2 Culturally Inclusive Teaching and Learning

Overview

In this unit, we will build on our discussions in Unit 1 related to cultural competency and culturally inclusive teaching and learning. Our experiences and expectations of education and learning are culturally informed. Similarly, our understanding of knowledge is influenced by our cultural identity. In this unit, we will continue to explore Indigenous Ways of Knowing and begin to analyze learning environments to assess cultural inclusivity.

Topics

In this unit, we will explore the following topics:

Ways of Knowing
Culturally Inclusive Learning Environments

Unit Learning Outcomes

When you have completed this unit you should be able to:

Describe key elements of culturally inclusive teaching.
Analyze learning environments to evaluate cultural inclusivity.

Activity Checklist

Here is a checklist of learning activities for this unit. You may find it useful for planning your work.

Learning Activity

View University of Toronto modules on Indigenous Ways of Knowing, as well as The Ways of Knowing in TOK (A Simple Guide)
Image search: In this ungraded learning activity, do an image exploration on the web, searching for classroom photos. Select 2-3 photos that demonstrate different classroom designs. What can you learn about the teacher/student relationships by these photos? What can you learn about cultural beliefs about how knowledge is constructed? What can you learn about the individual/collective perspective on learning?

Assessment

Note there is no assessment for this unit. You may want to conduct your interview for Assignment 2: Culturally Inclusive Teaching and Learning: Interview See the assessment tab for more details and check your syllabus to confirm due dates for this assignment.

2.1 Ways of Knowing and Learning

One important aspect of culturally-inclusive teaching and learning relates to culturally-informed ways of knowing. Culture informs not only our beliefs and values, but also our ways of knowing and being in the world. In European culture, scientific discovery is often prioritized. In fact, we often refer to the sciences as “hard sciences,” (knowing that focuses on the physical and mathematical world), contrasting these disciplines to the “soft sciences” such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology (knowing that focuses on the world of people and culture and relationships).

In Trinity Western University’s undergraduate liberal arts curriculum, students engage in learning from multiple “ways of knowing” – including Academic Writing and Research, Historical and Archival Inquiry, Aesthetic and Performance Inquiry, and Cultural and Linguistic Inquiry. This focus on different ways of knowing underscores the value of knowing across disciplines. While there are some things that can be analyzed most effectively using the scientific method, there are other aspects of human life that may be known most deeply through poetry or art. View a short video on the TWU Ways of Knowing.

In Western educational contexts, such as this one, knowledge is often constructed with a strong emphasis of reason and the scientific method. Inherent in the Western academy is a strong belief in rationality and deductive reasoning. However, philosophers and scholars in other disciplines are engaged in ongoing scholarly conversation regarding the nature of knowledge and how we know. (For further discussion on this topic, see the Khan Academy series on “Theory of Knowledge”).

Theoryofknowledge.net provides a list of eight “ways of knowing” – ways in which we learn and gain knowledge about the world in which we live: emotion, faith, imagination, intuition, language, memory, reason, and sense perception. (Theoryofknowledge.net. Ways of Knowing. n.d.)

Even the disciplines themselves are culturally informed. “According to Maori researcher Linda Tuhiwai Smith,3 academic knowledge is organized according to disciplines and fields of knowledge that are grounded in Western “ways of knowing” and are therefore inherently culturally insensitive. Western research simply interprets indigenous knowledge from a Western framework, effectively distorting reality” (Cochran et al., 2008).

In contrast to Western ways of knowing, within Indigenous cultures the structure and creation of knowledge is less focused on a rational epistemology. “Indigenous worldviews see the whole person (physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual) as interconnected to land and in relationship to others (family, communities, nations)” (Cull, Hancock, McKeown, Pidgeon & Vedan, n.d.).

2.1.1 Activity: View and Explore

Learning Activity

To explore Indigenous Ways of Knowing, see the following:

University of Toronto modules on Indigenous Ways of Knowing
The Ways of Knowing in TOK (A Simple Guide)

In addition to the more conceptually based aspects of curriculum, other more practical strategies can be used to advance inclusivity in the classroom. In a survey of 662 international students in American colleges and universities, students wanted faculty to provide more feedback, make an effort to understand their perspectives, provide access to course content outside of class, share examples of successful assignments, and include more cultural diversity in the examples provided in courses (Redden, 2017).

2.2 Culturally Inclusive Learning Environments

In their case study of schools in Australia and the United States, Hickling-Hudson and Ahlquist (2003), argue that culturally-inclusive classroom environments contribute to (or detract from) student learning, spotlighting the Eurocentrism that is often unquestioningly part of the educational experience. They highlight a dearth of culturally-inclusive resources such as literature, maps, pictures and artwork displayed on the walls, historical figures, etc.

Classroom design is also an important element of a culturally inclusive environment. How the chairs are arranged (whether in rows or circles) and the placement of the teacher in relation to the students (as part of a circle or in front of the class) is also informed by culture and pedagogy.

2.2.1 Activity: Image Exploration

Learning Activity

In this ungraded learning activity, do an image exploration on the web, searching for classroom photos. Select 2-3 photos that demonstrate different classroom designs. What can you learn about the teacher/student relationships by these photos? What can you learn about cultural beliefs about how knowledge is constructed? What can you learn about the individual/collective perspective on learning?

Learning environments, whether face-to-face or online, are influenced by those who design them. In their case study of online learning environments, McLoughlin and Oliver (2000) argue that, “As learning is a cultural activity, the design of Web sites is also infused with cultural meaning and with cultural nuances and identity issues, as the instructional designers and developers bring their own viewpoints and perspectives into the design process” (p. 59).

As we move forward in this course, we will engage in culturally-reflective practices that allow us to clearly see how much our values and beliefs about teaching and learning are influenced by our cultural identity. As we engage in that process, you will be asked to consider how to reach beyond your own comfort level related to the teacher/student experience to create learning environments where all learners are included and belong.

Unit Summary

In this unit, we have considered how our understanding of the educational process is informed by our cultural understanding of knowledge and learning. Ways of knowing are also culturally informed. As you continue to Unit 3, consider how you can foster culturally inclusive teaching and learning in your classroom.

Checking Your Learning

Before you move on to the next unit, you may want to check to make sure you are able to:

Describe key elements of culturally inclusive teaching.
Analyze learning environments to evaluate cultural inclusivity