Diversity Embedded into Coursework
Courses
Activities and/or Chapters/Text
Art 200: Art for Young Children
Culture and Art activities/projects
Edu 112: Introduction to Exceptional
Unit of instruction: A look at today’s
Individual
schools: teaching students from diverse
backgrounds. Activities throughout the
course include: Using Casa Note-online
application teacher candidates create notes
home, certificates, activity checklists in
English and then will translate into
Spanish. Observe multi-cultural classrooms
using videos from the Annenberg
Foundation and Films on Demand; topics
include teaching reading, writing, and
classroom management. Website Analysis:
Teacher candidates read and discuss Deaf
Culture and the impact of current
technology on the education of students
with hearing impairments and the
controversy within the Deaf Community.
In addition videos are used throughout the
course to allow individuals with disabilities
to talk about their lives. In addition
students view and comment on videos from
the I Can Soar series that shows students
from diverse backgrounds using assistive
technology; including a young child with
special needs who is an English Language
learner using an AAC device and the
programming of Korean and English into
her AAC device. Teacher candidates
conclude the course with selecting and
reading a novel about an individual with a
disability and his/her family. The students
select and complete a project that
underscores universal design of instruction
and multiple intelligences.
Edu 218: Foundations of Education
Foundations of Education is an
introduction class for freshmen students in
the Education program. This course in a
mixture of the education system, teaching
pedagogy and school law. However, as a
supplement, the Franciscan Education
department as expanded upon the diversity
component for this course.
Students are offered the opportunity to
complete field service hours through an
urban after school tutoring program. This
program has also expanded with the
development of a partnership between
students of Franciscan and a community
wide Martin Luther King celebration in
January. Franciscan students work with
many title one, African American children
at the MLK center; providing homework
help, working with the kitchen staff to
provide meals and spending time as a
mentor to children of the community.
As this program grows, it is the mission of
the university to place more students at the
MLK center for longer field experiences
and use the talents of Franciscan students
for enrichment programs that focus on the
arts and music.
The second field placement that is available
for students is at the Steubenville Main
Library. Franciscan students participate in
after school tutoring for students in the
surrounding urban area and those in
outlying schools. The population changes
weekly providing students the opportunity
to try new teaching techniques and bridge
cultural divides in the community.
Edu 300: Active Learning Young Child:
Science and Social Studies
The second component of diversity in EDU
218 is the adopted text supplement,
Rethinking Multicultural Education from
Rethinking Schools Publication. This
textbook is written to provide discussion
and critical thinking about how new
teachers view diversity and honest
reflections from diverse student
populations are woven through the text.
Article reviews shared about how gifted
children learn, Black American children,
Latinos and other cultures.
Diversity of learning and culture are
incorporated in the Integrated Unit they
Edu 305: Teaching Language Arts
Edu 330: Teaching Mathematics
Edu 344: Teaching Reading
Edu 345: Reading Diagnosis and
Assessment
Edu 350: Early Childhood Education
Edu 351: Methods and Management in
Early Childhood Education
Edu 360: Middle School: Curriculum
Methods and Management in Early
Adolescents
Edu 365: Teaching Integrated Social
Studies Middle/Adol
develop.
As a supplement to this course, the book
Reading, Writing and Rising Up from
Rethinking Schools Publications was
adopted. This text provides teaching
examples of incorporating multicultural
language arts activities that meet content
standards and can be adapted for many
cultures. Each activity provides
perspectives from students who have
participated in a classroom which used the
teaching strategies. The book’s author also
offers relevant suggesjions for working
with reluctant and struggling student who
may be classified as ELL or display
cultural and socio-economic differences.
Multiculturalism: the Giftedness of
Many Cultures in Mathematics-presents people in other cultures today and
in ancient times related to mathematical
understanding
Team Project – Present strategies helpful
for teaching Reading to English Language
Learners
SFA Tutoring Project – tutoring with atrisk learners and minorities – 12 weeks x
2hrs. per week
Text Adopted – Not Just for ESOL
Teachers, What Every Classroom Teacher
Needs to Know About the Linguistically,
Culturally, and Ethnically Diverse Student
(Learning Pod Discussion Groups)
Learn about diverse learners, differences
(diversity) within cultures in how they raise
their children.
Students attend a Black African American
church service and assist tutoring in their
Saturday Tutoring program.
Unit taught on Teaching to Individual
Differences with special emphasis on
working with students from a variety of
ethnic, cultural and religious groups.
Edu 502: Educational Philosophy
Edu 504: Human Growth & Development
Edu 517 & 518: Issues in Teaching Social
Studies & Integrated Instruction in Social
Studies & Science
Edu 541: School and Society
Edu 541: School and Society
One whole evening’s class lecture and
readings are devoted to gender and equity
issues in American society as this topic
relates to schools and teaching.
While I do stress that all children,
regardless of race, ethnic background or
gender, are much more alike than they are
different, I do discuss teaching strategies
which research has indicated are
particularly effective with minority
students. For example, much research
indicates that peer instruction (per
Bandura) is particularly effective in
working with African American girls. In
fact, some research I have encountered
indicates it is the most effective
teaching/learning method in working with
this population.
I also devote parts of several lectures to
talking about the unique issues which
educators encounter in working with
students from rural poverty (Appalachia),
as these students are very likely to be
encountered in the local school systems.
The place of the study of African American
History, Woman’s Studies, immigration
issues, Cultural Diversity, and other related
topics are featured in several places during
the course as discussion and study of these
are fundamental to an effective Social
Studies curriculum.
Mandated diversity-related proficiencies
are executed in a diverse setting.
(NBPTS Proposition 1 – Proficiency #6)
 One entire class devoted to Cultural
Diversity information.
One required proficiency in the Embedded
Field Experience: In a school to which you
have access, (a) make a list of the children in a
given classroom. (b) Using the provided racial
classifications, determine and report each
student’s racial composition. (c) Compute a
percentage of children from the classroom in
each of the 6 racial groups, and then compare
these percentages to the provided scale.
Report findings (d) Based on your observation
of the community, is this class a microcosm of
the entire community or not? (e) What is an
equitable classroom? (f) How do you offer a
racially equitable classroom if all your students
are Caucasian? (g) Explain how the
information gathered in this proficiency may be
helpful to you as a classroom teacher to treat
students equitably and respect their cultural
and family differences.
Edu 560: Planned Field Experience I
Edu 621: Planning for School Management
(Planned Field Experience II
Mus 200: Music for Young Children
Psy 301 (Educational Psychology)
Mandated diversity-related proficiencies
are executed in a diverse setting.
(ELCC Standard 2 – Proficiency #4 and
Standard 4 – Proficiency #2)
Mandated diversity-related proficiencies
are executed in a diverse setting.
(ELCC Standard 2 – Proficiency #4 and
Standard 4 – Proficiencies #2 or #3)
In research project, learning to find cultural
music, and we sing cultural songs.
Unit taught on Diversity in Education with
special attention paid to teaching students
of varied SES status and ethnic groups