multicultural education

Nature Behind Barbed Wire

This book documents the history of Japanese Americans’ relationship with the environment before, during, and after incarceration in the internment camps.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/nature-behind-barbed-wire-9780190842062?cc=us&lang=en&

American Indian History Timeline

This document, presented by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, outlines a historical timeline of events, laws, legislation and policies affecting American Indians.

https://iltf.org/

The 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz

This article describes the Native occupation of Alcatraz in 1969, a place that was once a military base and now managed by the National Park System.

Environmental Education Better Results Toolkit

This toolkit, developed by Learning for Action, is useful for any environmental, outdoor, or place-based education organization seeking to evaluate its programs and build tools to measure impact. Though the toolkit doesn’t have a DEI lens, coupled with DEI practices such as the Avarna Group’s 3R framework for building culturally relevant, responsible, and responsive curriculum, this toolkit can really support showing positive impacts of DEI work in program/curriculum design.

Instructor Bias Self Assessment

This checklist is great for outdoor, experiential, and environmental educators (as well as traditional educators) to assess how bias might be manifesting in their teaching and to mitigate bias in any classroom, indoor and outside.

Toolkit on Implementing the President’s Memo on Diversity & Inclusion in Public Lands & Waters

We built this toolkit to help you implement the Presidential Memorandum issued on January 12th, 2017. The memo is available online here. The toolkit is attached.

The Limitations of Teaching ‘Grit’ in the Classroom

This Atlantic essay examines the pervasive use of “grit” (and “resilience”) in the American education system, and why the use of these words is “irresponsible and unfair” because students who have been exposed to trauma (a) already possess grit and resilience; and (b) cannot change their mindsets without changing the situation around them. For outdoor education organizations that have “grit” and “resilience” as outcomes, read this for a new perspective. Read the article here.

CivilSchools anti-bullying resources

CivilSchools is another organization we are really excited about; they offer comprehensive bullying prevention curriculum through the lens of anti-oppression work. You can get a free toolkit from them here and purchase the rest of the curriculum, if you’re so inclined. Access here.

NADOHE Standards of Professional Practice for Chief Diversity Officers

The National Association of Diversity Officers in High Education has created this useful guide that covers everything from the need for a Chief Diversity Officer position to the scope of that person’s responsibilities and areas of competency. Though geared toward institutions of higher education, this guide is useful for any organization seeking to hire a Chief Diversity Officer. Read more here.

Teachers in the ‘Hood: Hollywood’s Middle Class Fantasy

By surveying the archetypal Hollywood teachers in both urban and suburban settings, this article debunks common myths regarding the characteristics of a “good teacher” and urges educators to do their research on what constitutes multicultural education. This article is useful for outdoor educators who want to broaden their perspectives on the paradigm of a good teacher.

Are College Lectures Unfair?

This article discusses research that confirms that the traditional lecture method of teaching is not culturally responsive and will only exacerbate the growing achievement gaps between dominant and nondominant groups. Read more here.

But That’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Gloria Ladson-Billings is a notable academic in the field of multicultural education. In this article she describes what culturally relevant pedagogy looks like in a traditional classroom. These teachings are equally relevant to nontraditional classrooms, such as those in which outdoor experiential educators operate.