Multi-cultural awareness in a learning community.

Abstract

St. Ambrose University uses Learning Communities to help students integrate themselves into the university community and to lay the groundwork for their understanding that a solid liberal arts education involves cross-disciplinary learning. The Learning Community design broadened our students' awareness of the term community and their role in it.

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Learning communities were integrated into the curriculum for first-year students at St. Ambrose University five years ago. These communities consist of 17 students who matriculate in the same content-based classes and a seminar for new students. In the fall of 2000, the Reading, Writing, and Studying Learning Community was initiated with its focus being not only on assimilation to the university and skills needed to be a successful student, but foremost on instruction of these courses using a multicultural emphasis. Students were recommended to enroll in this community as a result of placement test scores, high school grades, and standardized test scores. The learning community concept continued for three years, with the instructors of English 100 (Introduction to Writing) and LS100 (College Reading and Study Skills) integrating the content of the classes by using Many Voices (Watkins, Goffman and Goffman, 2001) as the basis for the reading and writing activities. In addition, the same instructors team taught New Student Seminar and were academic advisors to the enrollees. Both instructors brought their individual teaching expertise and extensive portfolios of global experiences to the course development.

Inclusion of Multicultural Literature

The instructors seldom overtly lectured concerning cultural issues, but they exposed students to many cultures through selection of in-class sources and interactions outside of the class. Both instructors are Midwest natives, but their lives were enhanced by taking advantage of international experiences during their education and careers. They both felt that promoting reading of multicultural literature would open the eyes of their students to the world outside of Illinois and Iowa. In some cases, this intention was difficult, as students did not want to move outside the comfort zone of their own culture. However, the instructors saw students start to learn about other cultures over time, ask questions about these cultures, and most important of all read a self-selected book written from a non-midwestern cultural perspective, discuss the book, and start to ask about reading other works from their favorite authors. In a post 9/11 world, inclusion of multicultural literature in a learning community is one step to global understanding.

Planning

The Learning Community's content and approach developed over three years being formed and reformed in the fall semesters of 2000, 2001, and 2002. Planning for the Learning Community usually started in January or February preceding the August starting date. Meetings were initially held every two to four weeks followed by weekly meetings near the end of the spring semester. Some planning continued during the summer months with dedicated planning meetings resuming in early to mid-August to work out final details for the community. During the semester, in order to maintain course synergy, weekly or bi-weekly meetings were held between the learning community teachers to monitor progress of the group, adjust for the learning speed of the students, and refine the assignments. While explicit cross-over teaching was not done, the teachers regularly referenced their comments in relation to what was happening in the other class or classes. Class hours were occasionally exchanged when one teacher or the other was away to attend a conference or when the viewing of a video necessitated going beyond the class hour threshold.

Snapshot of Learning Community Members

The 2002 Learning Community consisted of 11 men and 6 women. Sixteen were mid-western Caucasians and one student had immigrated to the United States from China with his family when he was in grade school. Most students had little previous contact with persons from cultures other than their own. The goals of the learning community were to integrate multicultural awareness into the curriculum and to facilitate the students' interactions with each other. The ENGL 100 and LS 100 classes were held in the same classroom; when one teacher left, the other came in. The transition period was also a time to interact informally with the students. Many of them just stayed in the classroom during the class break. This back-to-back concept gave the instructors the flexibility to show movies, invite guest speakers, and have food events when desired.

Funding

The instructors of the learning community received grant money that totaled $500 in each of the three years. These monies were granted through the Faculty Development Committee of the university. The money was used to purchase paperback books. According to personal interests, students then selected the books that they wanted to read and keep. One intention of having the student pick books was to promote lifelong reading. In addition, monies were used to support food and cultural events associated with the readings.

Composition Class

An underlying assumption for the composition class was that strong writing grows, in part, from wide reading and that improved reading can take place when writing instruction is connected deliberately with reading for class (Shanahan & Lomax, 1988). The more frequently students engage with the written word, with texts that are challenging, the stronger the foundation will be for those students when they go to write about what they have read and, by extension, for other writing tasks. This pedagogical perspective helped to cement the value of joining ENG 100 and LS 100 in the learning community. The use of the short excerpts taken from Many Voices (Watkins, Goffman and Goffman, 2001) allowed for weekly readings, in-class discussions, and weekly written responses to the readings. The source materials were augmented through additional articles taken from current periodicals and, in one case, a short story from the public domain, written by one of the authors introduced in the reader. Video programs based on the writings of Langston Hughes (Cora Unashamed) and Esmeralda Santiago (Almost a Woman) and short clips concerning experiences of ethnic groups in the United States (Shadow of Hate) were used to supplement written materials and add variety to the presentation approaches used in the classes.

For the first six weeks of the semester, the two major papers written by the students were returned with comments and suggestions but no formal grade. The goal of the first six weeks was for the instructor to become familiar with the students' writing strengths and to shift the students' focus from grades to personal skills development. The three remaining papers were graded on content, organization, attention to the assignment, and mechanics/usage. All papers were created over a two to three week period allowing for several drafts to be written and commented upon by both peer readers and the instructor. Students were encouraged to create a proofreading lexicon, formed from comments and corrections made on earlier papers. The lexicon was to be used in proofreading the final draft copies of papers turned in after the first six weeks of class. Each week, students wrote journal entries on topics related to the readings, from other course materials, or from issues related to the New Student Seminar class. These were read and commented on by both instructors. For the entries related to course materials, the assignments focused on building familiarity with the texts through reflection and response writing. The journal entries were not graded as formal papers. A final extension activity required each student to read a paperback book that would be used in the reading class to help with vocabulary growth and promote different levels of thinking. In the writing class, the books were used as the basis for two short papers, one a book review and the other an author biography.

College Reading and Study Skills"

The fundamental assumption for the College Reading and Study Skills class was that students needed to learn reading and study strategies as well as become fluent readers of both college level and leisure materials. When a reading was introduced in composition class, vocabulary and concept development were significant side issues covered in the reading class in advance of the assignment. Questioning and critical thinking skills were taught in reference to textbook learning across the curriculum and then applied to the readings in Many Voices. The major component of the learning community was to divide students into Book Clubs. Students selected the groups that they wished to join according to their interests. The groups ranged from 3 to 6 members. Each "club" read a work by one of the authors in the Many Voices (Watkins-Goffman and Goffman, 2001) reader. This involved not only reading, but also group work and enhancement of the reading by learning about the culture in the book. One group, the group that read Bonesetter's Daughter (Tan, 2001), ate together at a Chinese restaurant. The student in the learning community who was originally from China accompanied them and ordered their dinner. The second group read Poisonwood Bible (Kingsolver, 1999) and met with a student from the Congo to learn about his culture and beliefs.

They were especially intrigued by this student's stories about his grandmother's funeral. Group three read Albuquerque (Anaya, 2000) and met with a student from that city to learn more about the culture of New Mexico. Many students wanted to be part of the fourth group, which read The Ways of White Folks (Hughes, 1934/1990). This was in part due to the fact that the book contained short stories and students looked at their projects in segments rather than as a whole book. Hughes' writing was supplemented by the class viewing the video, Cora Unashamed (PBS, 2000). Student assistants, who had been members of the learning community in the previous school year, led groups two and four. The head of the university library who is also a specialist in Latin American history led group five in a reading of Hunger of Memory (Rodriquez, 1982). This work was of interest to the university community because Rodriquez had spoken on campus the year before. However, our students could now relate to Rodriquez beyond the literal level because they learned about another culture and issues dealing with bilingualism.

Student Reaction

Student input about this experience was highly valued. Almost a year after the learning community ended, we held focus groups attended by six students who spoke about their impressions of the learning community and its multicultural emphasis. Student reactions were positive. The statements listed below center around the themes of exposure to new cultures, building a basis for being a lifelong reader, and forming relationships with the other students in the learning community.

One of the student assistants, who had been in a similar learning community the year before as a student, said that on his own he would never have read the books that we incorporated into the class. He found out about cultures that he did not know were "out there". He felt that the book club allowed students to see other points of view and the interaction in the group made them more involved in the actual reading.

   [W]e didn't go too far in depth on [multicultural issues] but we
   did do some things that were stimulating ... more so than in other
   classes. Our class was 'flavorful'

Having three current international students come to class and the director of study abroad added ideas--in fact, their coming planted the seed for foreign study with one student. "If those guys were brave enough to do it, why couldn't I? So in the second semester when the opportunity for summer study presented itself, I was ready to go ... I'd never been abroad ... so this was the first ... and now I plan to go back for a semester ... to study for 8 weeks and then work in some type of internship."

* I liked looking at how the authors looked at things. The different styles of writing and how their cultures influenced their writing ... the class was unique compared to other classes. Others are content oriented only--culture is not considered. Others don't strive to embrace differences.

* Our class was more hands on--we read and then we experienced the culture through activities. I liked the RRWs (Reader Response Writing in ENGL 100)--by reading and being given the opportunity to respond, we could give time over to what we really felt without being constrained." and "Our class was good because we got to know "the other" and feel comfortable with them and they with us ...

* ... the openness we experienced in our class has carried over into other areas of campus. A Scot lives on my floor. Before I probably would have ignored him ... but now I am ready to reach out to him and enjoy what he can bring to my experience here at SAU-even though his thick accent is a challenge for me. And I think that my connecting with him will make his experience here better as well ...

Conclusion

We chose to write about the experience of emphasizing multicultural literature in our learning community in order to provide to other, college-level instructors a successful instructional model for their consideration. However, we are compelled to underscore that successful replication of this approach will depend on the individuals involved, their previous experiences, and foremost, their commitment to the project.

References

Anaya, R. (2000). Albuquerque. New York: Warner Books.

Guggenheim, C. (Producer). (1995) The shadow of hate [Video] United States: Southern Poverty Law Center.

Hughes, L. (1934/1990). The ways of white folks. Vintage Classics.

Kingsolver, B. (1999). Poisonwood bible. Perennial.

Peacock. A. (Writer), & Pratt, D. (Director). (2000). Cora unashamed [Television series selection]. ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre: The American Collection. United States: PBS.

Rodriquez, R. (1982). Hunger of memory. Bantam Press.

Santiago. E. (Writer), & Kaplan, B. (Director). (2002). Almost a woman. [Television series selection]. ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre: The American Collection. USA: PBS.

Shanahan, T. & Lomax, R. (1988). A developmental comparison of three theoretical models of the reading-writing relationship. Research in the Teaching of English, 22 (2), 196-212.

Tan, A. (2001). Bonesetter's daughter. New York: Ballantine Books. Watkins-Goffman, L. & Goffman, R. (2001). Many voices. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Michael J. Hustedde, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA

Carol R. Lyon, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA

Hustedde, Ph.D. is Professor of English and Director of Writing. Lyon, Ed.D. is Associate Professor of Secondary Education.