NCATE Standard 4a.2

Diversity

What required coursework and experiences enable teacher candidates to develop:

  • Awareness of the importance of diversity in teaching and learning, and
  • The knowledge, skills and professional dispositions to adapt instruction and/or service for diverse populations, including linguistically and culturally diverse students and students with exceptionalities?

1)Awareness of the importance of diversity in teaching and learning

While the unit enjoys a richly diverse climate throughout all of its courses, a cluster of courses specifically engages candidates in experiences steeped in diversity theories. The following six undergraduate courses identify awareness of diversity issues in the course descriptions and throughout the course: EDU 311 Foundations of Education; EDU 313 Child Development; EDU 391 Human Diversity; EDU 400 Children’s Literature; EDU 430 The Exceptional Child; EDU 483 Language Arts and Social Studies Methods; and EDU 487 Integrated Arts, Music, PE/Health (Cohort Course Sequence).

These courses provide students with concepts and opportunities to engage in societal issues including awareness of ethnicities, races, gender, socio-economic status, abilities and cultures in schools through activities and assignments. In addition, teacher candidates learn of the influences of economic inequities, racial inequalities, religious beliefs, gender and sexual orientation, language, and exceptionalities within a global society. The T2T/MAT course curriculum has a slight difference in the fact that issues of diversity are embedded throughout the courses because the state limits credit hours for licensure for T2T programs.

Specifically designed course experiences provide the knowledge, skills and dispositions to adapt instruction for the diverse learner or for exceptionalities. The unit holds that experience coupled with reflection prompts the awareness and the transformation needed for the diverse world of the future. The following indicate foundational experiences that provide candidates with opportunity for transformation of disposition and performance.

  • Interaction with babies at Nazareth Home (facility for babies whose lives are compromised at birth) (Nazareth Home Brochure)
  • Engagement with adults and children at the Tri-City Special Olympics.
  • Tour, visit, and engagement in team pports at Misericordia Heart of Mercy: Home for children and adults with special needs.
  • Summer Reading Program for K-6 students from School City of Hammond (40% Hispanic, 30% Black, 22% White) (Diversity Statistics for School City of Hammond)
  • Education Seminars that provide information or experiences for interaction or highlighting of societal issues (i.e. Taking Charge by Brooke Hancock(Education Seminar Flyer and Candidate Reflection)
  • CCSJ Speaker series that highlights societal issues (Imam, Maria’s Journey) (CCSJ Social Justice Speaker Series).
  • Participation in multiple opportunities for assisting the underserved (Angel Tree, Toys for Tots, Coat Collection, Haven House, Habitat for Humanity) (Social Justice Opportunities).
  • Engagement in week-long cultural experiences in Guatemala and New Orleans (Experiences in Guatemala and New Orleans (PowerPoint).
  • Course speakers with particular expertise i.e. English Learners: Director of Bilingual Education, School City of Hammond (Guest Speaker Bio)

Collectively, these experiences (and others) teach candidates diversity. Documentation of awareness is evidenced in reflections (Awareness of Diversity Reflections).

2) The knowledge, skills and professional dispositions to adapt instruction and/or service for diverse populations, including linguistically and culturally diverse students and students with exceptionalities.

Four courses specifically focus on teaching candidates to adapt instruction for diverse populations: EDU Curriculum Development, EDU 483 Language Arts and Social Studies Methods; EDU 485 Math and Science Methods, and EDU 487 Integrated Arts, Music, PE/Health. With the exception of curriculum development where candidates learn the art of lesson planning, the balance of the courses has a clinical dimension that evaluates each candidate’s ability to adapt instruction in diverse settings.

While coursework and clinical experiences provide practical opportunities, the foundational base, the dispositions, and the skills are rooted in a climate, modeling and leadership exerted from the unit faculty and staff. Teacher candidates learn from the unit faculty and staff as they observe respectful treatment of all, flexibility to adapt to diverse learning styles and abilities, a climate where all are welcomed despite capabilities, and dispositions that communicate outreach, service and a helping hand to groups of underserved individuals.

The mission of the institution, characterized as extending a helping hand to the underserved population in Northwest Indiana, is palpable among the unit faculty. Designing service trips to New Orleans and Guatemala are excellent learning experiences, but volunteering at Tri-City Olympics (NWI), engaging in discussion with a person of another race, or being a patient and welcoming presence to staff or students with communication disorders, defines a candidate’s disposition and the unit’s as well. Professional dispositions can be observed in unit faculty, and its candidates.