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International Journal of Transformative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

ORCID

Ravit Heskiau https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1805-6657

Submission Category

Conceptual Article

Abstract

As higher education becomes increasingly personalized and students’ individual identities are increasingly considered, this article explores the concept of classroom culture as part of assessing, embracing, and shaping each class’s shared characteristics as a collective. I define classroom culture and explain why it is paramount for educators to understand the unique cultures of their classes and actively assess them, striking a balance between supporting classroom culture and shaping it. Following a critical literature review, I demonstrate the application of commonly used cultural frameworks from the organizational culture literature to higher education classes. Specifically, I expand on how they can help identify specific dimensions of culture as well as on ways to reinforce them. Finally, I delineate a model of classroom culture-aware teaching, including different assessment methods and strategies to transform culture-relevant feedback into teaching practices that balance support and impact, while helping students master the skill of belonging.

License Information

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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