Classrooms that promote competitive, assertive behavior, that are objective in their approach to learning, that stress individual-independent accomplishment are in conflict with students whose culture doesn’t endorse individual success, stress modesty over assertiveness, believes in cross age tutoring rather than competition, seek connectedness and collaboration, value interdependence and subjective review.

The assumptions and values that characterize today’s higher education system are mainly derived from aspects of European culture. Those values persist because those who teach in it and those who have benefited from it to get ahead share them. It worked because they were from that very same European culture.

Higher education is a narrow culture that rewards specific ways of knowing and tends to rule out other ways of knowing (nonverbal, empathetic, visual, symbolic or nuanced communication are often not valued as example.)

Higher education uses methods that value the acquisition of content, practice, the exposition and coverage of information, lecture as the method of choice, one set of cultural specific classroom practices—linear, sequential teaching, departmentalized disciplines, rigid classroom architecture, topic specific text while making alternative methods seem awkward, cumbersome or undoable. (Condon 1986, Kuh and Whitt, 1988 and Smith 1989)

Why does this approach to learning and teaching persist?

The mismatch between students not part of the mainstream culture was never seen as a contributing factor to student failure or withdrawal until recently.

There was a lack of conscious cultural identity among those students in higher education—they had reduced their cultures to a single common norm and dismissed all culture conscious students as frivolous.

Example: the Asian students who mistakenly have been called the "model minority" face the dilemmas of balancing their cultural values of conformity, modesty, non assertiveness, interdependence, cooperation with the expectation of the college environment to be assertive, independent, individual and competitive.

It is too easy to see groups of students that do not hold to the culturally dominant framework as under prepared, unmotivated, culturally deprived or unintelligent.

Faculty can often confuse" stylistic difference" with intrinsic capabilities.

The norm is powerful and difficult to see beyond.

What are the differences between the ways of knowing of women and minority students and the expected norms of current higher education practice?

NOTE: Women learners and all minority groups (except Asian males) are grouped together because the research concerning their ways of knowing has found much in common. Although there are certainly individual difference, greater preferences, stronger values from group to group the adaptation of instruction to fit all of those difference is not possible. Therefore, the research speaks of creating a balance in instructional design and practice between the shared ways of knowing of these groups and the traditional methods of instruction.

Differences in Ways of Knowing

General Differences

The research on white women tends to reflect the similar findings of research on African American, Hispanic American, Asian American and Native American women and has many similarities to research on males of these minority groups with the exception of Asian males. However, it should be made clear that the deficit burden of cultural difference white women face in higher education is further complicated for students of different races and ethnic backgrounds.

Marcia Baxter-Magolda –Knowing and Reasoning in College

Women in College

• More oriented toward affiliation than separation
• Approach knowing from an interpersonal position
• Sharing of ideas rather than debating of them
• Seek rapport with teachers rather than being challenged by them
• Use personal judgment rather than logic and research (inner voice) to resolve uncertainty
• Women may feel overwhelmed and silenced by a discourse style that is not comfortable for them.

Carol Gilligan -- In a Different Voice

• Women develop in ways that focus on connections among people with an ethic of care rather than an ethic of justice.
• Approach moral decisions with the question will my actions help or hurt the people involved not what is the rule, the law or what is just.
• Trust personal judgment, instincts and emotions as valid contributors to arriving at a position.
• May with draw from argumentation as hostile and unproductive

Mary Field Belenky --Women’s Ways of Knowing

• Stage One—Silence—women have been silenced by family, husbands and a male dominated society
• Stage Two—Received Knowledge—listen to others and books are sources of knowledge—no respect for own opinions
• Stage Three—Subjective Knowledge—respects own view listens to inner voice—some find it difficult or impossible to see things any other way than what their voice is telling them
• Stage Four—Procedural Knowledge—Two directions Separated Knowing—rely on objectivity— play the doubting game only if it stand up to hostile scrutiny can it be accepted
• Connected Knowing—believing game—climb inside an idea examine it until it gives up its secrets—this is done by sharing, discussion and respecting the thoughts of others.
• Stage Five—Constructed Knowledge—integration of voices see the value in objective and subjective knowing—capable of handling whatever life brings

Specific Learning Characteristics--Adaptations in Teaching Presentation.
(Based on a model developed by Tharp 1989)

General Principles

Faculty must pay explicit and ongoing attention to the cultural assumptions behind the process of their classroom teaching in order to facilitate the learning process for all.

Modeling of cultural variations and reciprocity illustrates a stance and attitude in which both dominate and subordinate cultures becomes aware of each others cultural differences and similarities.

Specific Classroom Strategies

Aspects of Social organization to include

• whole class or small group activities
• collaborative or assisted demonstrations
• use of performance
• peer group teaching

Sociolinguistic Practice

• Patterns of questioning—Encourage participation by use of games, strategies, and call on techniques and controlling those who dominate the discussion.
• Inclusiveness of discussion- limit debate encourage pairs and group sharing
• Wait time for answers
• Culturally sanction participation patterns of the students—sensitivity to the non assertiveness of some groups

Cognitive Style

• Develop appropriate context for learning—analogies and examples that cross many groups
• Mix the use of sensory presentation methods( visual-verbal etc)

Motivation

• Recognize the cultural differences between valuing affiliation verses achievement
• Value of family and peer group solidarity
• Cultural framework for attainment and recognition

David Kolb ---The Experiential Learning Model

This learning model is a framework for developing a multicultural teaching repertoire can be seen as simply an extension of effective teaching of all students. Kolb’s model, which is a flexible model, which already challenges the traditional classroom practice, affirms all of the aspects of active learning usefully accounting for an array of individual differences. The model is derived from a model of social learning that connects variability of individual learning style to flexibility in learning context.   (James Anderson 1992)

The difficulty of change!

All of the following can and do have significant influence on the ways in which students learn.

• Generational effects
• Race/Ethnicity
• Gender
• Social class
• Economic Status
• Physical and learning disabilities
• Age
• Religion
• Sexual Orientation

There is no consensus in the research to directly connect cultural ways of knowing to classroom learning—no consensus on which differences matter

There is even disagreement that cultural background should even be singled out for attention (Green 1989)

Also the danger exists for creating new stereotypes based on the cultural differences that could lead to seeing them as deficits that need remediation and acculturation.

Focusing of cultural "styles’ of learning in dominant minority groups can blur the finer distinction among individual countries, biracial families, mono-cultural environments etc.

What Can and Should be Done?

Difference must be viewed not as a deficit to be remediate or acculturated but as a valued, intricate benefit to the learning process

1. Faculty must begin to view their instructional design from the perspective of the students (Learner Centered). This is not only important for inclusion but is a principle of effective learning. (How People Learn, 1999)

2. Faculty must strike a balance between the traditional methods of instruction and the research that clearly indicates that women and students from all of the major minority population have different ways of knowing than Euro American males.

3. Faculty must accept that the research on women and most minority students’ ways of knowing totally rejects that they should have to acculturate to survive.

4. Include new knowledge about the role of women and ethnic groups played (and play) in your area of content.

5. Teach from (or have students take on) the perspective of women or other ethnic groups if feasible.

6. Monitor your level of engagement with the various student groups in your class for inclusion and balance—who do you call on? Who do you listen to? Who dominates your discussions?

7. Be aware of predictors of Success for African Americans. These predictors include culturally relevant indexes such as:

• Leadership in a Peer Context
• Availability of a strong support person
• Community service
• Nontraditional knowledge
• Understanding of racism
• Positive self-concept

These indexes are related to cultural differences not deficits (Sedlacek 1987)

Faculty wanting further information about any of these topics are encouraged to contact Terry Doyle at doylet@ferris.edu



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