How Culturally Responsive Are you?

1. How Culturally Responsive Are you? Dr. Laura McLaughlin Taddei

2. Setting Ground Rules • Examples of Widely Used Ground Rules • Ground rules should be developed and adapted for every unique context. Appropriate ground rules may depend partially on age, region, and other contextual factors. The following list of common ground rules from equity, diversity, and social justice related classes and workshops should serve only as a starting point for your process of creating a similar list suitable to your own situation: • Listen actively -- respect others when they are talking. • Speak from your own experience instead of generalizing ("I" instead of "they," "we," and "you"). • Do not be afraid to respectfully challenge one another by asking questions, but refrain from personal attacks -- focus on ideas. • Participate to the fullest of your ability -- community growth depends on the inclusion of every individual voice. • Instead of invalidating somebody else's story with your own spin on her or his experience, share your own story and experience. • The goal is not to agree -- it is to gain a deeper understanding. • Be conscious of body language and nonverbal responses -- they can be as disrespectful as words. • Excerpt from Edchange.org

3. What does it mean to be culturally responsive? • What are some things that come to mind when you think of cultural responsiveness? Write these words down on the side on the side of the paper. • Discuss with someone next to you.

4. Culturally Responsive • National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt) defines culturally responsive as • “Ability to learn from and relate respectfully with people of your own culture as well as those from other cultures”(NCCRESt, 2006-2008) • Gay (2010) described culturally responsive teaching as: • “using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them.

5. Activity – Respect What is it? • Please find someone in the room who you do not know. Introduce yourself to that person, and spend five to ten minutes talking about respect. What does it mean for you to show respect, and what does it mean for you to be shown respect?

6. Culturally Responsive people (educators) possess the following characteristics • Socially conscious • An affirming attitude towards students from diverse backgrounds • Demonstrate commitment and skill to act as an agent of change • Practices and beliefs aligned with a constructivist theory • Desire to learn about others and cultural responsiveness • (Villegas & Lucas, 2002 as cited by Kea, Campbell-Whatley & Richards, 2006)

7. Activity – Questions for Reflective Practice • Handout – Four Critical Paradigm Shifts • for Equity in Healthcare • Examine handout • Discuss with partner • Thoughts/comments on handout

8. Strategies to Be Culturally Responsive Professionals • Modeling social justice • Critical Reflection • Using Narrative • Building Community • Please give examples of how you can do this with your patients, fellow classmates, etc.

9. Speak Up Against Bias • Interrupt • Question • Educate • Echo • http://www.tolerance.org/publication/speak-school/basic-strategies

10. Tips to help you become more culturally responsive • Have discussions surrounding controversies and inequities that are going on in the field • Ask students to share their experiences • Provide opportunities to interact in the community • Model through simulations, reflective writing, case studies, games, social and group affiliations, and exploring personal history and development

11. Activities/Resources • http://www.collegesuccess1.com/DiversityM.htm • http://www.tolerance.org/ • http://www.uww.edu/learn/diversity/dozensuggestions.php • Edchange.org • http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/home/index.html