Campus & Community

‘Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms’ Faculty Development Series Announced

Tuesday, March 23, 2021, By News Staff

The Division of Faculty Affairs within the Office of Academic Affairs invites faculty to participate in a three-part workshop series designed to give faculty ways to intentionally develop culturally responsive instructional materials and practices. Faculty will also learn strategies to increase student participation and to provide meaningful student feedback. In doing so, faculty will expand their abilities to consider how students’ culture, worldview and diverse backgrounds influence their classroom experiences.

Two sessions of the first workshop have already been scheduled:

“Cultural responsiveness in the classroom is a key dimension of equity and inclusivity. In particular, we recognize that many of our international students are working to navigate language and cultural differences, which can result in unique challenges,” says Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Keith A. Alford. “We applaud the development of this workshop to assist faculty in further enhancing the Syracuse University classroom experience for our international students.”

Developed by School of Education Professors Jeff Mangram and Melissa Luke, this professional development opportunity applies research-supported teaching strategies and focuses on how faculty can expand their skills and increase their effectiveness with international students. These same instructional strategies have also been shown to improve educational outcomes for all students. Presenters will model high-leverage instructional strategies with opportunities to discuss and practice with peers.

“I think Melissa and Jeff have designed a very engaging and interactive workshop for the purpose to support international students’ success,” says Yingyi Ma, Provost Faculty Fellow of internationalization and associate professor in sociology. “I especially like the fact that Melissa and Jeff have used their own classroom examples to illustrate the challenges and complexities of teaching and supporting our international students.”

The three workshops are inter-related, but not sequential. They have been intentionally designed so that faculty can attend starting with any of the three sessions and proceed with the remaining workshops. These workshops are part of the University’s commitment to offering professional development opportunities related to diversity, belonging, inclusion and equity throughout the academic year.

Contact Jeff Mangram at jamangra@syr.edu and Melissa Luke at mmluke@syr.edu for more information or to discuss scheduling.