Assignments

For your final assessment this week you will be asked to select a culture that you will investigate further. This culture can be one that was discussed in class or one that is familiar to you. 

To prepare you for this task, you will select three-to-six peer reviewed sources on the culture of your choice. Look for:

• Typical academic challenges
• Ideal teaching strategies
• Parental involvement techniques
• Rich cultural attributes (e.g., strengths, history, or traditions). 
• Then post an annotated bibliography of what you have found.

Example:

Guided Response: Review your classmates’ findings. Offer them suggestions as to what other sources they could use in their research. Additionally, compare your findings to theirs and engage in a conversation about the similarities between your cultures and/or findings. Consider how similar the struggles and solutions may be from culture to culture and determine if this will be helpful to you in your presentation.

Though two replies is the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning, your are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have given to you (including the instructor) before the last day of the discussion; this will further the conversation while also giving your opportunities to extend the discussion and your application of the materials in a critical thinking and real world manner. 

Second Assignment

Diversity Case Study: Student Participation

Mr. Jones, a high school social studies teacher, allocates twenty-five percent of his class grade on student participation. He believes that class discussion is one of the most important parts of his class, and that students must be encouraged to participate. He also believes that students must be recognized for their “good work” which often equates to their oral or class contributions. This semester Mr. Jones has a student with a pronounced stutter, another student who has just arrived to the United States from Bolivia and is learning English. Another student in Mr. Jones’ class is extremely shy and does not want to be the center of attention in any setting. Mr. Jones likes to call on students who are not volunteering during class in an effort to encourage them to speak up and meaningfully participate. The students who are not participating feel uncomfortable and are becoming increasingly alienated from the rest of the class. Grading for these students is also a significant factor.

Content: Based on this fictitious scenario, you are to write a three- to four-page paper that addresses the role and responsibility of Mr. Jones. Using the discussions, reading, video, and learning thus far in this course, substantively respond to the following sections:

• Equitable Grading Issues – What considerations might need to be made for the various students in Mr. Jones’s class? (1 page)
• Diversity in the Classroom – What are the different factors that Mr. Jones should consider when structuring instruction to meet the diverse needs of the students? (1 page)
• Parent/Teacher Collaboration – Explain how the parent(s) and Mr. Jones might collaborate on behalf of the children and with sensitivity to their cultural diversity and learning needs. (1 page)

Your paper must be three to four pages in length, not including title and reference pages. At least two scholarly sources from the recommended course reading and the course textbook must be cited and included on the reference page. Your paper should contain an introduction with a thesis statement and a conclusion. Use APA formatting consistently throughout the paper. It is recommended you use the content area labels as headings for each section of your content for the paper. 

• Equitable Grading Issues
• Diversity in the Classroom
• Parent/Teacher Collaboration