Cultural Diversity in Curriculum Content: Creating Cultural-Congruency

							    Cultural Diversity in
    Curriculum Content:
Creating Cultural-Congruency
     National-Louis University
            Mr. Lopez
             SEC525
Cultural Diversity in
Curriculum Content
• The importance of “student relevance
  and participation” in curriculum decision
  making
  – Going back to hearing the “other”
  – Not silencing student voices
• What do our textbook looks like?
  – How are teachers “thinking” about student
    textbooks?
     • Aesthetics of the books?
     • Authorship of the books?
        – “Most textbooks in schools are controlled by the
          dominant group (European American) and confirm
          its status, culture, and contributions.” (pg. 113)
Cultural-Congruity in
Teaching-Learning
• “Not everyone within an ethnic group learns
  like that…” Yes, but the big idea is cultural-
  congruity in teaching-learning.
• How can I achieve cultural-congruency In
  my classroom?
   – “Students existing knowledge is the best starting
     point for the introduction of new knowledge.”
   – New knowledge is learned more easily and
     retrained longer when it is connected to prior
     knowledge, frames, or references, or cognitive
     schemata.”
   – Reduce the “strangeness” of new knowledge.