Domain 5:
Diversity
The candidate presents artifacts and accompanying descriptions that demonstrate his or her ability to create culturally responsive, inclusive learning environments where all students are afforded access to high standards and meaningful learning.
InTASC #2:
Learning Differences:
The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.
INTASC Standard 2d:
The teacher brings multiple perspectives to the discussion of content, including attention to learners’ personal, family, and community experiences and cultural norms.
Diverse Field Experience #1
~Context~
This artifact is a reflection on my first diverse field placement which was Students Ministering to Families. During my study abroad semester in Austria, I had the opportunity to babysit for a professor's family throughout the semester. From my experience, I learned how each child has their way of learning. Additionally, language barriers can be difficult as I experienced working with children who are not the strongest in English. However, I learned how to preserve and help the kids to read English books. This accomplishment helped me to understand how to work with diverse cultures and communities to meet the needs of students.
~Implications~
This experience provided me with valuable assets to combat language barriers and differences in cultures. This artifact relates to the standards because I got to learn the individual differences of each child. Additionally, I dealt with a diverse culture and got to design learning that met them where their skills were at. The reading and writing I did with the children were specifically designed to be at a level they could comprehend. Over the months of babysitting, I could concretely see improvement in their English. I also appreciated learning a different perspective from a culture I was not familiar with. In the future, I hope to take this experience with me in my classroom to understand different cultures and language barriers.
Artifact #1:
Diverse Field Experience #2
~Context~
In May of 2023, I had the opportunity to participate as a GAP Research Fellow to teach at Mar Qardakh, an International IB Curriculum Catholic school in Erbil, Iraq. The purpose of this experience was to expand my horizons in the teaching field and also to be open to future employment at Mar Qardakh upon my graduation next semester. In the months leading up to the trip, I had to complete weekly sessions of work pertaining to familiarizing myself with Iraqi culture. Dr. Boury, myself, and the other participants met via Zoom to go over research materials and complete our weekly logs. During my time at Mar Qardakh, I was pushed out of my comfort zone to teach in classes, give religious talks, and lead small groups. In my experiences, I utilized direct instruction approaches, interacted with learners, and communicated with others with language barriers. The video vlogs below recount day-by-day the experiences I had while in Iraq. These videos were also submitted as research material for the GAP Fellow Experimental Trial that was showcased at the Abilene Convention in June of 2023. Within the videos I share my honest perspective on cultural differences, challenges I experienced, and successes from my trip.
~Implications~
While I had several months of preparation for this experience through the research study, nothing could perfect me for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I expected Mar Qardakh, to be similar to a traditional school, except for the added element of it being in Iraq. However, once I was in the school, my expectations were not only wrong but completely exceeded. The culture of Iraq views learning as a privilege which was evident in the students I encountered in the classroom. Students age 5 through 18 all exemplified such respect for the education system and their teachers. Traditionally, in the classroom behavior is constantly an issue. However, I rarely encountered behavior issues as the students were well-mannered. Throughout my time at Mar Qardakh, I was constantly being surprised as my expectations were outdone.
Mar Qardakh follows International Baccalaureate Programming (IB) which focuses on creating worldly thinkers that are innovative and community focused. The students embodied these traits through their assignments and projects which they proudly showcased to me. Many of the students wanted my opinion on their projects from an “American perspective” and collaborating and sharing my experiences with them was such a unique gift. I left those conversations more informed on the issues and hot topics of Iraq, while they got to learn from me the cultural aspects of America.
During the duration of my time in the school, I fulfilled a role similar to a Student-Teacher, occasionally I was able to lead instruction and lessons. For example, I taught a brief lesson on the solar system and the order and rotation of planets. While the content is still the same as it is in America, I had to learn how to convert measurements to meters since I was not familiar with that metric system.
The biggest takeaway from my experience at Mar Qardakh is something Ms. Hala, their Principal shared with me in a meeting; “We don’t call the most qualified, we qualify the call.” During my time at Mar Qardakh I spoke to many of the teachers and asked them about their past experiences teaching and how they knew they wanted to teach there. Many of them shared that they did not have an Educators license, nor much previous teaching experience. However, when they accepted the position of Mar Qardakh they were pushed and stretched to use their gifts and talents to form themselves into excellent teachers. They also expressed that even if you have a small amount of experience in anything, Mar Qardakh will see that as an opportunity to give you a lot of responsibility and freedom in those areas. This was surprising to me as the educational system in America is so different. For many jobs, you have to have a specific degree, pass examinations, and have lots of experience in very precise fields to land a job.
Mar Qardakh may seem daunting to those who prefer to have a precise agenda. Thankfully, I consider myself someone who is open and adept to flexibility. I'm very thankful for my experience in Erbil, Iraq and all the lessons I learned from it.