CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN NEW YORK CITY CLASSROOMS

Selecting Efficient Instructional Techniques for Culturally

Diverse Classrooms

Svetlana Khvatikova and Marva Rudder Research 2 Spring 2012

Table of Contents

Statement of the Problem (Slide 3) Supporting Theorists (Slide 4 and 5) Pros (Slide 6) Cons (Slide 7) Instructional Strategies: Storybooks (Slide 8 and 9) Statement of the Hypothesis (Slide 10) Method (Slide 11) Research Design (Slide 12 ) Threats to Internal Validity (Slide 13) Threats to External Validity ( Slide 14) Proposed Data Analysis Survey/Pre Test Correlation(Slide 15) Pre-Test and Proposed Test Scores (Slide 16-17) Student Correlation (Slide 18-19) Sample of Student Surveys (Slide 20) Appendices (Slide 21,22, and 23) References (Slide 24-28)

Statement of the Problem

New York City is one of the most diverse cities.  All five boroughs are filled with children from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

The need for teachers to relate to student’s cultural backgrounds is important (Meachum, 2001).

Several studies have shown, that student’s culture plays a crucial role in the way they learn and view the world (Lanson-Billings, 1995).

Supporting Theorists

Lev Vygotsky : Affirms that learning does not take place in cognitive isolation,

but within the context of activities and social interaction likely informed by the day-to- day contingencies of culture.

Suggests school learning is largely informed by the interaction between the conceptual domains of the home and the school.

States that regardless of cultural background, the most effective school learning occurs when learning assumptions in the home or “spontaneous” conceptual domain, are meaningfully connected to the assumptions encountered in the school, the “schooled” conceptual domain.(Meacham 2001)

Supporting Theorists (continued)

James A.Banks: James A. Banks points out that cultural diversity, “enriches a nation

by providing all citizens with rich opportunities to experience other cultures and thus to become more fulfilled as human beings. When individuals are able to participate in a variety cultures, they are more able to benefit from the total human experience” (Banks, 2008).

The goal of multicultural education is: To help individuals gain greater self-understanding by viewing

themselves from the perspectives of other cultures. To assume that with acquaintance and understanding respect may

fellow. To provide students with cultural, ethnic, and language alternatives.

(Banks, 2008)

Pros

Culturally relevant pedagogy has been defined:

as a means to use students’ cultures and strengths to bridge school achievement ( 2008; Singer 2010; Blake 1997; Jones 1985;Vijaker 2001;Wurzel, Holt 1991; McClean 1996).

to recognize students’ home cultures, promote collaboration among peers, hold high standards, and connect home life with school experiences (Young 2010;Chisholm 1994; Montgomery 2010)

Siwatu (2007) stipulated that there is general agreement among culturally responsive pedagogues insofar as how the theory is used.(Ladson-Billings 1995; Silva , Langhout 2011;Morrison, Robbins 2008)

Cons

How multicultural classroom instruction is undermining our children's ability to read, write, and reason, multiculturalism is quite the norm in America's elementary schools.

(Hymowitz, 1999; Morgan 2010; Zhang 2001; Schultz 2010). James A. Banks, argues that multicultural education is damaging

and unimportant to the students’ growth and development (Banks, 2008). 

Sleeter, argues that we should focus our attention on other “pressing concerns, such as increasing students’ test scores (Sleeter, 2000). 

Hymowitz mentioned that Sandra Stotsky, a well-known multiculturalists and author of a book entitled, Losing Our Language, that instead of focusing on cultural diversity, which is “dull and preachy” we should help students with “vocabulary building” (Hymowitz, 1999).

Instructional Strategies: Storybooks  According to Greif, Kim, and Klein (2006), the

increasing diversity in the U.S. school system has led to a growing body of scholarly literature on ways that counselors can effectively meet the culture-related challenges posed by this change.

Baghban (2007) indicated that many immigrant children face dilemmas when they move to a new country. She added that “classroom materials relevant to the social and cultural experiences generate interest in and enthusiasm about learning.” (Baghban, 2007).

Examples of Storybooks

Used as instructional strategies for the implementation of cultural relevant pedagogy into the curriculum.

Statement of the Hypothesis

HR¹:To implement multicultural literacy instruction to twenty fifth grade students, for 45 minutes per day in the morning over a 4 week period. This will increase student’s knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity as measured by a comprehensive social studies test.

Method

Participants Students will be chosen from two different ethnic groups consisting of African-

Americans and Russians from two different New York City public schools in Brooklyn, N.Y. One of the schools is located in a low- income neighborhood in Bedford Stuyvesant, with a population of 78.8% African-Americans. The other school is located in a middle class neighborhood near Brighton Beach, with a European population of 72.7% of students in attendance.

Instruments Student’s assessments will be measured according to their responses to

assignments without their cultural information included, and conducting similar assignments by incorporating student’s cultural aspects into them. This will consist of conducting a pretest, post-test, and surveys to measure and monitor student’s progress and achievements. In addition, consent forms will be utilized to ensure that the students are granted permission to participate in this study from their parents, teachers, principals, and administrators.  

Research Design

Research Design: Quasi-Experimental design Nonequivalent Control Group Design Symbolic Design : O X1 O

O X2 O

O - Pre-test

X1 - Treatment for Group 1

X2 - Treatment for Group 2

O - Post-test

Threats to Internal Validity

History Maturation Mortality Statistical Regression Selection-Maturation Selection

Threats to External Validity

Ecological Generalizable Conditions Specificity of Variables Multiple Treatments Experimenter Effects

Proposed Data Analysis Survey/Pre-test Correlation

40 45 50 55 60 65 700

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Series1

Linear (Series1)

African Americans: Student's survey

Pre

-tes

t sco

res

0.47 rxy 0.59 rxy

46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 640

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Series1

Linear (Series1)

Russians: Student's Survey

Pre

-tes

t sco

res

Pre-test and Proposed Post-test ScoresStudents March April

Student 1 75 78Student 2 45 70Student 3 66 91Student 4 78 95Student 5 67 99Student 6 54 79Student 7 49 70Student 8 72 89Student 9 45 87Student 10 76 96Student 11 55 89Student 12 75 89Student 13 73 92Student 14

78 90Student 15 78 89Student 16 80 89Student 17 80 97Student 18 67 77Student 19 73 89Student 20 54 79

Studen

t 1

Studen

t 3

Studen

t 5

Studen

t 7

Studen

t 9

Studen

t 11

Studen

t 13

Studen

t 15

Studen

t 17

Studen

t 19

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

African- American Students: Pre-test & Proposed Post-test scores

March Pre-testApril Proposed Post-test

March April Differences

Pre-testProposed Post-test

Mean 67 87 20Range 35 29 6

Ratio Data: 19.70%

Pre-test and Proposed Post-test

Students March April

Student 1 70 86

Student 2 55 89

Student 3 67 90

Student 4 47 81

Student 5 52 80

Student 6 65 91

Student 7 66 91

Student 8 52 89

Student 9 57 90

Student 10 60 91

Student 11 59 88

Student 12 61 88

Student 13 70 89

Student 14 73 93

Student 15 69 89

Student 16 73 91Student 17 70 89

Student 18 71 89

Student 19 72 92Student 20 80 98

March April Difference

Pre-test Proposed Post-test

Mean 64 89 25

Range 33 18 15

Stud

ent 1

Stud

ent 3

Stud

ent 5

Stud

ent 7

Stud

ent 9

Stud

ent 1

1

Stud

ent 1

3

Stud

ent 1

5

Stud

ent 1

7

Stud

ent 1

90

20

40

60

80

100

120

Russian Students: Pre-test & Proposed Post-test Scores

March Pre-test

April Proposed Post-test

Ratio Data: 24.75%

African-American Students Correlation

0 2 460

62

64

66

68

70

72

74

76

78

80

Series1

Linear (Series1)

I like to read books from my native country.1-Strongly Disagree/2-Disagree

Pre

-test

score

s

2.8 3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 4.20

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

y

Linear (y)

I like to read books from my native country.4-Strongly Agree/3-Agree

Pre

-tes

t sco

res

Strongly Disagree/Disagree

Student x y

3 1 66

5 1 67

8 2 72

10 2 76

15 2 78

19 2 73

rxy=0.89

30%

Strongly Agree/Agree

Student x y

1 4 75

2 4 45

4 3 78

6 4 54

7 4 49

9 3 45

11 4 55

12 4 75

13 4 73

14 3 78

16 3 80

17 4 80

18 4 67

20 4 54

rxy=0.26

70%

0 2 40

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

y

Linear (y)

I like to read books from my native country.1-Strongly Disagree/2-Disagree

Pre

-tes

t sco

res

2.8 3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 4.20

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

y

Linear (y)

I like to read books from my native country.4-Strongly Agree/3-Agree

Pre

-tes

t sco

res

Russian Students Correlation

StudentStrongly Disagree Disagree

Strongly Disagree/DisagreeStudent x y

1 2 703 1 675 1 52

10 2 6012 2 6115 1 69

30% 0.0799 rxy=0.08

Strongly Agree/AgreeStudent x y

2 4 704 4 476 3 447 4 778 4 549 3 4511 3 5913 4 6914 4 7316 4 7317 4 6918 4 7219 4 7720 4 79

70%0.6716

48

rxy= 0.67

 

Sample: Student Surveys Demographics

Question :Were you born in this country?

(1) (2)

Yes No Attitudes

Question: I love to eat food from my native country.

(1) (2) (3) (4)

Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

Frequencies

How many times have you visited your county?

(1) (2) (3) (4)

0 times 1-4 times 5-9 times 10 or more times

Appendices

Appendix A: Parent/Guardian Consent FormDear Parent/Guardian,I (Svetlana Khvatikova) and my colleague (Marva Rudder) are studying at Brooklyn College where we are earning our Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. We are currently enrolled in a research course for the Fall 2011 semester, which requires us to conduct a study in a real classroom setting. We are asking for your permission to allow your child to participate in a confidential research study dealing with our thesis research paper topic which focuses on incorporating multicultural pedagogy in the classroom. Our research study is to implement multicultural instruction by working with students at least three times a week, for a period of forty-five minutes per day for approximately four weeks. Our lessons will filter through the Literacy and/or Social Studies lesson units of instruction. Our goal is to increase student’s knowledge on cultural diversity in the classroom. We will measure student’s knowledge by conducting a pretest and a post-test to measure the student’s success rates and overall understanding of the material. The pretests assess student’s knowledge and understanding of their cultural background. We will be conducting lessons across the spectrum on the introduction of various topics and their effects on students’ academic success rates with and without the additions of cultural aspects. Finally, after the completion of our lessons we will conduct a posttest to evaluate student’s overall progress. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter please feel free to contact us.Thank you,Svetlana Khvatikova and Marva Rudder 

 Please check, write student’s name, and sign: (_____) I give my child _______________________________permission to participate in this research study.(_____) I do not want my child _________________________________ to participate in this study.Parent Signature: X______________________________________________________

Appendix B: Teacher Consent Form

Dear Teacher, I (Svetlana Khvatikova) and my colleague (Marva Rudder) are studying at Brooklyn College where we are earning our Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. We are currently enrolled in a research course for the Fall 2011 semester, which requires us to conduct a study in a real classroom setting. We are asking for your permission to allow your class to participate in a confidential research study dealing with our thesis research paper topic which focuses on incorporating multicultural pedagogy in the classroom. Our research study is to implement multicultural instruction by working with students at least three times a week, for a period of forty-five minutes per day for approximately four weeks. Our lessons will filter through the Literacy and/or Social Studies lesson units of instruction. Our goal is to increase student’s knowledge on cultural diversity in the classroom. We will measure student’s knowledge by conducting a pretest and a post-test to measure the student’s success rates and overall understanding of the material. The pretests assess student’s knowledge and understanding of their cultural background. We will be conducting lessons across the spectrum on the introduction of various topics and their effects on students’ academic success rates with and without the additions of cultural aspects. Finally, after the completion of our lessons we will conduct a posttest to evaluate student’s overall progress.

 If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter please feel free to contact us.

Thank you,

Svetlana Khvatikova and Marva Rudder

 

Appendix C: Principal/Administrator Consent Form

Dear Principal/Administrator,  I (Svetlana Khvatikova) and my colleague (Marva Rudder) are studying at Brooklyn College where we are earning our Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. We are currently enrolled in a research course for the Fall 2011 semester, which requires us to conduct a study in a real classroom setting. We are asking for your permission to allow your school to participate in a confidential research study dealing with our thesis research paper topic which focuses on incorporating multicultural pedagogy in the classroom. Our research study is to implement multicultural instruction by working with students at least three times a week, for a period of forty-five minutes per day for approximately four weeks. Our lessons will filter through the Literacy and/or Social Studies lesson units of instruction. Our goal is to increase student’s knowledge on cultural diversity in the classroom. We will measure student’s knowledge by conducting a pretest and a post-test to measure the student’s success rates and overall understanding of the material. The pretests assess student’s knowledge and understanding of their cultural background. We will be conducting lessons across the spectrum on the introduction of various topics and their effects on students’ academic success rates with and without the additions of cultural aspects. Finally, after the completion of our lessons we will conduct a posttest to evaluate student’s overall progress.

 If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter please feel free to contact us.

Thank you,

Svetlana Khvatikova and Marva Rudder

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