Team Work Makes the Dream Work: Teaching Cultural Competence through Instructor Lead Immersion Learning.
Conference Strand
Teaching, Training, and Supervision
Abstract
It has been customary for instructors to include within their teaching of cultural competence students engaging in some sort of immersion activity. It is expected that students choose a cultural group to immerse themselves in to gain exposure and then discuss in written form or through dialogue. Although this experiential learning activity brings to life some of the issues discussed in the class, it does not allow the instructor to address learning opportunities as they occur. This presentation will look at the pedagogy of instructor lead immersion experiences, the value of teaching within an immersion experience instructor lead model, lessons learned, and curriculum ideas and strategies using this framework.
Evidence
References and research:
Bolea, P. S. (2012). Cross-Cultural Service Learning with Native Americans:
Pedagogy for Building Cultural Competence. Journal Of Teaching In Social Work,
32(3), 284-299. doi:10.1080/08841233.2012.687684
Jeffreys, M. R. (2016). Teaching Cultural Competence in Nursing and Health Care,
Third Edition: Inquiry, Action, and Innovation. New York, NY: Springer Publishing
Company.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and
development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and
development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson FT Press.
Kolb, D. A., & Kolb, A. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing
experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning &
Education, 4, 193-212.doi:10.5465/AMLE.2005.17268566
Salmona, M., Partlo, M., Kaczynski, D., & Leonard, S. N. (2015). Developing
Culturally Competent Teachers: An International Student Teaching Field
Experience. Australian Journal Of Teacher Education, 40(4)
Resources:
https://ced.ncsu.edu/news/2016/11/09/cultural-immersion-for-stronger-classrooms/: North Carolina State University Teacher Education Department took a group of Graduate students to Mexico on a cultural immersion trip where the course instructors lead out in connecting coursework with real-life immersion activities.
Lesson Plan Example Resource
Disability Connections Center Visit
Students arrive at the facility
Introductions of Director and staff
Tour of facility
A brief discussion of disabilities by course instructor and director of the facility
Students interact and meet individuals with a disability
Questions for the director:
What types of disabilities are represented here?
What does this facility do to care for the disabled in the community?
Can we hear some of their stories?
What tips can you give to counselors who may work with students/individuals who are disabled?
Format
Individual Presentations
Biographical Sketch
Kimberly Nelson is currently an Assistant Professor at Fort Valley State University in the School Counseling Education Program. She obtained her Doctoral degree in Counseling Education and Supervision from the University of South Carolina. Her research interests are in the professional identity development of novice school counselors and developing counselors to be culturally competent through social and restorative justice framework.
Location
ELAB 38
Start Date
2-8-2019 10:45 AM
End Date
2-8-2019 12:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Nelson, Kimberly A., "Team Work Makes the Dream Work: Teaching Cultural Competence through Instructor Lead Immersion Learning." (2019). National Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change. 2.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ccec/2019/2019/2
Team Work Makes the Dream Work: Teaching Cultural Competence through Instructor Lead Immersion Learning.
ELAB 38
It has been customary for instructors to include within their teaching of cultural competence students engaging in some sort of immersion activity. It is expected that students choose a cultural group to immerse themselves in to gain exposure and then discuss in written form or through dialogue. Although this experiential learning activity brings to life some of the issues discussed in the class, it does not allow the instructor to address learning opportunities as they occur. This presentation will look at the pedagogy of instructor lead immersion experiences, the value of teaching within an immersion experience instructor lead model, lessons learned, and curriculum ideas and strategies using this framework.
Description
The conference theme acknowledges the need for creative pedagogy in helping learners understand cultural competence. The presentation will address instructor lead field immersion learning in helping learners grasp the ideas of cultural competence. The objective of the presentation is to 1) help counselor educators understand what field immersion instructor lead learning is all about. 2) Address the value of teaching from this framework 3) share lessons learned in using this method and 4) provide strategies and curriculum ideas.
Within the experiential learning theory Kolb (1984) addresses four stages of learning: 1) accommodative, 2) diverging, 3) assimilating and 4) convergent. Specific learning activities are instituted in each stage in order for learning and application to take place within the lifespan of the learner. In teaching cultural competence students should move through these stages and instructors should create learning activities that trigger such a movement. Salmona, Parlto, Kaczynski, & Leonard (2015) offered a theoretical construct on better understanding how experiential learning provides student teachers the skill set to acquire cultural empathy. It was through student teachers field experiences that they were able to develop the skill set of being culturally competent. It is suggested that field immersion experiences peered with the instructor’s presence and input during the experience become a part of teaching cultural competence.
Field immersion instructor lead learning will take a portion of class time to gain exposure to a variety of cultural groups addressed in the student’s weekly readings and assignments. As a new professor in higher education, I utilized the three-hour class time in a cultural competency course for lecturing, guest lectures, and field immersion instructor lead learning. The field immersion experiences were pre-planned opportunities that I attended with my students. The Field immersion experiences I engaged in with my students were attending a Jewish synagogue and dialoguing with the Rabbi and members, touring/volunteering at a homeless shelter and meeting individuals that are homeless, attending an LGBTQ meeting and engaging with group members, visiting a Native American reservation and a variety of other field immersion experiences. These field immersion instructor lead learning opportunities took students outside of the classroom and into an environment that provoked real-life learning opportunities. The instructor was able to co-teach with members of the specific groups which helped to deepen not only the experience but connect student reading and assignments done throughout the course. This pedagogical method will help instructors take learning cultural competence to the next level. It not only provides the opportunity for instructors to teach cultural competence in real time but allows students to make connections, ask questions, and dialogue with both the instructor and members of a cultural group all at once. This presentation will help counselor educators see the value of field immersion instructor lead learning, provide the instructor with lessons learned from teaching in such a framework and help instructors develop curriculum/strategies based on the field immersion instructor lead learning model.