Creating Culturally Dynamic Materials for Rural Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Students

Abstract In order to provide culturally appropriate instructional materials for rural Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional (CLDE) students, a variety of culturally dynamic methods and materials have been developed for teachers of Mexican-American and Native American CLDE students in rural areas of Arizona. The instructional materials that are described can be easily adapted for use with other rural CLDE populations by changing the native language and native culture frame of reference to match those of the rural students in the local community. Most of the teachers who relocate to teach in rural and remote areas are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the challenges of the rural multicultural classroom and rarely stay long (Heimbecker, Medina, Peterson, Redsteer, & Prater, 2002; Peterson, Medina, Gilmer, Prater, & Stemmler, 2002). The recruitment and retention of rural special educators prepared to serve Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional (CLDE) students is particularly difficult. Special education teachers who work with CLDE students have an added challenge of finding culturally appropriate materials (Cloud, 2002). Cloud, Genesee, and Hamayan (2000) note the challenge of matching instructional and assessment approaches with the process of second-language learning to facilitate instruction for English Language Learners. Baca and Cervantes (2004) reviewed the research and found one of the key factors that determines the degree to which the needs of CLDE children are met is the preparation or lack of preparation of teachers to be responsive to the unique needs of these students and to be more sensitive to their cultural heritage. The area of curriculum and instruction materials is directly affected by culture (Garcia & Malkin, 1993). The contents of instructional materials as well as the instructional strategies must be presented in culturally appropriate ways (Bruns & Fowler, 1999; Patterson, 1996). In the past, instructional materials have not drawn from the cultural and linguistic experiences relevant to multicultural exceptional children; instead the categories of exceptionality have been regarded as the basic variable for curriculum differentiation (Gollnick & Chinn, 2002). According to the Arizona Department of Education (2001), language and dialectical difference add to the difficulty of providing personnel development opportunities, especially in rural and remote areas where recruiting and maintaining quality personnel is a constant concern. When special educators from traditional university programs are hired in rural areas with high concentrations of CLDE children, these teachers have little or no specialized training in best practice in curriculum and methods for Hispanic and Native American children and adolescents (Eigenberger, Sealander, Peterson, Shellady, & Prater, 2001; Heimbecker et al. 2002; Peterson et al. 2002). The availability of teacher training materials and textbooks whose focus is on multicultural exceptional children is inadequately represented or virtually non-existent when compared to the percent of special education curriculum programs (Dean, Salend, & Taylor, 1993; Garcia & Malkin, 1993; Gollnick & Chinn, 2002; Salend, Dorney, & Mazo, 1997). Developing Rural Culturally Dynamic Classrooms There is a great need for all teachers to create culturally dynamic classrooms to provide an active, stimulating environment in which rural students with disabilities can learn. It is important for teachers to develop strategies and curriculum materials which focus on the strengths of CLDE students' rich language and cultural heritage. For example, teachers of rural CLDE students should capitalize on Native American and Hispanic children's ability to see things artistically and visually. An easy adaptation is to use manipulatives and pair academics with visual-kinesthetic-tactile activities such as reading and then drawing about a story or content lesson. …