What influence does culture have on a student’s school success

Question

Go to the IRIS Center website and complete the module: Cultural and Linguistics Differences.http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/clde/

Click on the Challenge oval first and watch the two-minute video.

Proceed to the next oval Thoughts. Write your thoughts on the initial questions:

What influence does culture have on a student’s school success?

How does linguistic diversity influence classroom performance?

What impact do culture and language have on a family’s involvement in school and on their child’s education?

Go to the Perspective and Resources oval and read each of the pages. Answer the three questions found on Page 4 – Communication under the title Activity.

During class, some students participate in the discussions while others sit silent. Could cultural values and beliefs about sharing personal opinions determine participation? Why or why not?

You’re engaged in conversation with a student who repeatedly interrupts you. Explain why this behavior could be culturally acceptable for some students. What could you do if this happened in your classroom?

While telling a story, a student jumps around from one idea and incident to the next, without consideration of conventional narrative sequence (i.e., beginning, middle, and end). Could this narrative style be based on culture? Why or why not?

Complete the assessment questions in the Assessment oval. Your answers should be supported with evidence from the research. Cite your sources using quotes and proper APA format.

Why is it important for teachers to reflect on cultural and linguistic diversity?

Explain the difference between BICS and CALP. Why is it necessary for teachers to understand the distinction between these two types of language proficiency?

In the Challenge, Mr. Bennett wrote notes home to Maria’s family. Why might this have proved problematic? What other options might you recommend to Mr. Bennett for communicating with Maria’s parents?

Stone, a teacher from a rural community where all the students share similar cultural backgrounds, relocate to a large city where the students come from a wide variety of cultural groups. He notices that many of his students are not performing well in class. Upon self-reflection, he realizes that because of cultural differences these students may not relate to his style of teaching or to the stories and examples he uses in class. What can Mr. Stone do to become more culturally responsive and meet the diverse needs of these students?