Using Creativity and Collaboration to Develop Innovative Programs That Embrace Diversity in Higher Education - Paper

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa

The paper presents an innovative, collaborative multi-university and multi-agency teacher training model to develop cost-effective higher-education programs that embrace diversity. It addresses diverse needs of teacher educators across Florida through a single collaborative grant, aligning program content and arts-integration delivery with each university’s student population. Drawing on the author’s K-12 and university teaching experience, it emphasizes creativity driven by need and outlines cultural reciprocity theory and four progressive steps to avoid stereotyping and strengthen partnerships.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Innovation and collaboration for diverse programs

Cultural awareness levels and cultural reciprocity theory

Guidelines: four progressive steps for professionals

2 Using Creativity and Collaboration to Develop Innovative Programs That Embrace Diversity in Higher Education A. Helene Robinson St. John’s University This paper provides an example of an innovative solution to program development that addresses the diverse needs of teacher educators throughout various geographical locations in Florida, through a collaborative multi-university, multi-agency teacher training program funded by one collaborative grant. In this time of economic uncertainties, institutions of higher education must become creative and emphasize interdisciplinary collaborative efforts both internally and externally in order to develop cost-effective, innovative programs that embrace diversity. Innovation is driven out of need. My teaching experience, in the K-12 public school and in the university setting, fostered my awareness of the need for professional collaboration, and this awareness ignited my creativity. I will discuss how I identified the needs at my university and then utilized creativity and collaboration to network and obtain the grant, which then facilitated, developed, and taught in a new Masters of Education program in Arts and Academic Interdisciplinary Education. Program content and delivery were both planned around the diverse student population within the multi-university collaboration, with each university designing diverse programs to address the specific needs of their population but with the same concept of arts integration. Collaboration also occurred within each university: the College of Arts and Science and the College of Education. In addition, teachers were required to collaborate as coaches in their schools to train and support others in increasing arts integration in their schools. Introduction I n this time of economic uncertainties, it is now more important than ever for institutions of higher education to become creative and emphasize interdisciplinary collaborative efforts both internally and externally in order to develop cost-effective, innovative programs that embrace diversity. If innovation is driven out of need, then institutions must tap into their creativity to become innovative in reaching diverse cultures. Collaboration facilitates creativity. My teaching experience, in the K-12 public school and in the university setting, fostered my awareness of the need for professional collaboration. It is becoming increasingly important that pre-service teachers develop collaborative and cooperative skills (Novoa, 2004) . Collaboration, among teachers, is a significant element of professional teacher communities. In order to effectively work with other professionals, parents, and students who are from diverse cultures, teachers must develop a posture of cultural reciprocity which facilitates a subtle cultural awareness (Kalyanpur & Harry, 1999) . According to Delpit (1995), there are three levels of cultural awareness: overt, covert, and subtle. At the overt level, there is an awareness of obvious differences regarding language or manner of dress. Individuals who have developed a covert level of awareness recognize the invisible culture (Philips, 1983); parameters such as social status and interpersonal communicative styles. These cultural aspects require sustained contact or observation before becoming apparent. Finally, at the subtle level of cultural awareness there is recognition of imbedded values and beliefs that underlie the actions of a specific cultural group (Delpit, 1995) . Furthermore, individuals at this level are aware that their beliefs and values influence their actions, and that these values, which were previously assumed to be universal, are infact specific to the respective culture. Dr. Beth Harry, from the University of Miami, established a theory entitled: Posture of Cultural Reciprocity. This theory demonstrateshow to work effectively with culturally diverse parents of students with disabilities. Kalyanpur and Harry (1997) describe the fi

FAQs

What problem does the paper address in higher education programs?

It addresses the need to create innovative, cost-effective programs that embrace diversity, especially for teacher educators across different locations.

How does the paper link creativity to innovation?

It argues that innovation is driven by need and that institutions should tap creativity through interdisciplinary internal and external collaboration.

What are the four progressive steps of cultural reciprocity in the paper?

They are: identify embedded cultural values in professional interpretations; compare assumptions with family recognition and values; explicitly respect cultural differences and explain their basis; use discussion and collaboration to adapt interpretations or recommendations to the family’s value system.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa