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Reviewed by:
  • Scholarship of Multicultural Teaching and Learning
  • Amanda Kraus
Matthew Kaplan and A. T. Miller (Eds.). Scholarship of Multicultural Teaching and Learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 111. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. 106 pp. Paper: $29.00. ISSN: 0271-0633.

In the Scholarship of Multicultural Teaching and Learning, editors Matthew Kaplan and A. T. Miller present a broad range of topics and issues related to multiculturalism in higher education in the specific context of teaching and learning. Comprised of 12 short and accessible chapters, this book discusses how multicultural learning is designed, implemented, and applied effectively across a variety of academic disciplines. They present topics in a logical sequence that enables readers to make connections across chapters. This book provides a framework by which multiculturalism can be infused into curricula.

Chapters 1 and 2 provide a strong foundation for topics discussed in subsequent chapters. Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive overview of state initiatives that threaten to eliminate affirmative action programs on campus. Its author, Susan W. Kaufmann, discusses the value of diversity on college campuses and the negative implications of various California propositions on diversity at state institutions over the past 10 years, despite many efforts by campuses to combat these effects. Beyond outlining specific propositions, this chapter serves as a warning to other institutions that may fall prey to current multistate initiatives that threaten affirmative action and funding for diversity-related services.

Chapter 2 qualitatively explores the experiences of diverse faculty navigating the academy. These faculty members believe that their race, gender, and age negatively affect their relationships with students and colleagues, and their perceived creditability, intelligence, and experience. This chapter underscores the significance of bias, both conscious and unconscious, and also charges faculty and administrators who are members of privileged social groups to be advocates and allies for their diverse counterparts.

The varied examples across chapters present a multidimensional conception of learning. Moving beyond a linear approach to learning, the faculty authors of these chapters have developed ways for students to connect with one another in the classroom, connect with their surrounding communities, and connect course content to the world in which they live. These practices help reframe traditional concepts of learning and promote a broader definition of education that is more appropriate for a multicultural context.

Chapters 4 and 5 discuss specific classroom experiences that seek to engage diverse students through transformational learning experiences and discursive engagement. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss two experiential learning opportunities as ways to educate about oppression, privilege, power, and social change. The assessment in Chapter 7 was very helpful in demonstrating attitudinal shifts among students and their long-term commitment to social change.

In a similar vein, Chapter 3 discusses the use of interactive theater as a technique for training faculty on how to handle difficult, diversity-related situations. Although the audience shifts from students to educators, the experiential methods are in line with the methods previously addressed.

Chapters 8, 10, 11, and 12 outline innovative classroom experiences that have increased the participation and success (attendance, grades, self-confidence) of diverse students. These findings are supported by quantitative assessment and data. Faculty in multiple disciplines modified their course content and teaching styles to engage students in a “real world” context.

Chapter 8 focuses on initiatives to improve retention for underrepresented students in engineering, one of which was to help students connect engineering principles to real world issues. In Chapter 10, a professor discusses the implications of globalization on instructional technology as a way to prepare students for careers that demand multicultural competency. Chapter 11 discusses an introductory political science course that relies heavily on group work to develop citizenship skills. Chapter 12 reports on the success of asking mathematics students to solve real economic, political, and social problems using formulas they had learned in class. These experiences not only better engaged diverse students but helped students apply academic concepts outside the classroom room.

Chapter 9 has implications not only for underrepresented students but also for the way in which faculty build curricula. It questions the omission of African American art songs and spirituals from vocal performance curricula. Because African American music was born out of the slave...

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