competency and to
incorporate new strategies into the class you are
focusing on at the Institute?
Resources

Are We Born Racist? New Insights from Neuroscience and Positive Psychology edited by Jason Marsh, Rodolfo
Mendoza-Denton, and Jeremy Adam Smith

Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment: A Developmental Strategy to Liberate Everyone by Leticia Nieto with Margot
Boyer (An analysis of systemic bias and strategies to develop skills to create multi-cultural organizations) Also,
see “Ask Leticia” articles posted at http://facweb.northseattle.edu/bwilli/Beyond_InclusionFLC_Articles/

Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers by Thomas Angelo and Patricia Cross

Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity – film by Shakti Butler, website http://world-trust.org/ AFT
Seattle purchased this film and is using it for educational purposes on our campuses.

See Poverty… Be the Difference! Discover the Missing Pieces for Helping People Move Out of Poverty by Dr. Donna M.
Beegle (Relates personal experience, analysis of systemic issues of class, and provides educational activities)

Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education by Kathleen Gabriel
(Provides specific suggestions for setting up small groups, syllabi, ground rules & expectations, etc.)

Race – The Power of an Illusion, a three part documentary film about race in society, science and history; additional
information available at PBS.org

”Why White Parents Don’t Talk About Race” from NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson &
Ashley Merryman