Empowerment in action: decolonizing and reimagining culturally responsive teaching through community asset mapping in elt

The following text is based on the transcript from the recording of my keynote address for TEFL Kuwait Fall Conference: Next Generation Education: Inspiring Innovation and Inclusivity, September 9, 2023.

Dear esteemed colleagues, I extend a warm welcome to each one of you on this very special day. It's a profound privilege for me to be among this esteemed lineup of speakers. Together, our aim is to showcase the rich diversity, vitality, depth, and global reach of the conference program before us. I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Anastasia Jean and TEFL Kuwait President Ms. Rana Kahn for their gracious invitation, affording me the opportunity of sharing my research and work on this subject, which has been a collaborative endeavor, as I'll delve into later. I'm filled with excitement about the upcoming interactive Q&A session where we can engage in fruitful discussions.

Without further ado, I'm thrilled to dive into my presentation titled "Empowerment in Action: Decolonizing and Reimagining Culturally Responsive Teaching through Community Asset Mapping in ELT." At the heart of my presentation lies the framework of "Community Asset Mapping," grounded in culturally responsive teaching from an asset-based perspective, a concept I'll delve into in more detail in this presentation.

This framework is deeply rooted in my personal journey navigating the complex terrain of the US educational system as a multilingual learner, a Non-Native English Speaking TESOL professional, and a transnational. I believe many of us here share similar backgrounds, being both multilingual language learners and educators. This shared experience warrants exploration, as it aligns with the growing movement in research encouraging teachers and researchers to immerse themselves in auto-ethnographical reflections—a method I actively embrace. As many have observed, the personal is inherently political, and I hope this presentation demonstrates how adopting this approach can offer profound insights into our field.

Allow me to offer some context about myself: I was born in Taiwan, a region profoundly influenced by various imperial powers. My decision to come to the United States for my graduate studies was not coincidental; it reflects a broader neoliberal order that many from our generations have aspired to. Following my graduation with a Doctoral degree in Education, I transitioned from being a high school ESL and social studies teacher, a role I held for 15 years, to entering the realm of teaching ESL in higher and adult education, ultimately becoming a teacher educator in TESOL and Bilingual Education. This journey spans over two decades and provides a unique perspective on the ever-evolving US educational landscape, particularly regarding the education of culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. My hope is that my transnational experience and the synthesis of my journey can shed new light on our field.

One pivotal moment I'd like to highlight from my professional journey is my experience as an international student within the US higher education system. Like many newcomers arriving in the United States, I often felt invisible, powerless, and that my voice was suppressed. This experience, however, has compelled me to keep returning to this moment as I lacked the framework to articulate this sense of powerlessness back then. Undoubtedly, the challenges faced by multilingual students in diverse educational settings have been extensively documented in our field, and we have collectively endeavored to address these challenges. While we've made significant progress, we still grapple with critical, underlying issues.
 
The progress we've achieved is evident in our efforts to acknowledge students' culture and language as assets rather than deficits. This is aptly manifested in culturally responsive pedagogies, which emphasize integrating students' culture into language learning and empowering student voices in the classroom. There's also a growing recognition of the cognitive, cultural, and economic advantages of bilingualism and multilingualism in language education. This awareness has played a pivotal role in bolstering our collective endeavors to weave students' cultural, linguistic, and heritage aspects into the fabric of our school environment.
 
However, persistent challenges include bridging the gap between theory and teachers' practices, the limited depth of cultural representation that often portrays cultures in superficial and essentialist ways, the need to critically examine a monolithic notion of an asset-based approach, and subsequently, the ongoing work needed to cultivate teachers' critical language awareness in the teacher education.

From my own vantage point as a teacher educator, I've come to recognize the constraints of culturally responsive pedagogies. This perspective became especially apparent during my experience in a suburban school setting, where one course required teachers to interview multilingual learners. However, during the summer, teachers struggled to find multilingual learners for interviews, often citing students’ “limited English proficiency” as a reason not being able to proceed with the assignment. The fact that many teachers came from non-minoritized, English-dominant backgrounds, as I believe, contributed to their reluctance to view students' multilingual skills as an asset. This realization served as a wake-up call, underscoring the ongoing tasks in the field and the imperative to develop a more asset-oriented perspective toward multilingual learners' culture and language skills. We also needed a better way to identify, explore, and amplify student assets.

Consequently, I embarked on a quest for a framework/tool to implement and enact culturally responsive pedagogy in the classroom, bridging the gap between theory and practice. What would it look like in the classroom? How could we nurture this approach in our teaching environments? What was the path to achieve this?

Then, a moment of awakening occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time that was particularly tumultuous in the United States. The global pandemic triggered social upheaval and prompted us to reflect on the structural scope of social issues. Communities began coming together in search of solutions, and witnessing this unity made me realize that change was possible—we didn't have to accept the status quo. During this period, many of us discovered the wealth of information, energy, and resources available on the internet for exploration. I connected with numerous Facebook groups and, during that time, established a group called the "Global Diversity and Inclusion Lab." It was also during this period that I encountered grassroots groups that employed various arts, residents, schools, and communities to raise critical awareness and formulate action plans. One of these groups, called "The Laundromat Project," employed the community asset mapping approach to engage and build the community. It was from this experience that I drew the inspiration for my current endeavors.

I invite you to watch this video where Ms. Misra Walker uses a coco cart, an iconic symbol in the Latino Bronx community, to document the impact of climate change on communities of color. This is accomplished by combining statistics with memories from community members regarding how climate change has impacted them, whether in the Bronx or their home countries in the Caribbean. The ice cream cart employs a pollution monitor to track air quality and temperature in the neighborhood, mapping out the changes that occur. Residents are encouraged to interact by sharing a memory, and in return, they receive a free frozen dessert.

Now, let's contemplate how we can translate this scenario into the classroom. First, picture a teacher displaying images or videos of a hurricane that struck a coastal area, causing devastation to waterfront homes and displacing families. The teacher then discusses the connection between the hurricane's intensity and climate change. Students are assigned a chapter to read that delves further into the formation of these powerful storms and the factors contributing to their intensification. After the reading, students engage in a structured discussion, and by the end of the lesson, they are tasked with identifying one specific action they can commit to in order to mitigate climate change.

In a contrasting scenario, the teacher begins by illustrating the aftermath of the storm, emphasizing the catastrophic consequences it leaves behind. The teacher then invites students to embark on a community expedition, engaging in conversations with local residents to gain insights into how the hurricane impacted their neighborhoods. This initiative results in a rich tapestry of viewpoints, encompassing various languages and backgrounds, offering a comprehensive understanding of how individuals perceive the effects of climate change. Following this, students read a relevant article to compare it with their own experiences.

These two instructional scenarios exemplify divergent approaches to classroom learning and curriculum design. In the first scenario, there is adherence to a hierarchical knowledge structure where experts are the gatekeepers of knowledge. In contrast, the second scenario elevates experiential knowledge and the collective wisdom of the community, placing them at the forefront of the learning process. While some argue that both forms of knowledge can complement each other, a fundamental hierarchy persists, with scientific perspectives often overshadowing community voices. This disparity can have profound consequences for marginalized communities, as scientific viewpoints tend to dominate, potentially marginalizing and erasing cultural identities, languages, and heritage.

Decolonizing ELT through Community Asset Mapping

So, what exactly is community asset mapping, and how can it contribute to the decolonization of English Language Teaching (ELT)? While not a novel concept, having been adopted in the field of social work, it has yet to find its place in TESOL or bilingual education. In our field, there is a strong tendency to view teachers as the sole purveyors of knowledge. However, at the core of community asset mapping lies the art of deep listening, a practice that disrupts traditional power dynamics. It positions the teacher as a co-learner alongside students, fostering the nurturing and celebration of their identities—a genuinely decolonizing stance.

Community asset mapping is far from a static process; instead, it thrives on dynamism and dialogue, emphasizing continuous efforts. It equips teachers with a framework for systematically exploring and mobilizing existing strengths and resources within diverse classrooms. This approach involves regarding the community as a place brimming with assets to be preserved and enhanced, rather than seeing it as a deficit to be rectified. These assets can belong to the entire community or to individuals, groups, or organizations within the community.

The Seven Components of a Culturally Responsive Framework

To further grasp and apply community asset mapping in education, I have worked to integrate it with a culturally responsive framework developed by Aguilar-Valdez (2015). This framework encompasses seven key components:

1. Identity: Recognize that both identity and assets are pivotal to students' voices and agency. Understand that identity is a product of historical and social influences and can fluidly shift across different contexts. Foster a mindset that cultivates an environment that nurtures students' identity development while empowering their voices.
2. Multimodality: Embrace students' myriad ways of learning and self-expression that extend beyond traditional academic discourse. Embrace an approach that transcends the limitations of an exclusively text-based approach and help us foster students’ creativity and imagination.
3. Access: Afford students the means to access existing discourse, resources, and structures, including technology. Extend this access beyond the classroom and invites students to co-create the classroom agenda.
4. Connection: Acknowledge that learning extends beyond the classroom by linking students with the broader community. Value input from the community and integrates community assets into the curriculum.
5. Criticality: Encourage students to question the prevailing status quo and embrace diverse perspectives, thereby fostering critical thinking grounded in dialogue and interaction.
6. Social Justice: Establish a direct link between classroom practices and issues related to inequality, thereby promoting social justice and equity.
7. Decolonization: Actively challenge and deconstruct systems that perpetuate oppression, colonization, and marginalization.

This framework aims to empower students, appreciate diverse perspectives, and challenge the dominance of expert viewpoints.

Building Community Knowledge through Action

To bring this approach to life, during my tenure as NYS TESOL president, my colleagues and I conceived a project aimed at encouraging teachers to embrace this framework and collectively build our knowledge in this respect. This project seeks to bridge the gap between traditional classroom approaches and a more community-centered model. It's a journey that places emphasis on student agency, community voices, and a transformation in power dynamics within education.

In 2022, NYS TESOL undertook the task of compiling an e-book that employed Community Asset Mapping as its guiding framework. This e-book comprised 15 chapters, each teeming with innovative ideas and strategies designed to inspire educators. Our primary objective was to encourage teachers to experiment with the concept of community asset mapping and, more importantly, to develop a classroom protocol capable of effectively implementing community-oriented projects. This e-book is now available for sale on Amazon for $2 (Lin, Bell & Cowin, 2022).

Within this edited volume, we identified three distinct approaches that can serve as valuable tools for educators:

1. Problem-Based, Solution-Oriented Asset-Based Approaches: Rooted in the works of Kretzmann & McKnight (1996), Mathie & Cunningham (2003), these approaches concentrate on identifying the needs of communities and connecting them with available assets. The central idea is to empower communities to resolve existing issues and create conditions for positive social and economic transformation. This process often starts with pinpointing prevailing problems, followed by discussions involving various stakeholders from social policy and civil society. This collaborative effort may encompass questionnaires, interviews, surveys, and culminate in collective action projects. The underlying philosophy is that everyday practices can give rise to new forms of collective action and rejuvenation within communities.

Illustrating this approach is a story featured in our e-book. A Brazilian teacher, Ms. Suzana Santos, led a recycling project within her linguistically diverse community. Confronted with the challenge of excessive garbage in the playground, Ms. Santos and her students embarked on a journey of community engagement. They interviewed parents and community members to tap into their collective wisdom. They crafted a proposal requesting funding from the principal. This initiative not only mobilized the entire community but also enhanced students' multilingual awareness and literacy skills. This straightforward yet impactful project vividly demonstrates how community asset mapping can foster a sense of collective empowerment.

2. Inquiry-Based, Community-Engaged Approaches: This approach revolves around constructing collective narratives and local histories to inform our understanding of the present and inspire positive change. By encouraging discussions about past and historical experiences, we aim to promote a sense of collectivity and mutual recognition among participants. It underscores the importance of including diverse facets of community life in the school curriculum, thereby making intangible assets more visible.

For example, a New York City teacher, Mr. Leighton Suen, celebrated Asian Heritage Month with his Asian students by reimagining a poem written by Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus." They then interviewed their parents about their family's journey to the United States and creatively transformed the original poem into a poem in their home languages. This process fostered a profound sense of collectivity and mutual recognition, allowing diverse perspectives to enrich the shared learning experience.

In a similar instance, students undertook the task of reinterpreting "1776," a play based on the American Revolution. Through this endeavor, they interpreted historical characters, negotiated their own identities, and reimagined the past. This approach effectively brought diverse perspectives into the classroom, challenging the dominance of a US-centric curriculum.

3. Creative Capital(s) and Communicative Infrastructures-based Approaches: This approach harnesses creative techniques such as visual arts, theater, music, film, storytelling, and design to discover and unleash the creative potential of individuals and groups. By leveraging creative techniques, we can address solutions to problems and stimulate processes of co-production. It extends beyond the mapping of tangible assets to uncovering and utilizing the creative capacity of individuals—their ability to design new things, places, services, processes, or policies.

An inspiring example comes from a New York City teacher, Ms. Karin Patterson, who collaborated with her Asian students to share their experiences of anti-Asian hate incidents. They created a podcast series titled "The Dragon Kid," providing a platform for their stories and advocating against discrimination. This powerful utilization of creative capital allowed students to convey their experiences and advocate for change.

It is essential to note that these three models are not mutually exclusive and can overlap and evolve into hybrid versions tailored to specific contexts and audiences.

The e-book we compiled serves as a promising example of the potential of community asset mapping in education. It is a dynamic framework that, when intentionally and consistently employed, can support culturally responsive teaching. Educators can utilize this framework to reflect on their lesson plans and identify areas for improvement. In doing so, we can continually strive to make our teaching more culturally responsive.

If the idea of using this framework to examine your own curriculum resonates with you, I encourage you to explore the e-book for further insights and inspiration. In conclusion, I wish to express my sincere gratitude for your attentive presence today. Let us embark on a transformative journey together, one that integrates community assets, fosters meaningful interactions, and empowers learners to become active agents in their own education.

References:
 
Aguilar-‐Valdez, J. (2015). Rubric for Culturally Responsive Lessons/Assignments. Retrieved at https://www.cos.edu/en-us/Governance/Academic-Senate/Curriculum-Committee/Documents/Rubric_for_Culturally_Responsive_Lessons.pdf
 
Kretzmann, J., & McKnight, J. P. (1996). Assets-based community development. National civic review, 85(4), 23-30.
 
Lin, C. C, Bell, N. & Cowin, J. B., (Ed.). (2022). Supporting Student Success through Community Asset Mapping. NYS TESOL. Available on Amazon.
 
Mathie, A., & Cunningham, G. (2003). From clients to citizens: Asset-based community development as a strategy for community-driven development. Development in practice, 13(5), 474-486.