A Facilitator's Guide To Diversity in the Classroom

A Casebook for Teachers and Teacher Educators

Amalia Mesa-Bains, Judith H. Shulman, Judith H. Shulman, Judith H. Shulman, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Judith H. Shulman, Judith H. Shulman, Amalia Mesa-Bains

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135445973
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

A companion volume to Diversity in the Classroom, this guide presents 13 cases designed to help individuals and groups reflect on teaching. Specifically, it offers the information needed to use these cases in structured professional development experiences.

PART I: FACILITATING A CASE DISCUSSION

Preparation and Process

Much can be learned just by reading cases. But a good facilitator can expedite that learning by prompting a group to examine the case’s issues in ways that readers by themselves might not. Far more than a lecture, case discussion enlivens content and helps participants internalize theory. Still, the idea of facilitating such discussion can be intimidating: when you don’t do all the talking, you relinquish authority and therefore can’t be entirely sure how the class is going to go.

This concern is heightened when the issues at hand are emotionally provocative. In the pilot test of Diversity in the Classroom with groups of teachers, some of its cases, particularly those dealing with bias, race, and class, generated heated interchange and ran the risk of polarizing opinions and creating defensive attitudes. These topics can be talked about with candor and civility, however, and this section provides information to help ensure that this happens.

CONSTRUCTING A CASE-BASED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM

Ideally, these case discussions don’t take place in isolation; they are part of a case-based multicultural curriculum — a whole course or program built around the use of cases and including additional readings about the issues being addressed. Case discussion becomes more meaningful when supporting materials explain the general principles exemplified by the case. Conversely, the specific real people and situations detailed in each case put flesh and blood on otherwise nebulous concepts.

One of the biggest problems in multicultural education has been the tendency to deal in generalities; to talk of blacks, Latinos, Asians, or limited English speakers in terms of broad cultural characteristics. Professional development programs often teach cultural information, human relations, or anti-racism. But without a specific situation for people to work their way through, the learning that takes place is disembodied and easily forgotten.

Cases, by contrast, can introduce an individual student, teacher, and classroom, bringing that world to life in all its complexity. Problems under discussion are no longer those of, say, poor black children, but of Eric — a very memorable, very real little boy with feelings, talents, and family members. His needs may or may not be “typical,” but his teacher tries to meet them in the best way she and her school can. Teachers reading and discussing the case use this specific situation as a vehicle for questioning their own instructional practices, classroom management strategies, and multicultural curriculum and for reflecting on their own values, attitudes, and experience. Ideally information in the case is supplemented by other curriculum materials, e.g., a model that offers specific steps for handling disruptive classroom behavior or training in cooperative learning strategies; or material that raises important questions, such as why so many African-American boys are referred to special education. In other words, in a well-conceived curriculum the case functions as the hub of the staff development wheel.

Though reading or discussing a single case can be beneficial, it is the sustained use of cases in group discussion that spurs classroom change. A group generally needs to discuss at least four cases to acquire the comfort level, equity of participation, and analytical skills that allow discussion to move to more insightful levels. Moreover, the transfer of insights and cultural knowledge to the classroom doesn’t really happen until reflective practices are internalized.

For each curriculum, case selection should be customized. In preservice, where participants have not yet tested themselves in the day-to-day life of the classroom, a varied group of cases giving insights into the world they are about to enter will be helpful. In the inservice environment, cases should have clear links to circumstances at participants’ schools so that these teachers can compare the case experiences with their own. For example, if a school has a large number of limited English speaking students, “Then and Now: Insights Gained for Helping Children Learn English” and “Please, Not Another ESL Student” are likely candidates. Observations in the cases can lead teachers to identify specific areas, e.g., sheltered English, in which they want training.

Another way to bring cases closer to the school situation is to have participating teachers keep journals, jotting down observations about the cases that draw from their own classroom experiences. As part of a case-based curriculum, journals can become catalysts that move participants to begin writing their own cases.

An on-site, case-based professional development experience can have school-wide effects. Teacher isolation is reduced. Teachers who discover the strength in group problem solving may apply that process to other school issues, including deciding their own professional development needs. Since teachers of diverse backgrounds contribute special insights, their often marginalized status may change. For example, teachers of color may, for the first time, become truly integrated into their faculties.

PREPARING TO LEAD DISCUSSION

Careful preparation is critical to successfully leading case discussions. You’ll need a thorough knowledge of the case and commentaries, as well as clear ideas about how best to use the commentaries and discussion notes to guide the sessions. The discussion notes in this guide frequently refer to material in the cases and commentaries which appear in Diversity in the Classroom.

Reading the case. To do a good job of facilitating discussion, one cardinal rule applies: you must have a good grasp of the case and its nuances. This is true for any case, but especially crucial when delicate subject matter is involved. The only way to develop deep familiarity is to read the case many times over. The following suggestions can help:

• As you begin, take note of your first impression. What excites you? What bothers you? With whom did you relate? Subsequent readings may change your answers to these questions, so it’s important to jot down those initial reactions to use as diagnostic tools. Initially, they help you gauge your own values and empathic response to the case. Later, they may be key in helping you understand participants’ starting points for discussion.

• Since each case has many layers of meaning, each reading yields more information and understanding. As you read, ask yourself, “What is this a case of?” and “What are the different ways to interpret this case?” Also note the descriptive words, key phrases, and dialogue used, especially early in the case as the teacher-author introduces students or events. Often, these reveal the writer’s racial and cultural perceptions, apprehensions, or hesitancies.

• You should also re-read the case with specific objectives in mind. For example, use one reading to identify teaching and learning issues; another to look for sociological impact (i.e., how will events described in the case affect this student’s life in his or her community?) A third reading can focus on the teacher’s role — what professional issues are at stake? The more perspectives you have on the case, the better equipped you’ll be to prompt broad-ranging discussion, thus reinforcing the idea that there is no “one right answer,” while also keeping group participation balanced. Should one person’s viewpoint tend to dominate, your suggestion of another lens to look through can draw out participants whose knowledge and experience make them identify with the case in an entirely different way.

• Look for pressure or stress points in the case — instances when a teacher is confronted by angry students, puzzled by a dilemma, or experiencing doubt or remorse about his or her actions. In the discussion, these events can serve as teachable moments. For example, in “Moments of Truth: Teaching Pygmalion,’ a crisis is followed by a catharsis for teacher and students. If you can prompt teachers to explore different interpretations of this event, they may come to understand why the crisis occurred. This insight can help them avert a similar ordeal in their own classrooms.

• Look for subtle cues. Cases like “Fighting for Life in Third Period” overtly raise strong racial issues. But a real understanding of student and teacher actions requires examining the narrative’s details, perhaps making paragraph-by-paragraph notations. In many of the cases, information about individuals’ racial, cultural, and gender perspectives is couched in subtle details. To discern it you need to read between the lines, paying close attention to how the writer describes socio-economic, political, or historical features of students, communities, and families. Your goal is to continually try to elicit new cultural knowledge from the case that can help you and your group get beyond “is this or is this not a racist encounter?” — a discussion level that merely polarizes people. Instead, the group needs to look beneath the surface of what occurred. What might have happened if the teacher had perceived the student differently or known his or her culture well enough to really understand the meaning of gestures or behaviors? What might the teacher have done, and how might the student have responded?

Using the commentaries. The commentaries that follow each case can help you see these between-the-lines cultural indicators. Written by new and experienced teachers, administrators, teacher educators, and educational scholars, they offer multiple, often conflicting interpretations of the case. They are invaluable discussion aids, particularly when the group doesn’t include a real cultural mix. The commentators then function as cultural informants, providing background essential to meaningful discussion, whether about realities of life in urban housing projects or the marginalization of minority teachers.

Besides adding information, the commentaries can help you prompt teachers to question their assumptions. The point of case discussion is to help teachers reflect on what they do and build on their prior knowledge. But to some degree, people are limited by what they already know. Your role includes helping participants expand their ways of thinking by investigating cultural complexities that may be outside their ken. The commentaries can help you shape questions that move things in this direction.

One clarification is in order here: the commentaries are not intended as verdicts that offer the “one best way “ to interpret the case. O n the contrary, one rationale for using cases is to provide a means of illustrating how complex teaching really is, thereby better preparing teachers for an ill-structured domain where there are few clear right or wrong courses of action. The commentaries for these cases aim to enrich the analysis by offering expert testimony, cultural witness, or counter-points to ideas expressed in the case. They also enable you to speak with some level of cultural authority without purporting to have “the” answer and to change the direction of the discussion while maintaining neutrality as the facilitator.

How and when should you use the commentaries? Should they be read at the same time as the case? After case analysis so they don’t preclude independent thought? There is no rule of thumb. Your decision depends on the individual case and your purpose in teaching it. It’s true that discussing the case before reading the commentaries may preserve participants’ original responses. But in some instances, reading the case and its commentaries together keeps the discussion from deteriorating into an opinion swap.

Experience suggests a caveat: for teachers at school sites, the commentaries may seem distant and over-intellectualized. Consequently, it may be advisable to have them read after discussing the cases. But, if you do so, be prepared to introduce them carefully. The risk is that participants may feel they’ve been set up for criticism, since the commentaries can appear to be judging the very opinions the group just expressed.

Using the discussion notes. The discussion outlines and notes in this guide are resources designed to help you plan each case discussion and gauge how to use the commentaries most effectively. As analytic interpretations, these notes may alert you in advance to potential problem areas. They examine key issues, particularly those dealing with race, culture, gender, and language, sometimes adding information that neither the case nor the commentaries include.

The discussion notes can also help you devise a structure for moving the group through the case. One common problem is that at certain points, discussion gets stuck. You introduce the case, set up questions, and analysis begins — but then stalls. Anticipating this, you can use the notes to identify stages of discussion and plan probes that will move things from stage to stage. Be aware, however, that the notes are not absolutes. There’s no need to follow them step by step. Just as you customize case selection and sequence, you’ll want to tailor questions to suit the profile of your particular group or school.

DYNAMICS OF THE GROUP PROCESS

For any discussion to succeed, a climate of trust is needed. Participants also need a sense of ownership — the outcome is theirs to determine. Clear ground rules must be established, and the facilitator has to be prepared to use gentle ways to quiet aggression and carry out his or her responsibility to protect (rather than control) the group.

Establishing trust. Successful case discussion can only take place in a climate of trust. How can you help ensure that participants feel safe enough to risk exposing their opinions to others’ judgment?

You’ll need to consider many factors: the physical setting, use of space, seating arrangement, your style of leading discussion, and group size. Perhaps most important in multicultural case discussions, however, is the life experience of group members. Each participant brings to the group his or her personal values, attitudes, and beliefs — both conscious and unconscious. Trust will be affected by unspoken concerns, fears of being perceived as racist, lack of cultural information, individuals’ status in the group, histories at the school site, and even political agendas.

The clearer the structure and the more secure you are in the role of facilitator, the better the chances for a safe climate and productive discussion. Whenever possible, it helps to have culturally and racially balanced groups so that participants can learn from each other. But bear in mind that a balance in participation is a separate issue. People have different cultural values around communicating. Case discussion asks us to think about our responses to characters in the case. But often, how revealing people are willing to be about their values or beliefs is a function of their style of communication.

Some participants will find it easy to talk openly and debate the topics; others won’t. Some will be aggressive; others will hold back until they hear the rest of the group’s opinions. Some will want to speak first; others will need prodding to speak at all. Some will disagree openly; others indirectly. These styles reflect personality, but also culture. In classrooms we often subscribe to our own majority model — that you speak up when you disagree. But many ethnic groups don’t feel that’s appropriate.

So you need to create a cross-cultural climate. Partly, that means encouraging a variety of opinions through questioning and framing differing perspectives for examinin...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part I: Facilitating a Case Discussion
• Part II: Discussion Notes
• Appendix A: Dealing with Interpersonal Resistance
• Appendix B: Active Listening