context diversity: reframing higher education for civic learning in a diverse democracy

Association of American Colleges and UniversitiesAnnual Meeting 2005

LIBERAL EDUCATION AND THE NEW ACADEMY:Raising Expectations, Keeping Promises

Context Diversity: Reframing Higher Education for Civic Learning in a Diverse

Democracy

Thursday, January 27, 2005

2:45-4:00 PM

John A. Saltmarsh, Project Director, Campus Compact

Roberto A. Ibarra, Special Assistant to the Provost, University of New Mexico

Dan P. Young, Director, University College Academic Programs,

University of New Mexico

DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITYDIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY

1. STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY

2. MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY

3. CONTEXT DIVERSITY


STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY

Characterized by: compliance-oriented Affirmative Action,

support programs created to recruit/retain underrepresented students/faculty and

to help people overcome barriers for access,

success is measured by increasing the numbers of under represented populations.


STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY

Basic Assumptions: Assimilation

Critical Mass

Remediation


MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY

Characterized by: infusing diversity via cultural customs

into our institutions, valuing underrepresented populations

for potential to recruit and retain others, initiatives that contribute toward

enhancing campus climate and, more awareness of multicultural issues.


MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY

Basic Assumptions: Celebrate differences Multicultural awareness Improve campus climate Achieve critical mass Affirmative Action compliance


CONTEXT DIVERSITY CONTEXT DIVERSITY

Characterized as: An emerging paradigm that emphasizes

reframing rather than reforming academic cultures to meet the needs of all populations and especially underrepresented groups.

Striving to create a learning community with myriad ways to attract diverse populations and have them thrive in an academic or workplace environment.



Characterized by: attempts to change academic culture to address

the needs of the recent demographic shifts in US populations over the last few decades.

Shifting diversity initiatives from current concepts about recruitment and retention to concepts that emphasize attractingattracting and thrivingthriving.



Results are measured not only by how well we attract diverse populations, but also by how well we enhance our campus cultures to improve upon the academic and work performance among all students, faculty and staff.

The focus is on increasing diversity by building building diversity into the context of the higher education diversity into the context of the higher education system, our learning community and beyond.system, our learning community and beyond.



Basic Assumptions: The concern for access and achieving critical

mass are no longer the main problems.

The lack of underrepresented populations is a symptom not the problem.

Underperformance issues and conflict over the cultural context of higher education surface as major problems.



New solutions: find creative ways to generate systemic change

in campus climate and academic cultures, Reframe (expand/shift) pedagogy and

curriculum without giving up good educational practices,

Include a variety of cultural contexts, learning/teaching styles that serve the needs of a growing multicontextual population.

THE EMERGING MULTICONTEXT WORLDTHE EMERGING MULTICONTEXT WORLD

A growing number of individuals now entering higher education bring with them a mix of individualized characteristics described as their cultural context

THE EMERGING MULTICONTEXT WORLDTHE EMERGING MULTICONTEXT WORLDThese learned preferences influence how they interact and associate with others, use living spaces, perceive concepts of time, process information, respond to various teaching and learning styles, perform academically or in the workplace, and include many other cognitive factors that were imprinted on them in childhood by family and community and continue to help shape their world view.

THE EMERGING MULTICONTEXT WORLDTHE EMERGING MULTICONTEXT WORLDCultural groups that exhibit low context tendencies include Northern European populations, such as English, German, Swiss, and Scandinavian people. US populations are varied and exhibit to varying degrees the low or high context imprinting of their heritage. Mainstream American culture is primarily low context. North American men are generally more low context than North American women.

THE EMERGING MULTICONTEXT WORLDTHE EMERGING MULTICONTEXT WORLDCultural groups that exhibit high context tendencies include Asians, Arabs, people from other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-based countries, Africans, Latin Americans, and native North American Indian groups.

High context populations are increasing in the United States and in the world.

Low Context High Context Low Context High Context MulticontextMulticontext

ACADEMIC SYSTEMSLC disciplines – mainly

sciences, engineering, math

Scientific thinking is emphasized

Academic/teaching style is technical

Science relies on Linnean-style taxonomies

ACADEMIC SYSTEMSHC disciplines – mainly

humanities, education, liberal arts

Practical thinking is valued

Academic/teaching style is personal

Science includes folk taxonomies

Reframe (expand/shift) Reframe (expand/shift) Pedagogy and CurriculumPedagogy and Curriculum

Connecting Context Diversity to Teaching

and LearningDesigning High Context Educational

ExperiencesHigh Context Education and Civic Learning

Teaching and LearningTeaching and LearningLOW CONTEXT Knowledge is obtained by

logical reasoning

Analytical thinking is important

Students learn best by following directions

Learning is oriented toward the individual

Creative learning process is externalized

HIGH CONTEXTKnowledge is gained by a

gestalt model

Comprehensive thinking is important

Students learn best by demonstration

Learning is group oriented

Creative learning process is internalized

Cultural Context and CognitionCultural Context and CognitionThe individual’s cultural context shapes and influences basic assumptions about

the nature of truth and reality and the origins of knowledge.

High Context Education Makes use of multiple streams of information that surround an event, problem,

or question for the purpose of creating meaning out of the context in which it occurs.

Oriented toward connection between the knower and the object (or subject) of knowing – the context for knowledge.

Experience of a process of knowledge creation.

Low Context Education Filters out conditions surrounding an event, problem, or question to focus on

objective fact. Oriented toward detachment of knower and the object (or subject) of knowing –

the context for knowledge. Application of objective procedures for obtaining and communicating

knowledge.

Learning for the 21st CenturyLearning for the 21st Century

“People worldwide need a whole series of new competencies... But I doubt that such abilities can be taught solely in the classroom, or be developed solely by teachers. Higher order thinking and problem solving skills grow out of direct experience, not simply teaching; they require more than a classroom activity. They develop through active involvement and real life experiences in workplaces and the community.”

John Abbott, Director of Britain’s Education 2000 Trust, Interview with Ted Marchese, AAHE Bulletin, 1996

What We Know About Promoting What We Know About Promoting Learning:Learning:

[Cognitive Sciences Suggest Six Foci][Cognitive Sciences Suggest Six Foci]

1. Approaches that emphasize application and experience;2. Approaches in which faculty constructively model the learning

process;3. Approaches that emphasize linking established concepts to new

situations4. Approaches the emphasize interpersonal collaboration;5. Approaches that emphasize rich and frequent feedback on

performances;6. Curricula that consistently develop a limited set of clearly

identified, cross-disciplinary skills that are publicly held to be important.

*source: Peter Ewel, “Organizing for Learning.” AAHE Bulletin, December, 1997, pp. 3-6

Connecting Context Diversity to TeachingConnecting Context Diversity to Teaching and Learning and Learning

National Survey of Student Engagement National Benchmarks for Effective Educational Practice

Level of Academic Challenge Active and Collaborative Learning Student-Faculty Interaction Enriching Educational Experience Supportive Campus Environment


“Complementary learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom augment the academic program…service-learning provides students with opportunities to synthesize, integrate, and apply their knowledge. Such experiences make learning more meaningful, and ultimately more useful because what students know becomes a part of who they are.”

(2002 NSSE Annual Report)


Faculty of color and women are more likely than their counterparts to value and use integrative learning activities and create active and collaborative learning experiences.

(findings from the 2004 NSSE and FSSE - Liberal Education, Fall 2004.)

Experiential Learning TheoryExperiential Learning TheoryKolb’s Learning CycleKolb’s Learning Cycle

Ibarra’s Multicontextual ModelIbarra’s Multicontextual Model

HIGH CONTEXTConcrete

Experience(do it)

ReflectiveObservation

(watch it)

LOW CONTEXTAbstract

Conceptualization(go to a lecture/read a book)

ActionExperimentation(take a lesson)

High Context Education and Civic LearningHigh Context Education and Civic Learning

“We know, for instance, that students can be engaged in a range of effective practices and still not be learning with understanding; we know that students can be learning with understanding and still not be acquiring the knowledge, skills, and

dispositions that are related to effective citizenship.”

(National Survey of Student Engagement, 2002).

High Context Education and Civic LearningHigh Context Education and Civic Learning

From the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, Service Learning Course Design Workbook (2001): “We conceive of ‘civic learning’ as any learning that contributes to student preparation for community or public involvement in a diverse democratic society. A loose interpretation of civic learning would lead one to believe that education in general prepares one for citizenship in our democracy. And it certainly does. However, we have in mind here a strict interpretation of civic learning – knowledge, skills and values that make an explicitly direct and purposeful contribution to the preparation of students for active civic participation.”

Civic LearningCivic LearningKnowledge historical, political, and civic knowledge that arises from both academic and community sources.

Skills critical thinking skills

communication skills

public problem solving

civic judgment

civic imagination and creativity

collective action

coalition building

organizational analysis

Values

Values specifically as they relate to democracy: justice, inclusion, and participation.

Designing High Context Educational Designing High Context Educational ExperiencesExperiences

An educational experience infused with high context characteristics might include the following elements:

Relational learning – interpersonal interactions. Problem solving – exploring questions through experience. Collaborative learning. Develop understanding with partners. Short-term interpersonal feedback. Interrelationship of affective and cognitive development. Resolving conflict and dealing with contention. Participating in long-term relationships with formal obligations. Process is as important as product. Knowledge is created (not consumed). Knowledge is interdisciplinary. Research is applied.

Designing a High Context Educational Designing a High Context Educational ExperienceExperience

Consider a course (or program) that you are currently teaching - Does it reflect high context or low context teaching and learning? What alterations/adaptations could you make that would make it more of a high context educational experience?

Why High Context Education?Why High Context Education? (A realignment or balance.)(A realignment or balance.)

Engaged learning (motivation, retention, persistence, life-long learning)

Connects with the multiple learning styles of students. Addresses the cognitive preferences of underrepresented ethnic and

gender populations in higher education associated with high-context cultures.

High-context values of collaboration, inclusiveness, community involvement, and comprehensive/systems thinking are the foundations of civic engagement in a diverse democracy.

Implications for which students thrive in higher education, who pursues careers in academia, and the kind of scholarship that faculty undertake.

IMPLEMENTATING IMPLEMENTATING MULTICONTEXTUALITY MULTICONTEXTUALITY at the University of New at the University of New

MexicoMexico

A COGNITIVE/ A COGNITIVE/CURRICULAR MODELCURRICULAR MODEL

Learning Cycle Phases—

1. Experiential Ground; base of knowledge, skill, experience; current context—the present here and now

2. Abstraction from experience, attending, foregrounding; induction

3. Conceptualization; organization of concepts; representation

4. Application; testing conceptual knowledge in the real world; deduction; doing

Pattern

Matrix Experience

Abstraction3

1

2 4

Pattern

Matrix Experience

Abstraction

3

1

2 4

LOWCONTEXT

HIGH CONTEXT

HIGH V. LOW CONTEXTHIGH V. LOW CONTEXT

LOW CONTEXT Dualities are contradictory Knowledge is

abstract Process is linear Knowledge exists for its own

sake Typical of university courses,

especially in lower division

HIGH CONTEXT Dualities are complementary Knowledge emerges from

concrete experience Process is cyclical Knowledge has purpose Found in some graduate, upper

division or honors courses

PLANNING FOR PLANNING FOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNINGEXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

1. Starting Point Academic Discipline Intriguing Question Real-world Situation

2. Development of Starting Point Exploration and Expansion Focus

What is “Experiential” about What is “Experiential” about Experiential Learning?Experiential Learning?

experiential learning is learning that takes place within and through a complex, real-life context

experiential knowledge is both abstractly patterned and experientially grounded

knowledge achieved in experiential learning has purpose

experiential learning emerges from a real-life context; therefore experiential learning – tends to be multidisciplinary– embraces surprise– seeks to make sense of a range of perspectives

Robert A. IbarraRobert A. Ibarra

Beyond Affirmative Action: Reframing Beyond Affirmative Action: Reframing the Context of Higher Educationthe Context of Higher Education

University of Wisconsin Press, 2001

context diversity: reframing higher education for civic learning in a diverse democracy

Documents

diversity initiatives

increasing diversity

promisescontext diversity

infusing diversity

diverse populations

academic cultures

campus cultures

us populations