MUNCIE — A Ball State University senior is more aware of how culture affects students in a classroom after a semester-long immersive learning experience.
Alex Leddy, a 2015 Columbus East High School graduate, completed the Mathematics in the Cultural Context program at East Washington Academy in Muncie earlier this month. Leddy was one of 12 Ball State students selected to participate in the program, which aims to shape the next generation of culturally-responsive educators.
Every Tuesday and Thursday beginning in January, Leddy and a partner would spend a full day in a math teacher’s classroom where they developed unit plans, taught a series of math lessons and worked closely with students.
Throughout the semester, Leddy and her classmates also toured the community surrounding the school to understand the environment where students lived. This included visits to the YWCA women’s shelter, Open Door Health Services and the Shaffer Church Museum to learn about the agencies serving academy families. She also volunteered at a Muncie soup kitchen and attended Ball State University Legislative Day at the Indiana Statehouse to speak to policymakers about education.
“The aim is to put ourselves in the situation of our students and be able to see what their community is like so we could relate to them and be able to teach in a more culturally-relevant way,” Leddy said.
The Columbus native applied for the experience last fall after a professor shared details in one of her education courses. While Ball State offers several opportunities for students to immerse themselves in local classrooms, Leddy said this one stood out in particular, because it was a way to learn how to form relationships with her own students in the future.
“From a teaching standpoint, you can be a good teacher and know all your content, but if you’re not able to build those relationships with your students and get to know them independently — where they come from, where their cultures are — it can create a less welcoming environment,” she said. “That can affect the learning abilities of your students if they don’t feel like they’re seen in that sort of way.”
By getting to know students on a one-on-one basis, Leddy said teachers can differentiate their instruction to meet individual student needs and be aware of what is going on in their lives.
The 12 Ball State students also completed courses that aligned with the immersion program. Leddy said they used class time to debrief on their own experience and connect their course content to what they were doing in the classroom.
Lynette Varner, one of the course’s three professors, said the experience is one way that students live Ball State’s Beneficence Pledge, which includes excellence, social responsibility and respect for all people.
“It’s critical that our students become knowledgeable about the context and cultural factors like housing, businesses and agencies that affect the East Washington Academy families,” Varner said. “We want our students to take with them the skills of empathy, understanding and adaptability into future classrooms.”
Leddy will graduate from Ball State in December after completing her student teaching practicum this fall.
“I’ll use everything I learned throughout this course to plan meaningful learning experiences that allow students to make connections to their own lives and real-world problems,” Leddy said. “I’m so grateful for this eye-opening opportunity that’s advanced me as an educator.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Alex Leddy” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
High school: Columbus East High School – Class of 2015
College: Ball State University, graduation planned in December 2019
Major: Elementary education
Minor: French
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