Intercultural+Respect+Lesson+1

=**Lesson: Exploring Resources, Exchanging Ideas**=


 * Goals:**
 * Using results from the pre-course survey completed by their colleagues, teachers identify priority areas for addressing intercultural respect at their school.
 * Reflecting on their own experiences, teachers articulate the kinds of expertise they have to share with colleagues regarding intercultural communication, as well as the kinds of expertise they hope their colleagues can share.
 * Teachers feel encouraged and safe in discussing intercultural issues within a respectful community of practice.
 * Teachers are prepared to use the school’s protected Blogspot space for sharing resources and ideas about intercultural respect.


 * Preparation:**
 * 2 weeks in advance: All teachers receive an email introducing the course and providing instructions for participation.
 * 1 week in advance:
 * All teachers complete an online survey to assess current views and concerns related to intercultural respect at school. To create the survey in Google Forms, [[file:Google forms survey.docx|follow these instructions]].
 * Set up the school’s protected Intercultural Conversations Blogspot space. [[file:Blogspot how to.docx|Follow these instructions]].
 * Begin creating a LiveBinder with intercultural resources for educators; add all staff as collaborators to the LiveBinder. [|See model here].
 * 1 day in advance: Provide teachers with the link to view the survey results (see Google Forms instructions) and email the [[file:Lesson 1 instructions.docx|Lesson 1: How to Find, Share, and Discuss Classroom Resources on Intercultural Respect with Your Colleagues]] to all participants.


 * Materials and tools:**
 * Computers with access to Internet
 * Google survey results
 * Intercultural Conversations Blogspot space
 * LiveBinder


 * Time:** 60 minutes


 * Standards:**

Standard III: Teachers are responsible for establishing and managing student learning in a positive learning environment. Standard V. Teachers are committed to continuous improvement and professional development.
 * //[|Montgomery County Teacher Professional Growth Standards]//**


 * //[|National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Unit Standards]//**

Standard 1: Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Dispositions 1c. Professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills for teacher candidates

Standard 4: Diversity 4b. Experiences working with diverse faculty 4c. Experiences working with diverse candidates

Standard 5: Qualifications, Performance, and Development 5b. Modeling best professional practices in teaching


 * //[|International Society for Technology in Education NETS-T]//**

Standard 3: Model Digital Age Work and Learning 3a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations

Standard 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility 4d. Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other culture using digital age communication and collaboration tools.

Standard 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership 5a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning 5d. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community


 * Procedure:**

1. Teachers begin the course by looking at the results of the Intercultural Respect at Our School survey. They are prompted to consider what trends they notice in the data and, based on the results, what they see as priority areas for improving cross-cultural respect at their school.

2. Teachers view the National Education Association’s video //[|Cultural Competence: What Does it Mean for Educators]//?

3. In the video, Dr. Shirley Brice Heath of Stanford University emphasizes the importance of sharing expertise and learning to foster cross-cultural understanding, stating: "//The first question that everyone who wants to be a culturally competent educator should know how to ask themselves and also the young people they work with is, 'Tell me what it is that you’re an expert in.'"//

In response to this idea, teachers consider their own expertise as it relates to intercultural issues. How have their experiences in and outside of school shaped how they navigate intercultural situations? What expertise do they have to share with colleagues? What kinds of expertise do they hope their colleagues can share with them?

4. Teachers are introduced to the [|Intercultural Conversations Blogspot] site where they will share resources and ideas related to fostering intercultural respect in their school. //(**Note:** Teachers will need to accept invitations to be authors in order to view and edit the blog.)// They learn that this is a protected, safe space to ask questions and share their learning and expertise. They are provided with some suggested uses and ground rules for using the site productively. Teachers should plan to contribute an idea or resource to the blog at least twice per month, and should comment on others' blog posts at least twice per month.

5. In addition to being resources to one another, teachers are invited to explore outside resources designed to help teachers navigate intercultural issues. They will collect resources in a shared LiveBinder, adding to the LiveBinder as they find helpful materials. They might also choose to write a blog post to highlight a resource they've placed in the LiveBinder, and discuss how it could be useful for their colleagues. Each teacher should add at least one resource to the LiveBinder per month.

6. After a two week "warm up" of sharing resources and ideas through the blog and LiveBinder, teachers will engage in Lesson 2, which gets them dialoguing about specific intercultural respect issues they have encountered within the school environment. However, the ongoing use of the blog and LiveBinder will continue over a six-month pilot period.


 * Additional resources:**

Montgomery County R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Compact []

Montgomery County Equity Initiatives Unit []