Annotated Bibliography Assignment

By [Heeba Kaleem], [Multiculturalism in Cinderella, Team 4]

 1.  Miller, Howard. "Middle Ground: Beyond "Multicultural Moments" The English Journal 86.5 (1997): 88-90. JSTOR. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

     Miller argues his belief that learning about multiculturalism in the classroom should not be treated out of the ordinary.  Instead of continuing the belief that American culture is the default, Miller states that, through literature and integration of multiculturalism in the classroom, that it would be possible to bring people of all “ethnic origins, races, and backgrounds together” (90).

     Miller gives five “levels” to instruct teachers on how to normalize multiculturalism in the classroom. Firstly, in “Building a Classroom Library of Multicultural Literature,” he notes that just having books and stories from different cultures present can open students’ minds to the world and “enlarge their cultural perspectives” (88). The second level, “Using Lit Sets to Promote Multicultural Understanding,” demonstrates how bringing copies of the same book and having students work on it in small groups can be effective because it further immerses them through discussion and writing. In the third level, “The Whole Class Novel,” he explains that small groups may not work and suggests that a novel be assigned to the whole class so that the teacher as well as the students can learn more about the other culture they’re reading about. Next, in “Interdisciplinary Study,” Miller encourages teachers to have students learn about the culture in context of the story and uses an anecdote of his own experience to strengthen his argument. Finally, in “Beyond Literature,” Miller urges teachers to involve parents in the multicultural learning of their child because it can reinforce what is taught in class.

2. Boutte, Gloria S. and Christine McCormick. "Authentic Multicultural Activities: Avoiding Pseudomulticulturalism." Childhood Education 68 (1992): 140-44.

     Boutte and McCormick explain “pseudomulticuluralism;” a term that explains how some current education practices that may seem like they are integrating different cultures into their lesson plans but are instead isolating in nature and are discontinuous, which means hat they have no serious merit in furthering multicultural learning. They state, “Authentic multicultural activities are ongoing and integrated daily in both informal and formal activities” (140).

     The paper explains six issues that aim to help teachers deliberate on and improve upon in their multicultural views and practices:  1) building multicultural programs, 2) showing appreciation of differences, 3) avoiding stereotypes, 4) acknowledging differences in children, 5) discovering diversity within the classroom, and 6) avoiding pseudomulticulturalism. The paper encourages teachers reflect on their own teaching styles to find any instances of unintended discrimination or pseudmulticulturalism practices. Additionally, the paper also includes strategies to help teachers take an authentic approach to integrating multicultural learning in their classroom. Boutte and McCormick state that each strategy has the basis of being built upon personal experiences, research, and logic. 

3. Boutte, Gloria S., and Barbara McCoy. "Racial Issues in Education: Real or Imagined?." (1994). 

     Both Boutte and McCoy state that the level of multicultural growth in teachers can be evaluated through their level of cultural self-awareness, their emotional response to difference, their mode of cultural interaction, and whether their teaching approach is ethnocentric or multicultural. Prominent issues concerning race in education include the significant racial difference in results of standardized testing, differences in placement in remedial and gifted classes, tracking of academic progress, and most importantly, dropout rate differences. They note that most of these differences discriminate against students of color.

     Boutte and McCoy believe that factors that influences teachers’ expectations of students include their 1) ethnicity; 2) gender; 3) socioeconomic status; 4) past achievement; 5) personality; 6) seat in the classroom; 7) attractiveness; 8) handwriting; 9) speech characteristics; and (10) combinations of these characteristics. They suggest that teacher interactions with students of color should be monitored for balance in both positive and negative interactions, frequency of nonverbal communication, differences in grouping patterns, labeling, and reaction time. Additionally, inclusion of multiculturalism is most importance in uncovering and fixing covert racism in schools. Finally, teachers need to be sensitive to these issues and must include parents in their students’ education as well.

4. Robin, Bernard R. "Digital storytelling: A powerful technology tool for the 21st century classroom." Theory into practice 47.3 (2008): 220-228. 

     In this paper, Robin states that digital storytelling has become a powerful teaching and learning tool that involves both students and teachers. His objective in this paper was to introduce a theoretical framework called technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) to explain how it might strengthen digital storytelling. He explains that digital storytelling “allows computer users to become creative storytellers through the traditional processes of selecting a topic, conducting some research, writing a script, and developing an interesting story” (222).

     Robin explains how digital storytelling has been for many years and has noted the growth of computers as an affordable, powerful tool instructional tool that can capture students’ attention and introduce new content in a creative way.  His Elements of Digital Storytelling are 1) Point of view, 2) A dramatic question, 3) Emotional content, 4) The gift of your voice, 5) The power of soundtrack, 6) Economy, and 7) Pacing. Robin cites Mishra and Koehler’s work about TPCK (2006) and states that it can be a useful tool to guide students into critical thinking using digital storytelling methods. Factors of TPCK include technological content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, technology knowledge, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge. According to Robin, although TPCK isn’t the perfect framework, it is better than no framework at all. 

5. Parker, Jessica K., ed. Teaching tech-savvy kids: Bringing digital media into the classroom, grades 5-12. Corwin Press, 2010.

     Parker focuses on children from grades 5-12 and their relationship to digital media practices in our current time. They encourage the use of digital media in the classroom as it can offer more engaged, student centered learning opportunities within our schools” (xi). The book attempts to examine what students are doing with new media and how they are using it to further literacy and learning opportunities outside of school.

     The book’s aim is to “inspire fifth through twelfth grade teachers to understand both the relationship between their students and digital media and how to make use of this relationship between their students and learning opportunities for their students” (xii). Parker wants to modernize learning through utilizing media that students are already using in order to further delve into what is taught in class. However, Parker states that digital media is not a replacement for face to face learning or teachers and is instead advocating the use of characteristics of new media in the classroom. Additionally, Parker states that the study of new media environments such as the ones children from grades 5-12 use to “broaden the understanding of literacy, promote a much needed dialogue concerning new media technologies and highlight the changing nature of learning” (xii).