The Student Profile Survey questions included below can be used at the beginning of the semester as a way for teachers to get to know students as individuals with unique lived experiences and learning styles, allowing the instructor to connect with students and create spaces for belonging. Such questions can enable students to share their diverse linguistic backgrounds to inform culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2018) and build classroom community with the goal of creating environments in which students can speak and write comfortably. This teaching tool aligns with the importance of language recognition and linguistic pluralism, as it allows teachers to recognize the legitimacy of multiple language practices and provide students with the tools to navigate different linguistic contexts. It should be noted that instructors would want to ask all students the same set of questions rather than singling out any students.
Jocelyn Ruffin, Human Development & Family Science
Student Profile Survey Questions
- What name would you like me to call you? What are your pronouns?
- What languages or dialects (eg Southern, Midwest, Black English, New England, Latino, Indian, Creoles/Pidgins) did you grow up speaking (home/school)?
- Have you ever been mocked or felt degraded for how you speak or write?
- Would you like feedback on your grammar?
- What is your previous experience in Birth-Kindergarten Teacher Education? This can be formal or informal experience.
- Have you taken any other classes in this discipline before?
- What are you hoping to learn in this class?
- What is a fun fact about you?
- Is there anything else you would like me to know?
Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: theory, research, and practice. New York: Teachers College, p. 31.