Learning Opportunities

Facilitating Success for the Culturally Diverse Learner (REPEAT)

Presented By

Ricardo Morales & Sinela Jurkova

Series Sessions

Date	Time
Monday, January 21, 2019	12:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Location

In Person St. Paul Centre 124-24 Ave. NE, Calgary, AB

TARGET AUDIENCE: K-12 TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, DIVERSE LEARNING LEADERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND

Our communities, our schools and our classrooms are experiencing a rich composition of culturally diverse learners. These learners are presenting us with unique approaches to explore teaching and learning that is mutually exclusive and dynamic to both learner and teacher.

In order to foster the success and to engage culturally diverse learners, we have to learn how to effectively interact and to create supportive schools and classroom communities that will be conducive to learning.

This workshop explores the overall concept of developing cultural awareness, competencies and practices to enable practitioners to interact effectively with others from different cultures. This workshop will provide participants the opportunity to:

Develop current cultural awareness and competencies by having participants examine their own cultural beliefs and attitudes, and their school community.
Increase understandings about some of the barriers and challenges immigrant families encounter to integration.
Explore strategies in building culturally responsive teaching, creating inclusive classroom/school wide communities and supporting positive cultural identities.

Participants learn how to develop greater self- understanding, reflectivity, capacity to become more conscious and culturally responsive of the dynamics of intercultural interactions.

The presentation covers topics such as:

what is culture?
cultural dimensions
communicating across cultures
integration and barriers for integration
enhancing cultural competency
culturally responsive teaching & creating culturally inclusive classrooms / school communities

This learning opportunity is being offered through curriculum implementation funding from Alberta Education.

Ricardo Morales

is the Manager of Community Development and Integration Services, a Division of Calgary Catholic Immigration Society. With over 34 years of experience in Education working with students from K- university in the capacity as a: Teacher, University Associate, Intercultural Consultant and a retired Principalat the high school and k-9 grade levels.Ricardo is currently providing leadership for CCIS in the area of Cultural Diversity after having served a Cultural Diversity Coordinator (with Calgary Catholic Immigration Services). He completed post graduate studies in Intercultural Relations and has a post graduate Certificate as an Intercultural Practitioner (Portland Intercultural Communication Institute).

Ricardo's expertise is in training for non- profit organizations, business organizations, education specialist sectors, teachers’ professional development and to the general public- in the areas of: Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Intercultural Communication in the workplace, Building Culturally Inclusive Communities, Culturally Responsive teaching, Culturally Inclusive classroom, and consultation in areas of multiculturalism and intercultural conflicts. His personal mission is to assist others to engage successfully and effectively with people of other cultures and in building culturally inclusive communities.

Sinela Jurkova

is a PhD candidate with Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary in an Adult Learning and Educational Research Specialization. She also holds an MA in Slavic Linguistics from the University of Veliko Tarnovo-Bulgaria, and an MA in Communication and Culture fromthe University of Calgary. Her areas of specialization include adult education, intercultural communication and competence, diversity and integration. She has written about and presented numerous workshops on cultural competency, ethnic diversity and integration, and has participated in local and international academic conferences related to the topics above. She has been involved in many non-profit organizations, advisory committees, local and international community initiatives and research projects. Sinela has served as a consultant for developing diversity strategies and educational programs for many organizations., as well facilitating trainings on cultural competence in Calgary and Southern Alberta.