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ERIC Number: EJ1202381
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Dec
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2472-5749
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Studying Cultural Relevance in Online Courses: A Thematic Inquiry
Adams, Megan; Rodriguez, Sanjuana; Zimmer, Kate
Online Learning, v22 n4 p361-381 Dec 2018
This study investigated a set of online reading courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in a university's college of education. The courses were thought to integrate culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), and the study's intent was to determine the extent to which they actually did so. The goals of the study were to determine whether CRP was emphasized in course descriptions, informational materials, activities, assessments, and rubrics, and to determine whether there was alignment between CRP-related descriptions, activities, assessments, and rubrics. Findings indicate that CRP was not strongly emphasized or well aligned in most courses. Indeed, across most or all courses, we found the following: a lack of emphasis on democratic classrooms; a lack of alignment between CRP objectives, assignments, and rubrics; a lack of evidence that depth of CRP knowledge was required across courses; problems with course design; and a lack of emphasis on identity and cultural competence. The study's findings highlight the importance of a fully developed syllabus for adjunct/part-time faculty who rely heavily on the syllabus; emphasize the importance of strong syllabi for curriculum and course integrity (particularly when programs move fully online); and indicate that alignment between assessment and objectives and a detailed syllabus are critical in creating culturally relevant online courses. This study also introduces a tool for evaluating the extent to which CRP is emphasized in a course, which may be valuable to colleges wishing to implement CRP more deeply and consistently. In addition, the study's evaluation process demonstrates that faculty working in teams increases the success of program revision.
Online Learning Consortium, Inc. P.O. Box 1238, Newburyport, MA 01950. Tel: 888-898-6209; Fax: 888-898-6209; e-mail: olj@onlinelearning-c.org; Web site: https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A