Module 1: Activities
Building Our Community

This class runs on a Monday to Monday schedule. Modules will start on Monday, and conclude on the following Monday. This means you can use the weekends to either catch up or work ahead.

Our first module contains 5 required activities, 1 optional activity and many resources to explore should you have the time. Several activities require a response posted to the E-Mail List.

You will notice that many of our activities are marked as Optional. I respect the demanding, committed lives teachers lead. I understand that flexibility and multiple options are part of what make an online course feasible for busy professionals. I also know that teachers, when given options, will tailor a class to the pragmatic needs of their classrooms. This is just what we are after! Options are there for the taking; use them to construct a learning experience to meet your needs.

Dialogue among class members is a vital part of this course and adds a great deal of interest and value to the learning experience. Much of your learning will take place as you exchange ideas with your colleagues.

Therefore, try to pace yourself--do not leave all of the activities until the last minute. If you post earlier in the week you will get more responses and help build the "collaborative brain" of the class. We need everyone's contributions to the discussion. You are encouraged to "speak up"--it is a great way to learn!

Activity 1: Introduction and Objectives

Review the Introduction, objectives and Evaluation rubric for our class. This is the time to orient yourself and begin to learn the "ways" of your online classroom.

Read the mini-lecture: Understanding the class E-mail List. This will help you understand how we talk with each other. Bottomline: address your email to multicultural@wiredinstructor.net to speak to the class. (Do not use the reply button just yet!)

Consider creating a course notebook for this course. Use the SiteMap hotlink at the top of the page to explore and print the module. It is amazing how useful printing and organizing a three ring binder can be. Think of it as creating a low tech, portable version of this class for easy reference. (Optional)

Do you need tutorials on basic online skills? For self paced instruction on Communicatons, Email Folders, Bookmarks or Favorites click: UNI Professional Development tutorials. (Opens a new window.)

Activity 2: Respect Icebreaker: Getting to Know You

This is like introducing yourself on the first day of school. Please tell us:

• Your name and location on the planet.
• Your current work assignment.
• What does respect mean to you?
  • What does it mean to show respect for someone?
  • What does it mean to be shown respect by someone else?

In your first letter to the group, relate an experience you had where you showed respect to another. (Co-worker, student, spouse, friend, you decide.) Also, describe an important moment in your life when respect was shown to you. This will help us get to know each other. Please post your response to the course email list as soon as possible.

Email Subject Line:
Mod 1: Icebreaker (your name)

Activity 3: Community Building Experience

Establish Ground Rules.

What do you need to feel safe and appreciated in this environment?

Suggest any ground rules you think we should adopt for our online discussions. Post your ground rules to the class email list. We will discuss and agree upon these rules during the week.

Email Subject Line:
Mod 1: Act 3 : Ground Rules (your name)

Activity 4: Readings & Reaction

1. Complete the required readings. Read Chapter Two of Culture Matters. Read Defining of Multicultural Education by Paul Gorski and Bob Covert
   
   
2. Review other materials listed on the readings page. (Optional)
   
   
3. Write a brief "reaction summary" to the readings and post to the E-Mail List. (Optional)

   Email Subject Line:
   Mod 1: Act 4 : Reading Reaction (your name)

Activity 5:Taking a Cultural Risk: Experiences with Ethnic Food (Optional / Extended Timeline)

Exotic places, sites, and sounds tempt many of us to travel. Exotic food on the other hand, scares (and sometimes scars) many a traveler. This is particularly true for our students. When young people are presented with new foods (from Brussel Sprouts to tofu) we often meet resistance. The famous banquet scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom comes to mind. Trying a new food (especially a food from a different culture) is a considerable cultural risk, even for adults.

Your optional assignment is to seek out an experience with exotic (to you) ethnic food. I am not talking about a familiar and favorite ethnic food, instead consume something that pushes your cultural culinary envelope. Try to do this once (or several times) during our class. Think of it this way, the assignment requires that you go out to dinner! Indeed, the experience of an exotic restaurant is part of the cultural risk you are seeking! 8)

You might also consider how this activity can be adapted to your classroom. One of my best memories is of a Fifth Grade Arab feast that culminated a unit on Ancient Egypt. Watching a 10 year old come face to face with sticky candied date or flat bread can be illuminating. Exposure to ethnic music often provides a similar (if less messy) classroom experience.

When you have taken this cultural risk, report back on the experience with a descriptive post to the e-mail list. Bon Appetit!

Activity 6: Reflective Journal Questions

Each week Reflective Journal Questions will be listed for your consideration. Reflect on a few of these ideas or ask questions and offer answers of your own.

***Reflective Journals are due by the end of the Module (Monday of each week).

Record your responses in your Reflective Journal. A reflective journal entry could be just a paragraph or much longer. The idea is to think (and write) about your thinking. Choose one (or more) of the following prompts to get you thinking.

• What are your questions, thoughts, and insights for the week?
• In his article Defining of Multicultural Education, Gorski's proposes that Multicultural Education is about transformation; specifically the transformation of self, schooling, and society? Do you agree or disagree?
• Do you prefer to set your own learning goals?
• In order to learn you must feel safe. (Agree or disagree?)
• Do you feel safe taking an online class?
• What does tolerance mean to you?
• Is empathy an explicit part of your teaching? Do you teach how to be empathetic? How do you model empathy?
• Is it possible to transform education by teaching with a multicultural perspective?
• Do you feel you were an active participant in this week's discussions? Why or why not?