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Supporting
Literacy in Cross-Cultural Classrooms Angela
Ward & Linda Wason-Ellam
Researchers
talk about their work at the Learning from Practice Exchange: Angela Ward (above),
and Lynn Fraser, Kim Newlove, Marion Kimberly and Linda Wason-Ellam (below, from
left to right).
In
this study, two faculty members from the University of Saskatchewan worked with
several teachers in Saskatoon inner city schools to study effective practices
for teaching literacy. The
study had two objectives: - To
describe effective practices used by both First Nations and non-Aboriginal teachers
as they teach reading and writing in a cross-cultural environment.
- To
develop a teacher network to share experiences in adapting literacy instruction
to meet the needs of cross-cultural learners.
The
study took place in four inner-city elementary schools in the Saskatoon Public
School Division. There was one teacher-researcher in each school plus three Board
of Education consultants in addition to the two university researchers. Each
week the university researchers visited two classrooms, using field notes and
a reflective journal to record these visits. The observations were shared with
teachers individually and at monthly network meetings. There were eight 2-hour
meetings of the 6-9 participants, about one each month, consisting of a sharing
circle, with talking stone, in which the teachers described their teaching experience,
and all reflected on it. A research assistant audiotaped the meetings, noted major
points, and took field notes at the meetings. Summaries were provided to all participants. The
researchers describe what they learned: Throughout
this project we have seen that the role of four teachers became more transformative.
The most important teaching tool may not have been any one teaching strategy or
instructional resource. Rather it may well be the sort of stance toward children
they adopted. To put it in Lynn's words, "I care about these children and
accept them for who they are." The most helpful stance for working cross-culturally
would seem to include an appreciation of children, not simply as speakers, readers
and writers, but more importantly, as interesting people with experiences, opinions
and ideas to share with us and each other. The teachers took the experiences and
voices of students themselves as a starting point. By confirming and legitimating
the knowledge and experiences through which Aboriginal and Metis children in community
schools give meaning to their everyday lives, the literacy tools that schools
value may be embedded within relationships that the child values. Texts, like
talk, may thus further the child's sense of belonging, that feeling of community
that makes their school lives together both personally satisfying and socially
meaningful. We have hope for these children that literacy will be a meaningful
part of their lives. The
researchers highlight the following innovative aspects of the project:
Ethnographic study of cross-cultural
classrooms has rarely been conducted in Canadian inner-city schools. This project
involved both First Nations and non-Aboriginal researchers, mirroring the cultural
mix of the schools in the project. The
use of conversation as a methodology to reflect on instructional practice is particularly
appropriate for research on teachers' daily classroom experience. This research
method tried to capture the reality of teachers' lives and explore the literacy
instruction issues which they themselves raised. In
establishing a network of teachers, consultants and university personnel, the
project provided a model for collaborative research which could be adapted for
areas other than literacy instruction. It is the hope of the researchers that
the project will lead to an ongoing dialogue between the school system and the
College of Education. One
of the teaching methods described in the study is the use of classroom circles:
The circle had a significant
place in Pam's classroom structure. Her Grade 1 students (of whom only two or
three did not have some Aboriginal ancestry) met for most whole group work in
the carpeted corner of her room. For teacher-directed activities, the twenty or
so children sat in a clump, facing Pam, who sat on a chair beside a chart stand.
A move to the circle format signalled a shift from teacher direction to peer sharing
of personal experiences. Sometimes Pam spoke directly about the power of the circle
in Aboriginal culture and reminded children of the rules implied by its use. The
right to the floor was indicated by passing a rock around the circle; whoever
held the rock had speaking rights. There was no obligation to speak; earlier in
the year only five or six students took turns, but by May only one or two would
"pass". The power of this structure to include First Nations children
contrasts with a previous study (by one of the researchers) where Aboriginal kindergarten
children participated less and less frequently in conventional "show and
tell" sessions over the period of a school year. All children participated
in the talking circle in Pam's class by the end of the year. Their willingness
to participate was supported by Pam's conscious demonstration of respect for everyone's
contributions, and her ability to remember and use the children's shared experiences
in other contexts. The
study used the case of a student Mike (see above) to describe the students
and the students' learning: In
the personae of "Linda" or "Angela" we have been participant
researchers in these inner-city community schools for the past few years, coming
to know something about students such as Mike and observing in classroom cultures
where children of Aboriginal or Metis ancestry comprise a large percentage of
the membership. In many instances, we found that teachers are required to become
change agents, attempting to bring reconciliation between diverse cultures - the
dominant Euro-Canadian with First Nations cultures. Since the child's home and
culture form the social-cultural background for school learning, we observe teachers
grappling with how to create a context for learning that is attentive to the social
and cultural background of students. This is often complex... Children are in
great need, which requires teachers to institute social action at the classroom
level. ...
In the schools where we were participant observers, teachers were at the "battle-line"
providing emotional, social and intellectual stability as families wrestled with
poverty and marginalization within a mainstream culture. Our
participation within these inner-city community schools has illuminated how school
life affects the literacy learning of children. In this report, we address the
transformative role of the classroom teacher in a cross-cultural classroom. Teachers
are positioned in the role of social and moral agents as Aboriginal and Metis
children integrate and accommodate themselves to the existing school culture.
Teachers within this project viewed themselves as facilitators for change in children's
lives without consideration of the underlying political and economic issues. The
researchers also comment on the role of the project in developing their capacity
for reflective practice: Participation
in the project, visits by the university researchers and monthly McDowell meetings
served to help the teachers become more reflective as decision-makers, using past
teaching experiences to shape future actions in a cycle of planning, implementing,
assessing and modifying learning. In particular, the tacit literary learning practices
became more explicit. Recommendations At
the end of the study, the researchers provide several recommendations:
Teachers participating in
this project believe that the opportunity to work together as co-researchers helped
them to refine and strengthen their teaching practices. In the words of one of
our group, doing research was "no big deal", because it followed the
natural rhythms of everyday practice. All four teachers believe that every lesson
is a form of inquiry; a cycle of planning, teaching and reflecting on what they
do. Our specific recommendations to other researchers are:
- Allot time in large-scale
research projects for sharing and conversing about teaching practices.
- In
collaborative projects such as this one, having teachers visit each others' classrooms
would have built a stronger context for sharing teaching practices and ideas.
- It
is important to continue to develop research methodologies which are congruent
with teachers' professional needs. In this study, our monthly conversations were
a forum where each participant could share, articulate concerns and query each
other about classroom practices.
- Collaborative
research works well when the team includes a variety of participants. Educational
change is more likely to occur if research teams include teachers, academics,
administrators, community members and consultants. One of the strengths of this
research was the partnership and trust building between the school system and
the College of Education.
- Research
on teacher practice should continue to be encouraged by the Foundation. The validation
of teachers as researchers supports an important shift in educational perspective.
- Teachers
and researchers should be encouraged to think of teacher networks as professional
development.
Mike Within
these cross-cultural learning contexts, teachers are encouraging children to take
some of the responsibility for their learning based on their own background experiences.
However, this becomes a challenge, as in the case of Mike, a classmate in an inner-city
community school. When
Quiet Reading begins, Mike, an eight year old boy of Aboriginal ancestry, turns
around towards me and bursts into an irresistible smile. Then, he turns and opens
his library book. Quickly he immerses himself in the text and peruses the colourfully
illustrated photographs about Jungle Animals. Now that Social Services has placed
him back at home with his Mom, things are not always predictable. But today looks
like it will be a good day. Attired in a Daffy Duck baseball cap, fashionably
twisted around backwards, a T-Shirt embroidered with a logo, and baggy Jeans,
items acquired at the school's clothing depot, Mike has organized himself for
success. It has been an uneventful morning. Arriving shortly before 6:45 AM on
the doorsteps of his inner-city school, he was allowed entrance into the warm
school by Mr. Bob, the school janitor. Together, they busily worked together as
a team readying the building for another school day -- sweeping the hallway, emptying
waste baskets, filling towel holders with new supplies. Mr. Bob shares a muffin
with Mike who eats it ravenously - just enough to fill his stomach until the breakfast
room opens at 8:00 and he can fix himself a wholesome warm meal - cereal with
fruit, toast and hot cocoa. (Field notes: 3/95) The
Grade Three routine in his inner-city community classroom is challenging yet supportive.
Mike will participate in a host of literacy learning activities that will nudge
him to increasing competency in literacy learning - Morning Message, Writer's
Workshop and Novel Study, another chapter of the continuous adventures of Roald
Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox. Fortified with a hot lunch provided by the school,
he can anticipate an afternoon of classes and then a choice of community sponsored
after school activities - crafts, sports or Cooking for Kids before heading home,
which is often an unpredictable environment. Mike
is but one of the children in this Grade Three classroom who live their lives
in the shadow of family turbulence. Several times during the school year, conflicts
have necessitated a return to his reserve and the protective and interim care
of his Kookum, or grandmother. When he returns to the school, he is often unsure
of the expectations of being a part of a learning community. But this is not unusual
in this community school where many of his classmates live in troubled home environments
- environments sometimes characterized by temporary guardianship, foster care,
parents serving prison sentences, and the cycle of poverty, transient life, and
violence that often characterize inner-city neighbourhoods. Nestled in neighbourhoods
of bingo halls, saloons, pawn shops and other commercial enterprises, school is
not just a learning community, it is a safe haven and a supportive environment. Participation
by Gender The
dynamics of power in classroom social relationships were complex... There appeared
to be a hierarchical social order. Often many of the Aboriginal boys interrupted
others to "get the floor" or "yell out an answer" while most
of the Aboriginal girls were reluctant to speak and opted for silence but not
inattentiveness... Even though they avoided face-to-face-interaction, the girls
were active listeners in key classroom activities. Girls preferred to talk to
others one-on-one rather than risk talking in official classroom interaction...
There was a vying for speaking rights between Aboriginal and mainstream boys...
But girls remained as spectators rather than talkers. On several occasions in
both Grade Three and Four classrooms, Linda had the opportunity to work with girls
alone on special art and writing projects. Within this context away from the classroom
arena, the balance of power shifted and girls were extremely vocal as they chatted
and teased one another without any one girl dominating the dialogue or anyone
being in a put-down position. This phenomenon of unequal gender participation
will lead to further inquiry.
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