Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon successful completion of the course, students will:

• Understand and be able to articulate the achievement dilemma, particularly as it relates to multicultural issues in the K-12 setting.
• Understand and articulate current issues in education, particularly as they relate to cultural issues.
• Recognize issues of power and privilege and how these serve to perpetuate inequities in the US educational system and the larger society.
• Continue developing sense of their own cultural frameworks and what proficiencies and information they need to become effective multicultural educators
• Develop tools and strategies to effectively communicate with and teach to a wide variety of different cultural groups
• Analyze and select curriculum, materials and activities for cultural appropriateness.
• Begin to develop a repertoire of tools and strategies to affect meaningful educational change.

The course will function as a lecture class with a hands-on, cooperative format. Students will work in independently and in small groups to actively and knowledgeably engage in discussion and exercises to raise their collective awareness about diversity issues in the K-12 setting. The student will be able to articulate strategies that will help them to more appropriately meet the needs of culturally diverse learners.

Students will be evaluated, and criteria developed for assigning a course grade using the following tools:

• written assignments
• presentation of instructional materials
• participation in group and class discussion
• research project
• school and text analysis
• final project

Students will:

• Perform school analysis as it relates to multicultural theories and issues studied in class
• Research local non-dominant cultural group and analyze their interaction with dominant K-12 cultural institution.
• Respond orally and in writing to current multicultural issues
• Analyze text and materials for cultural appropriateness
• Develop tools and strategies to effect change

GUIDELINES FOR CORE OUTCOMES:
In addition the students will demonstrate:

COMMUNICATION: Graduates of Portland Community College should be able to communicate effectively by determining the purpose of communication; analyzing audience and context to sue appropriate language and modality; and by responding to feedback to achieve clarity, coherence, and effectiveness.

COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY: Graduates of Portland Community College should be able to apply scientific, cultural, and political perspectives in understanding the natural and social world and in addressing the consequences of human activity both globally and locally, demonstrating an understanding of social change and social action.

CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING: Graduates of Portland Community College should be able to think critically and creatively to solve problems, understanding and using various methods of reasoning and evaluating information and it sources.

CULTURE AWARENESS: Graduates of Portland Community College should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the varieties of human cultures, perspectives, and forms of expressions as well as their own culture's complexities.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE: Graduates of Portland Community College should demonstrate mastery in a discipline of profession at a level appropriate to program and transfer requirements through the application of concepts, skills, processes, and technology in the performance of authentic tasks that enhance community involvement and employability.

SELF-REFLECTION: Graduates of Portland Community College should be self-appraising in applying the knowledge and skills they have learned, examining and evaluating personal beliefs and comparing them with the beliefs of others