Joanne Dowdy, Ph.D. and graduate student Rachael Fleischaker co-edited a new compilation book with chapters written by Kent State students, alumni and faculty.
The work is a text set, used to help teachers create content for the classroom. Authors from different levels of education submitted chapters so the book would be most useful.
All of the chapters view teaching through a multicultural and multimodal lens.
“The textbook gives voice to all of those people who have experienced working in multicultural situations with multicultural materials in context,” said Dowdy, a professor in Kent State’s School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies.
Fleischaker co-edited the book with Dowdy. She is currently a music education doctoral student at Kent State. Fleischaker helped create the 27 chapters of the book, with work from 30 authors. The two are co-editors, but Dowdy allowed Fleischaker to take the lead for this project.
“Dr. Dowdy is a wonderful mentor,” said Fleischaker, “She let me do a lot of independent work, but was always there to answer questions.”
One of the featured authors, Molly Young, teaches Kindergarten at Beaver Local Schools. Young teaches in a very rural area, where many of the students are not exposed to other cultures. Introducing multicultural aspects are easy, according to Young, because the children are naturally curious about one another.
“We don’t have a lot of cultural diversity where I work, but through literature, we have been given a window into more experiences,” Young said.
Other chapters of the book are grade-specific, but they can be applied to all educators. Young said that lessons from chapters about third and fourth graders helped her generate new ideas for her Kindergarten classroom.
Dowdy’s previous works are used in classroom’s across the nation and internationally. She wants the new book to inspire current students.
“It’s from your people. If we can make it, you can make a textbook with your teacher, your classroom and share it with the world,” Dowdy said.