Multicultural Counseling Syllabus
This is a syllabus that I developed for a multicultural counseling course. It is based upon a format developed by Dr. Colette Dollarhide at The Ohio State University. Each classroom session of the course blends didactic and process components. On a weekly basis, students gather for a 75 minute lecture session, have a brief break to move to separate locations, and then gather in small groups for an additional 75 minutes to process the lecture content and their course-related experiences. Course assignments contain a blend of reflective writing tasks, cultural immersion experiences, and a group presentation. I have created all materials related to this course including lectures for each class session and structured group activities. The course represents a creative approach to providing multicultural instruction, including content knowledge, self-awareness, and achieving skill-based competency. I selected a number of texts that support student learning, and revised the assignments to clarify expectations and broaden the base of experience that students gain in the course.
This format has been utilized for several years with master’s level students at Ohio State, and my revision of the course integrates my perceptions of the most successful course elements with several innovations to augment student learning (e.g. incorporating a cultural immersion activity in the first class, using a group presentation to broaden cultural knowledge, reorganizing course content to scaffold learning over the course of the term, eliminating less necessary readings and identifying new texts that support the learning objectives for each session). The syllabus contains reading selections, assignment guidelines, evidence that the course satisfies expectations for program accreditation and professional competency, assessment procedures, grading rubrics, and learning taxonomies. Additional materials developed for this course (e.g. sample lecture presentations, group activities and handouts) are available through the teaching artifacts page of this site.