Diversity and Motivation: Culturally Responsive Teaching in College

by Margery B. Ginsberg, Raymond J. Wlodkowski

When the first edition of Diversity and Motivation was published in 1995, it became a premier resource for faculty and administrators seeking effective and practical strategies that foster motivation among culturally diverse student groups. This revised and updated second edition of Diversity and Motivation offers a comprehensive understanding of teaching methods that promote respect, relevance, engagement, and academic success. Margery B. Ginsberg and Raymond J. Wlodkowski base their insights and concrete suggestions on their experiences and research as college faculty. The book defines norms, illustrates practices, and provides tools to develop four foundational conditions for intrinsically motivated learning: establishing inclusion, developing a positive attitude, enhancing meaning, and engendering competence. The authors provide perspectives on the social justice implications of each condition. Diversity and Motivation includes resources to help educators create a supportive community of learners, facilitate equitable discussions in linguistically diverse classrooms, design engaging lessons, and assess students fairly. The ideas in this book apply across disciplines and include teaching practices that can be easily adapted to a range of postsecondary settings. In addition, the authors include a cohesive approach to syllabus construction, lesson design, and faculty development. This new edition also contains a framework for motivating students outside traditional classroom settings.

446 pages, Hardcover

First published November 21, 2008

Reviews

[Jim McQuiggin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although there are several "A-ha!" moments in this book, too often they are buried under filler and fluff that is self-evident: I'm not an experienced instructor (just training to become one) but so much of what Ginsberg & Wlodkowski say is elementary. I don't know if they got paid by the pound but this book could have benefited by carving off a full two-thirds of it.

With an emphasis on adult education (and scant mention made of Malcolm Knowles whose ideas the authors crib with almost larcenous disregard), the chapters are far too long. Apparently unwilling to adhere to their own principles of andragogy, the authors load their overly-long chapters with material that's relevant and irrelevant (again, forgetting their andragogical principles) to the point where the reader not only loses interest but also the primary point. As a result, the chapters are too often incoherent, lack cohesion, fail to get the point across.

Chapters should have been "chunked" and ideas scaffolded towards a larger thesis. Although the authors raise some interesting points regarding multicultural attitudes and approaches to instruction, the sheer size of the chapters diminishes and diffuses those points.