Professional Growth Plan - Assignment Example

Professional Growth Plan Affiliation: Social differences have resulted in cultural diversity around the world. Culture is a diverse and dynamic concept that is highly influenced by social, economic, and political aspects. Amid this, it is a critical component of any society, since it defines the norms, morals, beliefs, traditions, and customs of a community. The diversity that encompasses culture calls for understanding individual and social differences, if the different cultures of the world are to be embraced at personal or social level.

To realize this, cultural proficiency becomes fundamental since the only way to understand cultural diversity is by learning the underlying differences, then embrace and integrate them into the already running system.Cultural proficiency is a developmental process that utilizes resources prior to the realization of an advanced outcome. Information is a vital resource in this process, and the advantage in this case is that vast information about cultural proficiency is readily available and accessible.

From libraries to the internet, there are diverse and dynamic sources of information about cultural proficiency. Keeping at par with current information in personal development towards cultural proficiency is fundamental in learning and understanding cultural diversity in the world (Lindsey, Nuri-Robins, Terrell & Lindsey, 2011). On the same note, use of information as a resource will enhance cross-cultural analysis in an unbiased manner.Teacher-student interactions often require a culturally responsive learning environment.

To create an environment that best accounts for this requirement, differentiated instruction becomes a fundamental strategy to use for the benefit of the students. Differentiated instruction will basically account for the diverse and differentiated students’ needs in the teaching and learning context. This will also enhance their academic understanding, over and above the realization that their various cultural differences are accounted for in the teaching and learning systems.Culturally responsive efforts are pursued at all levels, especially at individual and social levels.

The primary interest is to enhance social coherence amid individual and social differences that are rooted in variant cultures. Colleagues or even the school at large can employ different efforts to enhance their cultural responsiveness. Personal change and transformation constitutes essential efforts that can be employed to improve and exacerbate cultural responsiveness (Lindsey, Nuri-Robins, Terrell & Lindsey, 2011). Changing oneself and subsequent transformation will allow an individual to become more accommodative in relation to cultural differences across individuals.

Personally, learning about and understanding differences across individuals and social settings around the world constitute an understanding of cultural proficiency. Cultural proficiency encompasses more than just the interacting cultures. It also covers those cultures that personally I have not come across, but I know of their existence, and I subsequently understand their practices and differences from many other cultures in the world. Therefore, cultural proficiency is an intensive and extensive discipline.

Development of cultural proficiency at the teacher level allows the teacher to understand how to address individual student learning needs in relation to the various cultures exhibited by students. To the students, cultural proficiency enhances their interaction and relations in schools. On the other hand, the school community enjoys cultural alliances and interdependence, aided by cultural proficiency at a school community level.ReferenceLindsey, D., Nuri-Robins, K., Terrell, R. & Lindsey, L. (2011). Culturally Proficient Instruction: A Guide for People Who Teach.

New York: Sage Publications.