The Center for Professional Studies at Fitchburg State University is excited to be offering a new hybrid course:
An Introduction to Cultural Competency for Educators
Tuesdays from 5pm-7pm
November 10th to December 8th
(with an additional 5 hours online)
*This course can be taken for either 1 graduate credit or 15 DESE approved PDPs*
Classrooms all throughout our country are growing more diverse every day. With this in mind, it has become imperative that teachers develop an understanding and appreciation for the various issues that impact multicultural classrooms within our country’s public schools. Cultural competent teachers are continually developing their competency. This course, which is aligned with the Teacher Evaluation Standards, provides a solid starting point for educators.
Here are 5 ways this course could benefit you and your classroom:
- Gaining Cultural Self-Awareness through the process of understanding your own cultural self-identity, while also identifying the impact of diversity issues in your own life and in families, schools, communities and workplaces.
- Developing a Deeper Value for Diversity through understanding, accepting and respecting cultural differences and their potential influence on learning.
- Increasing your Appreciation for Students’ Various Cultures by identifying and analyzing the relationships between culture, teaching and learning, and then understanding how to work with students from different racial and cultural backgrounds.
- Understanding the “Dynamics of Difference” by learning to recognize bias, racism, and microaggressions, as well as how privilege and race impacts the classroom environment.
- Building a Strong Community of Culturally Competent Educators within all school districts by being part of the increasing number of educators that are invested in creating equitable, diverse classrooms by understanding the implications of diversity on issues such as curriculum design, classroom management, parent/teacher interactions, and student/teacher interactions.
