Unit 2: Theory and Practice

Before beginning Unit 2, please reflect on your own teaching by completing the following check-list during any of your lessons: Equitable Classroom Practices Observation Checklist

Make sure that you are being honest with this checklist and remember that this is meant to help you to create a stronger ability to promote culturally responsiveness through your teaching.

What does the term "Culturally Responsive Teaching" mean?

In the last unit, we learned all about culture, cultural competence, and cultural responsiveness. Now, we are going to begin to gain further insight of how we can now transfer our knowledge and understanding of culture into the classroom through culturally responsive teaching. According to Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994), “[Culturally Responsive Teaching] is an approach that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impact knowledge, skills, and attitudes”(p.382). In effectively practicing culturally responsive teaching, a teacher is creating a united effort for students to learn and grow, while simultaneously increasing lifelong social-emotional skills that will help students to collaboratively work with a diverse group of people. Bielaczyc and Collins (1999) state, “Students need to learn to respect other students’ contributions and differences, and to feel safe in speaking up and giving their own ideas. The more everyone is heard, the more sources of knowledge there are for expanding the community’s knowledge” (p. 287). Therefore, culturally responsive teaching is a key component in building a strong learning community.

Why should we practice culturally responsive pedagogy?

“Individual differences are clearly important to student success” (Strange & Banning, 2015, p. 61). But why do individual differences play such a big role in academic success?

Gay (2010 ) states that "since how one thinks, writes, and speaks reflects culture and affects performance, aligning instruction to the cultural communication styles of different ethnic groups can improve school achievement" (p.xx). In other words, practicing culturally responsive pedagogy influences student success because students learn more effectively when they can relate their learning to their own experiences and values. Creating cultural responsiveness in the classroom is actually a form of differentiating instruction to aid in student success in the classroom because we are using references that they connect with to present instruction or even to assess learning.

How do you bring culturally responsive teaching to the classroom?

The first step to bringing cultural responsiveness into your classroom is simply to know the five elements of your culture from the moment the school year begins. From there, it is about sharing and celebrating your culture so that students can become more aware of the elements of culture while become increasingly engaged about learning about others cultures. While you are doing this, you should keep your target objective in mind, which is to get your students open to sharing their own cultural identity, while simultaneously learning about and being respectful to other cultures.

Dais (n.d.) lists the following seven steps to effectively practice culturally responsive teaching in your classroom:

• Examine your own teaching for cultural bias

• Build on students’ cultural strengths

• Discover your students’ primary cultural roles

• Incorporate culture into your teaching

• Learn what you can about various cultures

• Accept your own naiveté

• Enjoy the journey

Watch the following video to get a better sense of why culturally responsive pedagogy is so essential in the classroom today!

Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Exit Ticket:

Before we move on to the next unit, reflect on the following questions in your reflection journal:

✎Now that you have a better understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy, have you ever practiced this pedagogy in your own classroom?

✎If so, how have you created a culturally responsive classroom for your students?

✎After this lesson, what are some additional ways that you can create a stronger culturally responsive atmosphere in your own classroom?

References:

Bielaczyc, K. & Collins, A. (1999). Learning communities in classrooms: A reconceptualization of educational practice. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.) Instructional-Design Theories and Models Volume II (pp. 269-291). New York, NY: Routledge.

Dais, T. (n.d.). Understanding Culture and Cultural Responsiveness: Appreciating Culture and Cultural Responsiveness. National Institute for Urban School Improvement:The Equity Alliance at ASU. Retrieved from: National Institute for Urban School ImprovementThe Equity Alliance at ASU

Gay, G. (2010). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. Teachers College Press. New York, New York.

Ladson-Billings G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Strange, C. C., & Banning, J. H. (2015). Designing for learning: Creating campus environments for student success (2nd Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Now get ready for Unit 3: Media & Technology