CULTURAL AWARENESS PROJECT

Project Guidelines and Rubric.html

Competency

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

• Describe the roles of culture and bias in interpreting and conveying information

Scenario

You are working in one of the following civilian roles located in your hometown or work area, or in a nearby metropolitan area. You have recently been asked to gather a group of community members and certain sworn officials—choose one or more groups from the group list—and offer them diversity training. The training presentation will include common terminology and stereotypes, and having the community members identify their implicit biases.

Civilian Roles to Choose From:

• Paralegal
• Court Clerk
• Victim Advocate
• Nonprofit Administrator
• Eligibility Specialist

Directions

Training

After you have chosen your civilian role and your audience of specific sets of sworn officials, follow the directions below to complete your assignment:

1. Describe how culture impacts communications from criminal justice professionals, using appropriate terminology. You may include any videos or supplemental theories you think may be relevant.
   • Include key terminology related to cultural awareness, including:
     1. Terms related to classifications of cultures (e.g., contraculture)
     2. The difference between race and ethnicity
     3. The difference between discrimination and prejudice
   • Provide at least one example of each type—speaking and listening—when there is miscommunication.

1. Explain how cultural stereotypes can negatively influence decision making in criminal justice settings. Include the following:
   • Examples of stereotypes common to three of the five different groups below, and how these can be harmful when generalized:
     1. Race
     2. Ethnicity
     3. Language ability
     4. Citizenship
     5. Religion
   • At least three examples of how stereotyping these different groups led to poor decision making in criminal justice settings

1. Explain how diversity stereotypes can negatively influence decision making in criminal justice settings. Include the following:
   • Examples of stereotypes common to these five different defined groups and how they can be harmful when generalized:
     1. Socioeconomic status (SES)
     2. Gender
     3. LGBTQ+ status
     4. Age
     5. Disability (including mental disabilities)
   • A brief explanation of the history behind stereotyping one of these five diverse communities in the United States
   • At least five examples of how stereotyping these different groups led to poor decision making in criminal justice settings

1. Explain how personal bias may influence speaking and listening.
   • Explain the relationship between ethnocentrism and communication issues among criminal justice professionals and the public.
   • Distinguish implicit from explicit bias.
   • Include an example from your (or another’s) examination of implicit biases.

What to Submit

To complete this project, you must submit the following:

Training Presentation This training for sworn officers and community members should include at least 15 slides (including a title slide) or 10 minutes of audio and video, and cover all of the requirements in the directions. Your project can be presented in a variety of presentation formats, but must include visual representation in addition to talking points. Make sure to utilize the speaker notes function in the presentation if you do not include a video or voiceover.

Supporting Materials

The following resource(s) may help support your work on the project:

Website: Diversity Wheel This graphic is a useful tool you can use to analyze miscommunications due to diversity.

Project One Template This template provides a slide layout and topic order that you can use, if you wish, for the final project.

Project One Rubric