Equity in the classroom: Creating Culturally Responsive Learning Communities

Kyrene School DistrictSeptember 16, 2011

JoEtta Gonzales, Director &Seena Skelton, Co-DirectorThe Equity Alliance at ASU

Participants will:

Explore the impact that identity and context have on

teaching and learning

Build an understanding of

educational access, participation, and outcomes as they relate to issues of

power and privilege

Examine characteristics of

culturally responsive teaching

Compose a “Tweet”140 characters or less. Who are you?What does educational equity mean to you?

AgendaTime Topics

8:30 Welcome and introductions

Everyday Anti-Racism

Personal and cultural identities

The cultural nature of learning

Lunch

The Social Construction of Race and Whiteness

Power and Privilege

Introduction to culturally responsive teaching

3:30 Wrap up day one

How will we spend our time?

Facilitated Discussions

Reflection Activities

Video Discussions

Readings

What’s in your packet of materials

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Equi

tyEveryday Anti-

Racism

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Everyday Anti-Racism in Education involves:

Rejecting false notions of human

differences

Acknowledging lived experiences

shaped along racial lines

Learning from diverse forms of knowledge and

experiences; and

Challenging systems of racial

inequality.

As the demographics have changed within many school communities, educators have struggled with proactively addressing the behavioral and learning needs of an increasingly diverse student population for a variety of individual and systemic reasons.

Achievement Gaps

Disproportionality

Key Ideas

Policy changes alone have not changed outcomes

Educational gaps are due to pervasive institutional racial, cultural, and ethnic bias not simply poverty

Culturally responsive teaching creates culturally supportive and inclusive learning communities

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Explanations for Achievement Disparities

Linguistic Differences

Cultural Differences

Societal Racism

Inferior Education

Rationales for

Schooling

Au, 1998

Educational EquityWhen educational practices, policies, supports, curricula, school resources, and school cultures are such that all students have access to, participate and make progress in high quality learning experiences in order to reach academic success, regardless of race, ses, gender, dis/ability, national origin, religion, or other characteristics.

nccrest@asu.eduEquity Alliance at ASU

What people bringwith them

What’s alreadythere

The work peopledo together

Cultural Histories

The Institutional Culture The Culture We Create

The Cultural Nature of Learning

Understanding one’s own cultural and personal identities

Understanding and valuing the cultural identities of others

Engaging in culturally responsive practices

Pathway to Educational Equity

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Our own Cultural Histories

What we bringwith us

EducationExploring personal identities

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Think and Write

What does “race” mean?

What determines race?

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ReflectionIndividually Think about the selections:• What points from the reading and video resonated with

you?

Pair and discuss: • your reflections and questions• implications for practice

Share:• highlights from your discussion in large group

View and Discuss

Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness VisibleConversations -Video Activity

Discuss the following questions:

• When did you first become aware of white privilege?

• How does the intersection of privilege and difference show up in your context?

• Have you ever thought about your “space” (working, living, learning) as a racialized space? How do you react to this concept?

Brea

k

“"If your actions inspire others to dream more,

learn more, do more and become more, you are a

leader." - John Quincy Adams.”

How does Power and Privilege relate to students in schools?

Cultural differences affect how behaviors are interpreted by everyone as well as burden students and families with making subtle and overt shifts in their behavior when school behavior codes are not transparent.

The power for making judgments about behavior are made by school personnel who may not understand or be conscious of the relational nature of their cultural stances, and therefore behavior differences become magnets for conflict among and between students, families, and school personnel.

Where cultural differences exist, but are not adequately considered, school personnel, families, and students may exacerbate conflict rather than help to defuse, redirect and negotiate new norms.

NCCRESt, 2005

The institutional culture

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What’s already there

Socio-Historical Context

Economic Constraints

Cultural Practices, Patterns and Histories

Educational Mandates and Policies

Demographic Shifts

Current Political Climate

We must consider the socio-historical context in which schooling occurs to adequately address the achievement of all students.

Improvisation

Multi-tasking

Relationship

Standardization

Single-task activity

Task completion

Home Culture School Culture

Approach to Work Cultural Practices

Story Telling

Direct commands

Authentic questioning

High context

Home language

Casual register

Simultaneous Conversation

Print Literacy

Indirect commands

Inauthentic questioning

Low context

English only

Formal register

Turn Taking

Home Culture School Culture

Communication Cultural Practices

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The Culture we Create

The work people do together

The cultures we create in shared learning and work spaces develop as people work together and interact to define their community.

Understanding culture as a dynamic ingredient in human interactions provides entry points where people can help each other make meaning from their work and school experiences.

New cultures are created every time people come together on an ongoing basis and engage in common experiences.

It is critical to be cognizant of our interactions, if left unexamined, the norms that make up learning and work cultures could result in excluding some from fully accessing, participating and progressing in quality learning and work experiences.

What’s needed to get students college and career ready?

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Inclusive and Culturally Supportive Educational Experiences

Rigorous and Relevant Instruction

A statement that is heard from many teachers when asked about student differences is –

"I see all of my students the same way.”

It is critically important that teachers recognize the individuality of each student as cultural beings (Pollock,

2008).

the overall approach one takes to delivering instruction, using curricular materials, making educational decisions, including student discipline; and interacting with students and their families.

the lens through which teachers see their students and their students' learning.

the filter through which teachers listen to how students express their needs and desires.

Culturally Responsive Teaching is…

Culturally Responsive

Teaching

Disposition

Knowledge Skills

Practice

Villegas and Lucas (2002) identify six salient characteristics for preparing teachers to work successfully in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. These characteristics can be thought of as important teacher dispositions necessary for demonstrating culturally responsive teaching.

Dispositions Discussion Activity

DispositionsGallery Walk

Small Group Discussion

Whole Group Sharing

WHAT IS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING? VIDEO VIEWING ACTIVITY

Dr. Geneva Gay University of Washington Seattle

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Group Processing Activity

Individually Pairs Quads

Think about what questions you have about implementing the culturally responsive teaching practices Dr. Gay described in the video.

Both people complete the following statement: “What comes up for me when we start to talk about creating an inclusive and culturally responsive learning community is …..”

Discuss the challenges related to culturally responsive practices and possible leverage points that can be used to facilitate full implementation.

Brea

k

Answer the following questions:• What did you observe regarding the

teacher’s use of cultural referents and cultural practices to encourage active engagement of her students?

• How might a teacher use the curriculum in ways that reflect multiple perspectives and diverse cultural histories?

• What questions would you have for this teacher?

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Action

Environme

nt

Curriculum

Instruction &Assessment Clim

ate

Instruction & Assessment

Four foundational culturally responsive teaching strategies:

1) Actively engaging students in learning

2) Connecting students' new learning to their prior knowledge and lived experiences

3) Including diverse cultural representations & multiple perspectives

4)Assessing student knowledge to inform instruction

Culturally responsive curricula reflect multiple ethnic and cultural perspectives; and incorporate everyday-life concepts of various cultural groups in the teaching of new content. Curriculum is designed to develop students’ critical thinking skills and is integrated across all subjects and content areas.

Curriculum

Environment

Safe

Organized

Welcoming

Climate

Fun

Belonging

• Students feel share their ideas.

Power

Freedom/

Choices

Classroom Equity Indicators

Read Pair Share• Read the equity

indicators• Discuss the indicators

with your partner and write 1 or 2 additional indicators for each area

• Share additions with group

3 -2-1 Discussion• 3 Key take-aways from today’s

session

• 2 Immediate next steps I will take to forward my understanding of my own cultural identity and the cultural identities of my students

• 1 Question I have about implementing culturally responsive teaching

Equity exists, in part, to the degree that all students feel they belong, are included,

and are empowered.

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