Discussions

Your Name and Title: Dr. Lesley Farmer, Professor of Library Media

School or Organization Name: California State University Long Beach

Co-Presenter Name(s):

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: California, USA

Language in Which You Will Present:  English

Target Audience(s): teacher librarians, subject teachers

Short Session Description (one line): What roles can school librarians play in global cultural competence?

Full Session Description (as long as you would like): In today’s global world, to provide meaningful education, teacher librarians and their students need to become culturally competent: open to learning about other cultures and sharing one’s own culture, able to change personal perspectives, and able to communicate effectively across cultures. Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions provides a framework for examining culturally-sensitive library implications. Edmundson’s two-pronged approach in her cultural adaptation process (CAP) model of instructional design also addresses ways to accommodate cultural differences both between the instructor and students as well as among the student population. Specific strategies are suggested to address language barriers, student-teacher relations, choosing resources, learning activities, technical issues, and assessment. The session concludes by explaining how teacher librarians can collaborate with subject teachers to foster cultural competence.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: cyberfamilies.blogspot.com