Culturally Responsive Teaching Fall 23-Spring 24

EDSP 221 Language and Literacy in Inclusive Classrooms

Equity / Flexibility / Teaching Soft Skills

Reflection on Instructional Change:

One of the practices that I have implemented this spring 2024 semester was the teaching of the important "soft skills". In term of "soft skills", I always teach and discuss time management skills and self-care techniques with my students. Given the fact that successfully managing multiple assignments, projects, fieldwork, etc can help effectively reduce daily stress, we've been trying to allocate some time in class to discuss how to better manage all the work, (e.g., using timeline tables to map out all assignments across courses at the beginning of the semester and include due dates so students can better track each assignment and stay on top of everything). I also have shared the wellness handout that I created with my students to constantly remind them to take care of themselves and stay physically and mentally healthy.

In addition, I have included an in-class activity this semester, for which each student was asked to write 1~3 words on a sticky notes (anonymously) to describe their feelings/emotions at the moment or earlier that day. We then discussed the importance to be aware of, acknowledge, and okay with having negative feelings sometime. We further emphasized the daily self-care routine to ensure that students will put their physical and mental health as the priority while making efforts to succeed in our program.

Another practice I have incorporated into my EDSP221 class is to provide "redo" as an option for all my course assignments and/or projects. I believe this practice has contributed to enhancing the equity of my teaching and grading, and also provided better support to my students by building more flexibility. Thinking back my own professional life, there were quite a few times that I have been offered a "redo" of a project, a document, or a paper. I felt very lucky as I know not every instructor or supervisor would be willing provide a second chance for various reasons. When I was given a lot of feedback and asked to "redo" so I can re-submit my work with higher quality, I remember I felt grateful, and more motivated towards learning in those classes and working with these considerate instructors/supervisors.

Bearing in mind how providing a second chance, or the opportunities of "redo" has positively impacted my own motivation, engagement, and appreciation, I have been practicing these in all my courses. I understand that everybody could go through difficulties sometime. Therefore, I'd like to show my great support and understanding by providing retakes and weighing more recent performance when they are "in the zone". I can see their appreciation and increased motivation based on the evaluation results.

**Evidence of Instructional Change**
Image 1	Image 2
The Wellness Handout that I created, shared, and discussed with my EDSP221 students	The re-do policy specified in the course syllabus

Course Syllabus:

Course Syllabus and Schedule

Post FLC Syllabus and Schedule

**Faculty Bio**
	Dr. Mei Shen is an assistant professor of special education at California State University, Sacramento. Mei Shen completed her doctoral degree in Special Education at Michigan State University, with a graduate specialization in language and literacy education. Her research focuses on literacy assessment and instruction for students. She is particularly interested in evidence-based instructional practices to help improve reading and/or writing performance for students with language-based learning disabilities.

This work was supported by:
	Grant funding from Sacramento State Division of Inclusive Excellence *Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sacramento State.