Welcome to Benedictine University’s Reading Specialist Masters Program

1. Welcome toBenedictine University’s Reading Specialist Masters Program Cultural Diversity and the English Language Learner Benedictine University

2. EDUC 601 Exploring Cultural Diversity Benedictine University

3. Required Text • Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and Culture Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-437214-5 • Nieto, S. (2010) The Light in their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities. New York N.Y.: Teachers College Press. ISBN 978-0-8077-5054-4 • Rothstein-Fisch, C. (2003) Readings for Bridging Cultures: Teacher Education Module Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum ISBN 0-8058-4567-4 Benedictine University

4. Required Articles • How to do ethnographic research: a simplified guide • http://www.sas.upenn.edu/anthro/anthro/cpiamethods • The New Demography of America’s Schools: Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act • http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/311230_new_demography.pdf Benedictine University

5. IDEA Objectives • Gaining factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods, trends) (E) • Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, or theories (I) • Learning to apply course material (to improve thinking, problem solving, and decisions) (E) • Developing specific skills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in the field most closely related to this course (E) • Developing skill in expressing oneself orally or in writing (E) Benedictine University

6. APA Citation Please adhere to the APA format for stylistic and reference guidelines. When using information from another source you must cite the source according to APA guidelines. Please refer to the APA Overview PowerPoint located in the Pre-Work folder.

7. Session 1 Objectives In Session 1, you will: • Gain an overview of course format, clarify member responsibilities and assessments • Explore different ways of talking about culture • Analyze/discuss existing ideas about culture • Develop a more nuanced definition of culture • Review the concept of ethnographic research Benedictine University

8. What is Culture? • Culture is a term that has different meanings • It is derived from the Latin word cultura, which stems from colere which means to "cultivate" • Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn(1952) compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in their book A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions Harper, Douglas (2001). Online Etymology Dictionary Kroeber, A. L. and C. Kluckhohn, 1952. Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. Benedictine University

9. What is Culture? • The word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses: • Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities • An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning • The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group • For the purposes of this course, we will discuss culture from the perspectives of the last two definitions Harper, Douglas (2001). Online Etymology Dictionary Kroeber, A. L. and C. Kluckhohn, 1952. Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. Benedictine University

10. The Iceberg Concept of Culture Benedictine University

11. Education 601 Developing a Working Definition of Culture Benedictine University

12. The Light In Their Eyes • Dr. Sonia Nieto makes learning the primary objective of multicultural education in her book • She cites a variety of research in the areas of learning styles, multiple intelligences and cognitive theories to describe how students learn • Dr. Nieto emphasizes the social context of learning, the history and manifestations of educational equity, the influence of culture on learning and critical pedagogy in her discussion of student learning Benedictine University

13. American Perspective • How do we talk about culture in the US? • Does mainstream America have culture, or is it something only “ethnic” groups have? • What experiences do you have of cultural days, festivals, etc. in schools? • Who is involved? • What activities, learning take place? Benedictine University

14. Education 601 What is Ethnographic Research? Benedictine University

15. Ethnographic Research • Ethnography was originally developed in the field of anthropology to describe the “ways of living” of social groups (Heath, 1982) • Ethnography is the study of people’s behavior in naturally occurring, ongoing settings, with a focus on the cultural interpretation of behavior (Firth, 1961; Hymes, 1982) • The ethnographer's goal is to provide a description and an interpretive-explanatory account of • What people do in a setting (such as a classroom, neighborhood, or community) • The outcome of their interactions and the way they understand what they are doing (the meaning interactions) Watson-Gegeo, K. A. (in press). Ethnography in ESL Defining the Essentials,.Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). Benedictine University

16. 3 Principles of Ethnographic Research • Ethnography focuses on people’s behavior in groups and on cultural patterns in that behavior • Ethnography is holistic; any aspect of a culture or a behavior has to be described and explained in relation to the whole system of which it is a part (Diesing, 1971; Firth, 1961) • Ethnography data collection begins with a theoretical framework directing the research’s attention to certain aspects of situations and certain kinds of research questions Watson-Gegeo, K. A. (in press). Ethnography in ESL Defining the Essentials.Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). Benedictine University

17. The Use of Ethnography in ELL • Ethnographic methods offer education an approach for systematically documenting teaching-learning interactions in rich, contextualized detail with the aim of developing grounded theory • This is an alternative to “top-down” research approaches based on preexisting models that may obscure important characteristics of previously unstudied settings (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) • The long-term nature of ethnographic research allows for an examination of how teaching and other interactional patterns develop and change over time in a given setting Watson-Gegeo, K. A. (in press). Ethnography in ESL Defining the Essentials.Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). Benedictine University

18. The Use of Ethnography in ELL • Ethnographic research highlights the important role of culture in second language teaching and learning and gives educators a way of addressing this issue • Ethnography can draw attention to the analysis of the institutional context of schooling, together with societal pressures on teachers and students (e.g. Ogbul, 1974, 1978) • The combination of intensive ethnographic research in classrooms and of teachers’ ethnographic observations of their own practice can potentially produce a multilevel understanding of good teaching Watson-Gegeo, K. A. (in press). Ethnography in ESL Defining the Essentials.Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). Benedictine University