New articles about intercultural education

We’ve recently published a number of articles that share best practices in culturally relevant teaching. The articles, written by Dr. Regina Higgins, offer suggestions for accessing and using culture kits, incorporating film into pedagogy, and identifying high-quality online resources for teaching other cultures:

• Making the Most of Culture Kits: Culture kits — everyday objects from the country or region you’re studying — can bring your lessons to life. This article will get you started using culture kits in your social studies classroom, and provides contacts for borrowing culture kits from programs at UNC and Duke.
• Teaching World Cultures: According to the new Professional Teaching Standards, every North Carolina teacher must promote global awareness in classroom instruction. This article presents some general guidelines and specific strategies for global teaching.
• Teaching Latin America through Film: This article offers teachers strategies for enriching student understanding of Latin America through films available free through the Consortium on Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. It suggests ways teachers can incorporate viewing directly into instruction through careful preparation and follow-up.
• Teaching Contemporary Europe: We know how to teach Europe’s past, but what about the present? This article offers strategies and resources for teaching today’s Europe, using online resources from the Center for European Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.
• Teaching the European Union: This article presents the European Union — often seen as an “extra” in instruction — as an integral part of the government, economy, history, and culture of Europe. It offers background on the EU, and ideas for deepening understanding of the EU every time you teach Europe.
• Using EUROPA to Teach the European Union: Finding resources for teaching the European Union can be a challenge. This article introduces strategies for using free resources available on the official EU web site, EUROPA, to deepen understanding of the European Union.