Modeling Cultural Competency to Enhance Learning
Plan to resolve a conflict between two students using culturally relevant strategies.
Equity is an ideal to practice and work toward. It is constant, challenging, and important. This module will provide you with actionable steps you can take in your equity practice. Opportunities exist outside of the classroom for students and staff to develop cultural competence, particularly when it comes to conflict resolution. In this assessment, you will consider two scenarios that outline common conflicts and develop a written plan for approaching the resolution that takes into consideration the cultural needs of the students and addresses any institutional bias. Through this kind of analysis of typical school and educational interactions, we can uncover areas of inequity and reflect on how our approaches to common school interactions are opportunities for equity.
In this assessment, you will consider culturally competent approaches and select one for resolving a conflict between two parties. In the development of your approach for resolving the conflict, you will model cultural competence for the students and parties involved. The scenarios provided in this assessment represent two of the many ways in which cultural conflict can appear in educational settings.
Demonstration of Proficiency
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency: Model cultural competence to enhance learning.
Identify evidence-based culturally relevant strategies that meet the needs of students.
Evaluate the external policies that apply to the situation.
Identify the learning and accommodations that need to take place for the parties involved.
Analyze the impact of the approach for bias.
Reflect on how integrating culturally relevant strategies shifted the approach.
Instructions
Select one of the scenarios described below, and develop an approach to resolving this conflict using the steps below.
Consider the needs of each party, and identify the appropriate culturally relevant strategies for working through this conflict. Use the evidence-based strategies from your resources.
Evaluate the classroom rules and district or state policies that need to be addressed.
How do the regulations require you to respond?
In what ways do the policies create an equitable or inequitable learning environment for the students involved?
Identify the learning and accommodations that need to take place for the parties involved.
What skills or strategies might the students need?
What changes or adaptations need to be implemented by the setting in order to address practices that disenfranchise students?
What is the best setting or approach for the students to learn these skills or strategies?
Analyze the potential impact of your approach for bias.
What do the students involved need in this situation? Have the rights of each student been maintained?
How will you approach this resolution in a culturally competent way? Does the approach attempt to “fix” the student or “fix” the conditions that created the situation?
How will you meet any policy or rule requirements and still meet the needs of the students?
Reflect on how integrating culturally relevant strategies shifted your approach to conflict resolution. Think about how you typically resolve conflicts. Compare the routine approach you generally take with the approach you outlined above.
How do the culturally relevant strategies you selected compare with your preferred approach for resolving conflicts?
Scenario 1
You are an educator in a school setting. A note was passed in your class about a student of color. It is apparent that someone wrote hateful words on the note, expressing that the student’s attendance at the school was unwelcome. The student shares the note with you and asks you how he should proceed, given the hateful remarks.
Scenario 2
You are an educator on a field trip. You are going on a reward trip for students with good behavior and grades. You are given a note written to a girl that included words that she considers to be sexual harassment. She is obviously upset and does not want to ride the bus. The student who wrote the note has a disability, which inhibits their ability to understand social mores and conventions. How do you assist both students?
Additional Requirements
Length: 5–6 pages.
Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to APA style and formatting.
Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.
