Jiyoon Yoon

Asynchronous Online Culture Tellers (A-SOCuTe) for Teacher Candidates of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Jiyoon Yoon, PhD

Associate Professor of Science Education
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education

This study designs an innovative online instructional model, A-synchronous Online Cultural Tellers (A-SOCuTe) and measures its effects on teacher candidates’ confidence in teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) learners and their understanding other culture and developing their skills of multicultural/diverse Science Lessons. For the study, the 26 teacher candidates of the online Science and Math teacher license program participate in web-based discussion sessions through an asynchronous tool (VoiceThread) with one of three cultural professionals who share their culture and history. The data from the self-efficacy and the reflection survey result in that, through the A-SOCuTe, the teacher candidates experience interdisciplinary activities to understand other culture and education, including history, politics, art, music, dance, food, clothes, housing, geography, and education, learn science concepts behind the culture, and create multicultural/diverse lessons.

Marcela Gutierrez

Hi Jiyoon. Your use of VoiceThread has helped me adapt my current project, which is part of a course that similarly focuses on diverse populations. Thanks for the inspiration!
J. T. Dellinger

Hi Jiyoon - I would be curious to know if your students will do any assignment/lesson plan curation for future use? I could see this being a valuable resource for students who might be interested in using culturally response pedagogy in their future practice.
Peggy Semingson

Great job, Jiyoon, on the A-SOCuTe framework! After seeing yours and Marcela’s experiences on using VoiceThread, I want to try it out. Was it hard to get students to learn how to use it? I enjoyed reading your comments.
Maria Trache

If I correctly understood, the basis is still the science class that incorporates cultural elements to make it more attractive to learners. Is the cultural thematic related to the culture of the teacher or the culture of the learners? One way or the other, I think everyone would benefit. I was just wondering if use of culture is for creating a sense of familiarity (and belonging) or for adding a non-science element to the science class? Sometime arts and culture, or sports, or news could make science content easier to digest.. does the addition help increasing science understanding or bringing something fun or easier to grasp into the science class?