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Newsletter

• FCS FLASH: Building Effective Instruction for Culturally Diverse Populations
  California is the first state with no single ethnic group. As a numerical majority, we face new urgency and opportunity to create education policies and learning institutions that work for all of us.... <http://www.californiatomorrow.org/files/pdfs/cc_policy_brief.pdf>
  California's Community College campuses reflect the state's diverse population, and faculty must have the knowledge and skills to appreciate and effectively teach students from multicultural backgrounds.
  
  Students of color, immigrants, and low-income students cite access to talented, approachable faculty as one of the most critical influences on staying in school. <http://www.league.org/publication/abstracts/learning/lelabs0412.html>
  Faculty who integrate culture into the curriculum to include all learners, listen to the voices of their learners, and create lessons and activities to empower their learners, create more meaningful learning opportunities for all their students.
  
  As FCS faculty we continue in our efforts to create diverse or inclusive classrooms for our students. We model inclusive behaviors and strategies students can use in class and in their personal and work life as they live and work in more global settings. Here are several activities and resources for you to review and try with your students to build diversity awareness and inclusive behaviors.
  
  
• What does your community look like?
  Using information from the United States Census Bureau <http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en>, ask students to enter their zip codes, at this site, to find out what their respective communities look like. This activity makes students more aware of those around them and useful for compare and contrast discussions.
  
  
• California Gold
  <http://www.californiatomorrow.org/publications/cts.pl?pub_id=30> is a rich resource filled with the voices of hundreds of community college students, faculty and staff - excellent case study materials.
  
  
• At the Diversity Training Group <http://www.diversitydtg.com/default.htm> site, click on "Take the Quiz"and then on "Understanding My Own Diversity" to review 13 interesting and insightful questions. You may want your students to answer some of these to give you more information about their background. The more you know <http://www.cccfcs.com/FCS/uploads/flash17rev.htm> about your students the better able you are to design and develop relevant instruction.
  
  
• In Motion Magazine has 21 Cultural Competencies for the 21st Century <http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/soto6.html>. These ideas are designed to help facilitate and enhance personal and professional involvement within the context of multicultural and diverse setting.
  
  
• At Ohio State University there is an interesting article with suggestions on Teaching Diversity <http://fisher.osu.edu/diversity/resources/teaching.htm> it's worth a look.
  
  

FYI: Emphasizing and promoting our interconnection to one another is essential to our efforts to renew the commitment necessary to build a more dynamic, accessible, and effective community college system.
California Community College: Access and Equity Policy Brief <http://www.californiatomorrow.org/files/pdfs/cc_policy_brief.pdf>

This newsletter was brought to you by a grant from the California Community College Chancellor's Office Family and Consumer Science Collaborative Grant (#04-160). Please contact Joann Driggers (jdrigger@mtsac.edu) with any questions.