New York University
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Learning
Fostering Relationships with Families of Diverse Backgrounds and Cultures
CHED-UE-1007.001
GCASL Room 288
Monday 3:30-4:20
Professor: Helen Friedlander
Office: 239 Greene Street Room 534
Phone: 212-998-5471
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 3:00-4:30
Welcome to the class!
Course Description:
This seminar focuses on an increased understanding and respect for the beliefs and values of
families of diverse cultures. Using cultural differences as a venue for learning, the seminar seeks
to enhance an appreciation of the unique characteristics of families represented in New York
City classrooms, including families of children with disabilities, while engaging in discussions of
accepted strategies for developing positive and collaborative relationships. The weekly class
sessions also serve as opportunities to highlight student teaching experiences that relate to the
objectives of the seminar. Assignments include readings with corresponding written reviews on
developing “cross-cultural competence” and a final individual presentation.
Course Overview:
The seminar serves the students’ interest in developing an appreciation of the multiple
perspectives and issues that impact parent-teacher relationships. It also offers a forum for
discussion of the challenges that new teachers face as they seek to develop an advocacy role with
families of diverse cultures and backgrounds. “None of us can be found in sets of tasks or lists of
attributes; we can be known only by the unfolding of our unique stories within the context of
everyday events.” (Paley, 1990) and in this context, students will reflect on their beliefs, values
and behaviors as integral to developing successful relationships with families.
Learner Objectives:
1. Students will be able to respond to families with optimal cultural sensitivity.
2. Students will compare their own beliefs and values with those of other cultures with the
goal of developing a framework for positive interaction with parents.
3. Students will become familiar with a variety of communication strategies necessary for
forming parent/teacher partnerships.
4. Students will develop understandings and strategies for work positively and respectfully
with parents of a child with a disability.
Required Readings:
Cheathum, G.A., Hart, J.E., Malian, I., McDonald, J. (2012). Educators as advocates for families,
Six things never to say or hear during an iep meeting, Teaching Exceptional Children44,
50-57.
Chu, S.Y., (2010). Understanding literacy practices in culturally and linguistically diverse
children’s homes, New Horizons for Learning.
Doyle, B.T., Iland, E.D. (2003). How educators and support professionals can help families.
Adapted from Autism Spectrum Disorders from A to Z, New Horizons for Learning
Guild, P.B. (2001). Diversity, learning style, and culture, New Horizons for Learning.
Lavoie, R. (2008). The teacher’s role in home/school communication. Everybody wins.
ldonline.org.
Leroy, C., Symes, B. (2001). Teacher perspectives on the family backgrounds of children at risk.
McGill Journal of Education, 36, 45-60.
Lo, L. (2012). Demystifying the iep process for diverse parents of children with disabilities,
Teaching Exceptional Children, 44, 14-20.
Lynch, E.W., Hanson, M.J. (2004). Developing Cross Cultural Competence, a Guide for
Working with Children and their Families, pp.41-79, Paul H. Brookes.
Pohan, C.A. (2001). Measuring educators’ beliefs about diversity in personal and professional
context, American Educational Research Journal, 38, 159-183.
Course Requirements:
-
-
All students are required to thoroughly read all required readings and to communicate
their thoughts during seminar discussions. Students are also responsible for attending
parent/teacher meetings, including IEP meetings and for sharing their perceptions of
parent and teacher behavior, both in class and in writing.
All students will present a power point demonstration of a planned parent/teacher
meeting based on a comprehensive case study.
Attendance Policy:
Consistent attendance is necessary as student participation contributes to the breadth and depth
of our discussion of the readings. Students are, therefore, expected to attend each class and
emphasis is placed on punctuality. Should a student be absent for a class, the student is
responsible for accessing the content of class discussion. More than a single absence will
negatively impact the student’s final grade.
Grading Policy:
Attendance, Punctuality, Informed Participation
30%
Written Responses
30%
Final Presentation
40%
All written assignments must be submitted on time and late submission will negatively impact
the final grade.
Grading Rubric:
A/Exemplary: The student has attended all classes, received a grade of A on written responses,
and made substantial contributions during seminar.
B/Satisfactory: The student has attended all classes, received B ratings on written assignments
and final project.
C/Fair: The student’s attendance has been inconsistent, has received grades less than B on
written assignments and final project.
Students with Disabilities:
Students with physical or learning disabilities are required to register with the Moses Center for
Students with Disabilities, 726 Broadway, 2nd Floor, (212-998-4980) and are required to present
a letter from the Center to the instructor at the start of the semester in order to be considered for
appropriate accommodation.
Academic Integrity:
The following has been retrieved from NYU Steinhardt’s Policies and Procedures (available
from http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/policies/academic_integrity):
The relationship between students and faculty is the keystone of the educational experience in
The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University.
This relationship takes an honor code for granted. Mutual trust, respect and responsibility are
foundational requirements. Thus, how you learn is as important as what you learn. A university
education aims not only to produce high quality scholars, but to also cultivate honorable citizens.
Academic integrity is the guiding principle for all that you do; from taking exams, making oral
presentations to writing term papers. It requires that you recognize and acknowledge information
derived from others, and take credit only for ideas and work that are yours.
You violate the principle of academic integrity when you:
•
•
•
•
Cheat on an exam;
Submit the same work for two different courses without prior permission from your
professors;
Receive help on a take-home examination that calls for independent work;
Plagiarize.
Plagiarism, one of the gravest forms of academic dishonesty in university life, whether intended
or not, is academic fraud. In a community of scholars, whose members are teaching, learning and
discovering knowledge, plagiarism cannot be tolerated.
Plagiarism is failure to properly assign authorship to a paper, a document, an oral presentation, a
musical score and/or other materials, which are not your original work. You plagiarize when,
without proper attribution, you do any of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Copy verbatim from a book, an article or other media;
Download documents from the Internet;
Purchase documents;
Report from other's oral work;
Paraphrase or restate someone else's facts, analysis and/or conclusions;
Copy directly from a classmate or allow a classmate to copy from you.
Your professors are responsible for helping you to understand other people's ideas, to use
resources and conscientiously acknowledge them, and to develop and clarify your own thinking.
You should know what constitutes good and honest scholarship, style guide preferences, and
formats for assignments for each of your courses. Consult your professors for help with problems
related to fulfilling course assignments, including questions related to attribution of sources.
Through reading, writing, and discussion, you will undoubtedly acquire ideas from others, and
exchange ideas and opinions with others, including your classmates and professors. You will be
expected, and often required, to build your own work on that of other people. In so doing, you
are expected to credit those sources that have contributed to the development of your ideas.
Avoiding Academic Dishonesty
•
•
•
•
•
Organize your time appropriately to avoid undue pressure, and acquire good study habits,
including note taking.
Learn proper forms of citation. Always check with your professors of record for their
preferred style guides. Directly copied material must always be in quotes; paraphrased
material must be acknowledged; even ideas and organization derived from your own
previous work or another's work need to be acknowledged.
Always proofread your finished work to be sure that quotation marks, footnotes and other
references were not inadvertently omitted. Know the source of each citation.
Do not submit the same work for more than one class without first obtaining the
permission of both professors even if you believe that work you have already completed
satisfies the requirements of another assignment.
Save your notes and drafts of your papers as evidence of your original work.
Disciplinary Sanctions
When a professor suspects cheating, plagiarism, and/or other forms of academic dishonesty,
appropriate disciplinary action may be taken following the department procedure or through
referral to the Committee on Student Discipline.
Departmental Procedure
•
•
The Professor will meet with the student to discuss, and present evidence for the
particular violation, giving the student opportunity to refute or deny the charge(s).
If the Professor confirms the violation(s), he/she, in consultation with the Program
Director and Department Chair may take any of the following actions:
o Allow the student to redo the assignment
o Lower the grade for the work in question
o Assign a grade of F for the work in question
o Assign a grade of F for the course
o Recommend dismissal
Once an action(s) is taken, the Professor will inform the Program Director and Department
Chair, and inform the student in writing, instructing the student to schedule an appointment with
the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, as a final step. Copies of the letter will be sent to the
Department Chair for his/her confidential student file and the Associate Dean for Student
Affairs. The student has the right to appeal the action taken in accordance with the School's
Student Complaint Procedure as outlined in The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and
Human Development Student's Guide. Referral to the Steinhardt Committee on Student
Discipline
In cases when dismissal is recommended, and in cases of repeated violations and/or unusual
circumstances, faculty may choose to refer the issue to the Committee on Student Discipline for
resolution, which they may do through the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.The
Steinhardt School Statement on Academic Integrity is consistent with the New York University
Policy on Student Conduct, published in the NYU Student Guide.
CHED-UE-1007
Fall 2014
Course Calendar
Date
Topic
Assignment
09/08
Course Overview
National Parent/Teacher
Association Values
Read: Lynch, Chapter 3
Developing Cross Cultural
Competence pp.41-60.
09/15
Awareness & Understanding
of Other’s Cultural Perspectives
Read: Lynch, Chapter 3
pp.61-75.
Written Response due next week
09/22
Developing Cross Cultural
Communication
Read: “Measuring Educator’s Beliefs
about Diversity… “,
Understanding Literacy
Practices in Culturally…”
09/29
Awareness and Insights
And How They Affect
Family Interactions
Read: “Teacher Perspectives on
Family Backgrounds
Written Response
10/13
Holiday/No Class
Read: “Diversity, Learning Style and
Culture” Written Response due 10/20
10/20
Discuss connection between
School philosophies/mission
and observed professional
interactions.
Read: “The Teacher’s Role in Home/
School Communication”
10/27
Discuss Respectful Dialogue
with Families Using Actual
Examples
Read: “How Educators and Support
Professionals Can Help Families”
11/03
Videotape: “Going in Circles,
View from the Floor”
Written Response to Issues Addressed
in Video due 11/10.
Course Calendar (cont’d)
11/10
Culture and Disability, Values
And Beliefs of Families of
Diverse Cultures
Written Response to Observation
at Parent/Teacher Conference
11/17
Discussion of Parent/
Teacher Conferences
Begin Working on Final Project
Read: “Six Things Never to Say or Hear
at an IEP meeting” and the case of
Danny.
11/24
Preparing for the IEP
Meeting, Discuss “Danny”
Prepare for Final Presentation
12/01
Class Presentations
12/08
Class Presentations