چکیده (انگلیسی):

Culture is integral to the learning process. It is the organization and way of life within the
community of students and teachers and directs the way they communicate, interact, and approach
teaching and learning. Although founded in particular values and principles, the academy, like
most organizations, is impacted day-to-day by its culture. Yet, the traditional higher education
institution has not been designed to operate within a racially or ethnically diverse student
population. The social, political, economic, and cultural forces that support the institution
influence the teaching and learning environments. To better address cultural diversity in the
classroom, faculty must first examine their own cultural background and understand how biases
may affect their interactions with students. To advance teaching and learning in the college
classroom requires an understanding of the underlying values, beliefs, perceptions and
assumptions of students, which affect their understanding of what they hear and read as well as
how they express themselves in the classroom. When teachers recognize these different qualities,
classroom instruction can be designed to connect content to students’ backgrounds. This paper
examines one approach to building a teaching and learning community through faculty
professional development and collaboration. It provides an overview of a 5-part workshop series
conducted for faculty at the Johnson & Wales University Providence campus on intercultural
learning and culturally responsive teaching. Focusing on the essential components of
personalizing culture through the five institutions of family, school, religion, politics, and
economics through workshop activities, it is an investigation of individual and institutional
backgrounds to determine how faculty may recognize the forces that influence student behavior,
and how to engage them in a more active learning process.