cleve state pd workshop feb 2012

Culturally responsive pedagogy: Teaching like

our students' lives matter

Sherry Taylor, Ph.D.Associate Professor

Literacy, Language & Culturally Responsive Teaching Program

School of Education & Human Development University of Colorado Denver

National Professional Development Grant WORKSHOP

Cleveland State University February 16, 2012

Sharing a bit about me…. Learning a bit

about you

Identify our current educational context & the background of the learners with whom we work.

What learning experiences have we had that have prepared us to teach learners from linguistically & culturally diverse backgrounds?

To what extent have these experiences prepared us to teach a diverse student population with diverse needs?

Today’s Objectives

Conceptual OverviewGuiding assumptions, theoretical principles, &

definitions of culturally responsive pedagogy;Demographics & their impact on educational

contexts;Professional Standards & Supports

Practical ApplicationsProvide practical supports for teachers to organize &

plan for the implementation of a culturally responsive pedagogy.

Highlight classrooms where teachers have effectively operationalized their commitment, knowledge and skills of a culturally responsive pedagogy in multilingual & multicultural classrooms; grounded in classroom-based research (Taylor & Sobel, 2011).

Guiding Assumptions Grounding My Work With Culturally Responsive

Pedagogy

 1. Culture is central to learning, language, literacy and education; it is pervasive in people’s ways of knowing and responding to life; it influences teachers’ and students’ decisions and mutual interactions.

2. Children arrive at school having been socialized at home in how to use language to acquire the knowledge their community has judged appropriate for someone at their age level.

 3. Learning is socially constructed and mutually

negotiated, not transmitted; learning is influenced by learners’ background knowledge, life experiences and cultural knowledge.

Guiding Assumptions4. Language, literacy and culture are

interrelated and intersect with the learning process.

 5. All children deserve the opportunity to

an equitable and quality education.  6. All students deserve access to a

curriculum that is relevant and to instruction that accommodates for their learning interests, abilities, and needs. This includes instructional planning and practices aligned with a pedagogy that is inclusive and equitable in order to facilitate the academic achievement of all students.

Take a Stance

Take a Stance on Assumptions 7-10

Strongly Agree

Agree Dis-agre

e

Strongly

Disagree

7. Education is not politically neutral; sociopolitical and historical contexts influence educational policies, schools, curricular decisions, administrators, teachers and students.

8. While English is becoming a common, global language, there is value in all languages. Multilingualism promotes mutual understanding; maintenance of one’s native language is a basic human right.

9. One’s native language is a valuable resource and a useful tool. This is particularly so when a speaker is adding a new language to his/her linguistic repertoire.

10. Individuals in today’s world need to be prepared to function in a multicultural, inclusive society within the United States & globally.

A Changing World Context

School classrooms worldwide consist of students from a diversity of languages, cultures, racial/ethnic backgrounds, religions, economic resources, interest abilities and life experiences.

Schools are expected to take the lead in socializing students and helping them gain the knowledge and skills needed for a successful life in a global context.

Globally, a striking cultural mismatch between teachers and students exists.

Demographics of U.S.Educational Contexts (NCES,

2009)

1.04 million immigrate to US

yearly

70% of student population

consists of student of color in the 20

largest school districts

Some ethnic groups are overrepresented in special education

programs and underrepresented in

gifted programs

95% of students with disabilities are served in

general education classrooms.

By 2025, 40% of the school-age

population will be students of color

1 in 5 children have a foreign-born parent

A large yet undetermined # of

undocumented immigrants arrive

annually

Currently nearly million ELL

students attend school

By 2025, 1 in 4 students will initially be

classified as an ELL student

Pause to reflect on your educational

context What are the demographics of the student

population in the district where you work?

How do district demographics compare with those of the school where you work?

What are the demographics of faculty, administration & support staff at this school?

What are similarities & differences between demographic data of students at the school & teacher demographics? Demographics of students & support staff? Students & administrators?

TRENDS? OBSERVATIONS?

What do you notice as you reflect on

estimates of the demographic data in your context?

Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession

Standard 1: Teachers understand student learning & development and respect the diversity of the students they teach. Teachers understand what students

know & are able to use this knowledge to meet the needs of all students.

Teachers model respect for students’ diverse cultures, language skills & experiences (ODE, 2005).

Definitions of culturally responsive teaching

“Using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (Gay, 2010)

“…a framework that recognizes the rich and varied cultural wealth, knowledge, and skills that students from diverse groups bring to schools.” (Howard, 2010)

Theoretical Principles: Culturally responsive pedagogy supports…

A recognition of the complexity of culture including educators allowing students to use their personal culture to enhance their quest for educational excellence.

An authentic and culturally informed notion of care for students, wherein their academic, social, emotional, psychological, and cultural well-being is abided by.

A critical consciousness and sociopolitical awareness that reflects an ongoing commitment to challenge injustice, and disrupt inequities and oppression directed at a group of people.

The disruption of the idea that Eurocentric or middle-class forms of discourse, knowledge, language, culture, and historical interpretations are normative. The eradication of deficits-based ideologies toward culturally diverse students. (Howard , 2010)

Culturally Responsive Teaching

What does it look like when teachers understand what

students know & can use this knowledge to meet the needs

of all students?

Would we know culturally responsive teaching if we saw

it?

Characteristics of Culturally Responsive

Educators1.Understand how learners construct knowledge and have the skills to assist learners to do this;

2. Take time to learn about the cultures and lives of their students;

3. Use their knowledge about students to design instruction that builds on students’ cultural perspectives & knowledge, then expand the content and learning to depths beyond the starting point;

4. Affirm students from diverse backgrounds and recognize differences as resources, not as problems to overcome;

5. Are socio-culturally conscious, meaning they recognize that there are multiple ways of perceiving reality;

6. See self as responsible for & capable of bringing about change that will make schools more responsive to all students. (Villegas & Lucas, 2002)

TAKE A LOOK IN

THE MIRROR

Reflecting on the Villegas & Lucas characteristics,

consider examples of your own

teaching practice that exemplify

these characteristics.

Take a look & ask yourself…

1. What do I understand about: how learners in my classroom construct knowledge? about their cultures and life experiences?

2. In what ways do I use my knowledge about the students in my classroom to design instruction that builds on their cultural perspectives & background knowledge?

3. How do I go about affirming students’ backgrounds?

4. How do I integrate multiple ways of perceiving reality or curricular content within the curriculum?

5. How do I go about prompting change at the school level to build an environment with increased cultural responsiveness toward all students?

CONSIDERATIONS

Building on our existing expertise

Building on our existing expertise: Considerations

Legitimize students’ cultures and life experiences, by moving beyond understanding surface level culture, such as foods, dances and holidays.

Use the cultural legacies, traits, and orientations of students as filters through which to teach students academic knowledge, thereby teaching “to and through” students’ frames of reference.

Include more significant and comprehensive information about different cultures and their contributions in school subject content. (Gay, 2010)

Building on our existing expertise: Considerations (2)

Make learning an active, participatory endeavor in which students are assisted in making meaning and giving personal meaning to new ideas.

Teach the students style-shifting (code-switching) skills so that they can maneuver between home and school languages and cultures with ease.

Build the moral commitment, critical consciousness, and political competence that students need to consider their role in promoting social justice and social transformation. (Gay, 2010)

A daily “entry” activity has potential to be culturally responsive

Standard wall calendar w/ pockets for day and date cards presented in English are decorated with colorful balloons.

Randomly, students are verbally called upon to identify today’s weather.

Non-exempl

ar of CRT in

K-3

Calendar is positioned at student eye level, all cards contain picture cues and multilingual representations of days of the week. Multiple multisensory manipulatives are used for counting practice.Teacher appoints a student to use picture name cards to call upon peers. Teacher gauges each student’s calendar task so it matches their learning need (e.g. counting, vs. prediction of weather).

Exemplar of CRT

in K-3

The 5-minute “entry” activity has the potential to be

culturally responsive

Periodic Table positioned on the wall in the front of the classroom.

Upon entering the room, students are directed to write a description of the atomic structure of 3 selected elements. The teacher calls on random students to share description.

Non-exempl

ar of CRT in 9-12

science

Three periodic tables are displayed on the side walls of the classroom for easy viewing & access. Each periodic table presents a different perspective & organization of the elements.

Students work in table groupings of 4 to discuss three selected elements & hypothesize why they are placed in a different organization in each of the 3 tables displayed.

Exemplar of CRT

in 9-12 Science

PEEKING INTO A

CLASSROOM

Middle School Math

WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?

What would you suggest to this teacher about ways to

design instruction to support her students,

especially her student, Moises, who is struggling to

communicate his understandings & knowledge

of the content.

http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/watch/9/immersion

Planning for culturally responsive pedagogy: An organizational

framework

11 COMPONENTS: 1. Considering the

learner2. Environment

/Environmental print

3. Curriculum considerations

4. Language objective5. Social context for

learning/grouping strategies.

6. Content materials for instruction

7. Scaffolding/Instructional adaptations

8. Distribution of teacher’s attention

9. Check for understanding/Evidence of student understanding

10. Classroom behavior/managing the classroom

11. Connecting with family, community, local culture. (Taylor & Sobel, 2011).

Planning for culturally responsive pedagogy

Using an ‘Organizational Framework’ as a lens for planning & reflecting on

classrooms & instruction (Taylor & Sobel, 2011)

What planning and information gathering

need to occur when we organize for culturally responsive

instruction?

3RD GRADE LITERACY LESSON

Taking a “bird’s eye view” into the classroom

Will I know it if I see it?

Taking a peek at a teacher’s journey

Literacy instruction: 3rd grade classroom

As you listen to the classroom scenario, visualize you are there as the lesson evolves & takes shape. Use the note-catcher to identify examples of the teacher’s use of the organizational framework in her planning for culturally responsive instruction.

Note-catcherComponents of

Responsive TeachingIdentify exemplars of responsive teaching

that are evident in the “Classroom Context & Tour” and “Literacy Instructional Episode”

1) Considering your learner

2) Environment/Environmental Print

3) Curriculum considerations 

Designing Culturally Responsive Instruction

How did Ms. Reni Ruíz do?

Analyze the teaching scenario and identifyexplicit examples of what the teacher did that

illustrate aspects of “using the culturalknowledge, prior experiences, frames of

reference,and performance styles of culturally diversestudents to make learning encounters more

relevant to and effective.” (Gay, 2010)

Concluding our conversations: Supports & structures for advancing our efforts to culturally responsive instruction

Organizational Framework

Professional Organizations

Mentoring Tool: Illustrates a variety of key elements of culturally responsive pedagogy; supports discussion and conferring relevant to the organizational & planning components (Taylor & Sobel, 2011).

THANK YOU!

Your questions, thoughts, next steps?