Abstract
Gert J.J. Biesta argues that in light of the growing body of work raising questions about evidence-based practice in the classroom we must take the idea of value-based education seriously. This approach recognizes the classroom as a recursive system involving the interplay of all classroom actors. This focused discussion considers how this value-based approach has been used successfully to engage students in the classroom by connecting to their values through conversations about poverty, its effects, and the socially constructed ways in which different societal groups view poverty and those who are poor. Based on a decade of working with first-year students through application of research funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, we will discuss how students learn to deconstruct their own cultures in order to gain greater cultural competency. Student concerns about poverty can be mobilized in various ways that enhance both engagement and learning while decentering the power structure in the classroom. At Carroll University students who improve their foundational cultural competency in their first year go on to take more advanced courses that build upon this competency, which is connected to improving proficiencies in areas such as writing and critical thinking. As we will discuss, I have been able to gauge how students who take a value-based approach such as consideration of poverty compare to those who do not in gaining the foundational skills necessary to advance not only their cultural competency, but also fundamental academic proficiencies.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Cultural Competency, Value-Based Education, Poverty, Teaching and Learning
