An expert on multicultural education and teaching students with diverse backgrounds will speak at Colorado State University on Thursday, Sept. 18.
Well-known educator and scholar Dr. Sonia Nieto will present “Becoming Culturally Responsive Educators: What Does it Take?” from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theatre.
In the presentation, Nieto will discuss her latest book, Finding Joy in Teaching Students of Diverse Backgrounds: Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Practices in U.S. Classrooms. Based on interviews with teachers around the nation, the book explores the values, beliefs, and practices of teachers who are successful with students of diverse backgrounds. It has implications for teachers, schools, and the preparation of teachers.
An educator, researcher, writer, and teacher, Nieto is professor emerita of language, literacy, and culture in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has taught students from the elementary through the doctoral level, and her research focuses on multicultural education, teacher education, and the education of Latinos, immigrants, and other students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Nieto has written dozens of journal articles and book chapters as well as several books on those topics. In addition to her new book, they include Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education (with Patty Bode); The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities; and Language, Culture, and Teaching: Critical Perspectives.
Nieto serves on several regional and national advisory boards that focus on educational equity and social justice, and she has received many awards for her scholarship, teaching, and advocacy, including four honorary doctorates. She was selected as a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and as a Laureate for Kappa Delta Pi in 2011, and in 2012 she served as the Wits-Claude Distinguished Scholar at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. In May 2014, she received the Medal for Distinguished Service, the highest honor given by Teachers College at Columbia University. She is married to Angel Nieto, a former teacher, poet, and children’s book writer, and they have three daughters and 12 grandchildren.
Nieto’s lecture is presented by The Task Force on Increasing the Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness of Educators, a collaborative group consisting of faculty and staff from Colorado State University and the Poudre School District.
The lecture is sponsored by:
The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Colorado State University
College of Health and Human Sciences, Colorado State University
The Institute for Learning and Teaching-TILT, Colorado State University
Colorado State University Writing Project
Poudre School District
School of Education, Colorado State University
School of Teacher Education and Principal Preparation, Colorado State University
Lory Student Center, Colorado State University
