KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE COURSE PROPOSAL OR REVISION,
Cover Sheet
(10/02/2002)
Course Number/Program Name EDUC 7752 Diversity in Teaching and Learning
Department: Secondary and Middle Grades Education
Degree Title (if applicable): M.Ed.
Proposed Effective Date: Spring 2011
Check one or more of the following and complete the appropriate sections:
New Course Proposal
X Course Title Change
Course Number Change
Course Credit Change
Course Prerequisite Change
X Course Description Change
Sections to be Completed
II, III, IV, V, VII
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
Notes:
If proposed changes to an existing course are substantial (credit hours, title, and description), a new course with a new number should be proposed.
A new Course Proposal (Sections II, III, IV, V, VII) is required for each new course proposed as part of a new program. Current catalog information (Section I) is required for each existing course incorporated into the program.
Minor changes to a course can use the simplified E-Z Course Change Form.
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College Curriculum Committee Date
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KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE COURSE / CONCENTRATION/PROGRAM CHANGE
I.
Current Information
Page Number in Current Catalog: Online
Course Prefix Number: EDC 7752
Course Title: Multiple Literacies for Schools and Communities
Credit Hours: 3 – 0 – 3
Prerequisites: Admission to graduate study in education
Description
:
Candidates will develop a foundational understanding of the multiple, often competing, conceptions of literacy that can foster or impede learning in adolescent classrooms at the middle grades and secondary levels. Literacy practices in homes, schools and the larger communities will be observed and interpreted with an emphasis on their implications for effective teaching. The ways that an individual student’s literacy practices may be shaped by gender, social class and ethnicity will be considered, including, in particular, issues associated with ESL learners.
II. Proposed Information
Course Prefix and Number: EDUC 7752
Course Title: Perpectives in Diversity and Multiple Literacies for Teaching and Learning
Credit Hours: 3 – 0 – 3
Prerequisites: Co-requisite: EDUC 7700, Reflective Inquiry
Description
In this course, in-service teachers will explore how issues of diversity and multiple literacies interplay to influence classroom dynamics. They will examine and work with theories, approaches, and methods for developing multiple literacies with learners in secondary classrooms as well as examine frameworks, materials, and strategies for translating the principles of culturally responsive pedagogy into effective educational practice. Topics include multiple literacies, culturally responsive pedagogy, family and community engagement, and global education.
III. Justification

In a recent national study, 80 percent of teachers polled reported feeling ill-equipped to teach diverse populations (Futrell, Gomez, and Bedden, 2003). The changing cultural makeup of P-12 schools in the U.S. and the cultural gaps that often exist between teachers and their students have been discussed by a number of teacher education researchers (Cochran-Smith, 1995; Grant &
Secada, 1990; Ladson-Billings, 2005; Nieto, 2008; Zeichner, 1992). These same researchers point to a heightened need for teacher education faculty to help teachers learn how to work effectively with students whose cultural backgrounds are unfamiliar to them.
This course is focused on the improvement of teacher development as it relates to diversity in teaching and learning and is in keeping with the university-wide global learning initiative that intends for all KSU students to have the “knowledge, skills, and attitudes” necessary to
“understand world cultures and events, analyze global systems, appreciate cultural differences, and apply this knowledge and appreciation to their lives as citizens and workers” (KSU
Definition of Global Learning, 2007). This course is also intended to help teachers “interact positively with their students who will be of different nationalities and cultures” and how to develop attitudes that are “respectful and supportive of diversity” (KSU Definition of Global
Learning, 2007).
This course aligns with the Bagwell College of Education’s commitment to NCATE Standard 4:
Diversity, which states, “The unit designs, implements, and evaluates curriculum and experiences for candidates to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. These experiences include working with diverse higher education and school faculty, diverse candidates, and diverse students in P-12 schools.”
The purpose of this course is to advance the in-service teacher’s knowledge base about the interplay of multiple literacies and diversity issues on teaching and learning. This course is designed to help teachers develop multiple literacies with all learners in secondary classrooms.
In addition, the course will help teachers to examine frameworks and methods for translating the principles of culturally responsive pedagogy into effective educational practice so as to ultimately improve learning for all students.
References
Cochran-Smith, M. (1995). Color-blindness and basketmaking are not the answers: Confronting dilemmas of race, culture, and language diversity in teacher education. American
Educational Research Journal , 32, 493-522.
Futrell, M. H., J. Gomez, and D. Bedden. (2003). Teaching the children of a new America: The challenge of diversity. Phi Delta Kappan 84(5): 38l-85.
Grant, C.A. & & Secada, W. (1990). Preparing teachers for diversity. In
W.R. Houston, M. Haberman, & J. Sikula (Eds.), Handbook of research on teacher education
(pp. 403-422). New York: Macmillan.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2005) Is the team all right? Diversity and teacher education. Journal of
Teacher Education , 563 (3): 229-234.

Nieto, S. & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education.
Boston: Pearson.
Zeichner, K.M. (1992). Educating teachers for cultural diversity (Special report). East Lansing,
MI: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning.
VII Attach Syllabus