Page 28 - 2018_Jour_85-1_Societal-Issues

28 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators

Insights from a Cross-Cultural

In-Service Program for

Secondary Social Studies

Teachers

By Denise Shockley and Ronald V. Morris

he authors describe an in-service program for Appalachian teachers that included direct
Tinstruction by an expert in American West culture as well as visitation to the area being
studied. The program allowed the participants to meet people, visit places, and encounter different
cultures. Specifically, teachers met Native Americans and explored the southwest United States.
How did the Appalachian teachers interpret the immersive experience? How did the cross-
cultural understanding compare to that provided by other in-service experiences? In this action
research effort, the teachers’ comments shaped the findings as the participants reflected on how the
experience influenced their teaching practices in their community and impacted their students.

Although the popular conception of Appalachia includes the southern highlands of the
United States, the coal economy, poverty, and lack of educational opportunities extend north
through western Virginia, West Virginia, southeastern Ohio, and western Pennsylvania.
In this research, 38 secondary social studies teachers from southeastern Ohio Appalachia
participated in an annual teacher in-service program to learn more about social studies,
applying their newly discovered knowledge to enrich the classroom experiences of their
students. The teachers in the program participated in a 4-day workshop about the West,
west Texas, and New Mexico during the school year and then traveled for a week during
the summer. In addition to meeting the objectives for the in-service program to learn about
the colonial and territorial periods, the land, and the commerce of New Mexico today,
teachers had in-depth experiences with native people. Teachers traveled by airplane, bus,
and raft to visit Pueblo—i.e., people of the southwest Native American cultural group—
in their homes, share common meals with them, explore their neighborhoods on foot,
and interact through conversation. The teachers returned home to Ohio to share their
experiences through photography, lessons, projects, and activities. What was the nature of
the experience for these teachers? How did they interpret the immersive experience? How
did the direct cross-cultural experience compare to other in-service experiences?
Teachers need a culturally responsive in-service program that provides them with new
skills and experiences to prepare them to interact with students and teach them about their
own culture. Past research has not considered the value of immersive travel experience in
the context of helping participants understand their native culture more fully. This action
research study explored the impact that an in-service trip to the southwest United States
had on the teachers from Ohio and how they incorporated their expanded learning into
their classrooms. Both the hypothesis and the phenomenological methodology reflect
naturalistic inquiry.