Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
Alaa Alkam
Fall 2012
1. Define Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
"Culturally responsive teaching can be defined as 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, pg. 31).
Culturally responsive pedagogy facilitates and supports the achievement of all students. In a culturally responsive classroom, effective teaching and learning occur in a culturally supported, learner-centered context, whereby the strengths students bring to school are identified, nurtured, and utilized to promote student achievement. Culturally responsive pedagogy comprises three dimensions: institutional, personal,and instructional (Richards, pg. 64).
“It empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes" (Ladson-Billing 2009, pg. 20).
2. What does culturally responsive pedagogy "look like" in the classroom?
Culturally responsive pedagogy should reflect the different cultures of the students. There should be pictures and posters that represent and express the diversity of the students. Dictionaries, thesauruses, magazines, and books are provided in multiple languages or the languages spoken by the students. The students artwork and material should be displayed for everyone to see and not hidden. A culturally responsive classroom will not have one dominant culture representing the whole classroom but rather a display of multiple cultures that represent the classroom environment.
3. Why do teachers need to know about culturally responsive pedagogy?
It is important for teachers to know about culturally responsive pedagogy due to the increase of diversity in the classroom. It is very common to have students from all over the world in one classroom, and culturally responsive pedagogy is a method that can be used in such a classroom. It does not focus on one specific culture, it focuses on the students culture, knowledge and experiences. Having a learner-centered classroom supports the success of students from different cultural backgrounds and learning experiences.
"A culturally responsive teacher looks closely at the decisions he or she makes in the classroom and tries to understand how those decisions are perceived, received and acted upon by students" (Gay, 2000). It addresses the needs of all their students, giving all their students an equal opportunity to learn, and it builds bridges between students, teachers and the coursework.
4. Why do parents need to know about culturally responsive pedagogy?
Parents should know about culturally responsive pedagogy because it does not discriminate, every culture is accepted and appreciated. It combines institution, home and instruction allowing their child to make a connection between all three. Parents can also contribute to their child's knowledge since it values the students culture. It also allows them to build up the English language without neglecting their native language. Culturally responsive pedagogy fills the gaps that can occur between the student, school and home. It supports the home culture and allows their child to build up their strengths to become a successful student and a contributing member of society.
5. How does culturally responsive pedagogy concern students?
It concerns students because it creates a learning experience that requires their cultural knowledge and prior experiences. It allows the student to feel valued because their culture is not hidden or excluded from the instruction. It will help build their confidence by nurturing and utilizing their strengths.
Activities to becoming culturally responsive teachers
1. Engage in reflective thinking and writing
2. Explore personal and family histories
3. Acknowledge membership in different groups
4. Learn about the history and experiences in diverse groups
5. Visit families and communities
6. Visit or read about successful teachers in diverse settings
7. Develop an appreciation of diversity
8. Participate in reforming the constitution
7 Strategies to Support a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
1. Build trust
2. Become culturally literate
3. Build a repertoire of instructional strategies
4. Using effective questioning techniques
5. Provide effective feedback
6. Analyze instructional material
7. Establish positive home-school relations
* (Jackson 1993, pg.299-302)
Four Conditions Necessary for Culturally Responsive Teaching
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Establish Inclusion
Norms:
- Emphasize the human purpose of what is being learned and its relationship to the students' experience.
- Share the ownership of knowing with all students.
- Collaborate and cooperate. The class assumes a hopeful view of people and their capacity to change.
- Treat all students equitably. Invite them to point out behaviors or practices that discriminate.
Procedures: Collaborative learning approaches; cooperative learning; writing groups; peer teaching; multidimensional sharing; focus groups; and re-framing.
Structures: Ground rules, learning communities; and cooperative base groups.
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Develop Positive Attitude
Norms:
- Relate teaching and learning activities to students' experience or previous knowledge.
- Encourage students to make choices in content and assessment methods based on their experiences, values, needs, and strengths.
Procedures: Clear learning goals; problem solving goals; fair and clear criteria of evaluation; relevant learning models; learning contracts; approaches based on multiple intelligences theory, pedagogical flexibility based on style, and experiential learning.
Structure: Culturally responsive teacher/student/parent conferences.
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Enhance Meaning
Norms:
- Provide challenging learning experiences involving higher order thinking and critical inquiry. Address relevant, real-world issues in an action-oriented manner.
- Encourage discussion of relevant experiences. Incorporate student dialect into classroom dialogue.
Procedures: Critical questioning; guided reciprocal peer questioning; posing problems; decision making; investigation of definitions; historical investigations; experimental inquiry; invention; art; simulations; and case study methods.
Structures: Projects and the problem-posing model.
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Engender Competence
Norms:
- Connect the assessment process to the students' world, frames of reference, and values.
- Include multiple ways to represent knowledge and skills and allow for attainment of outcomes at different points in time.
- Encourage self-assessment.
Procedures: Feedback; contextualized assessment; authentic assessment tasks; portfolios and process-folios; tests and testing formats critiqued for bias; and self-assessment.
Structures: Narrative evaluations; credit/no credit systems; and contracts for grades.
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*Wlodkowski, R. J., & Ginsberg, M. B. (1995). Diversity and motivation: Culturally responsive teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Further reading about Culturally Responsive Pedagogy:
Culturally Responsive Teaching. ( n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2012,
from http://www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture/curriculum/culture/teaching.htm
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. New
York: Teachers College Press.
Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). New
York: Teachers College Press.
Jackson, F. R.(1993). Seven strategies to support a culturally responsive pedagogy.
Journal of Reading, 298-303.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1997). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African
American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2012,
from http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/tl-strategies/crt- principles.shtml#refladson94
Richards, H. & Brown, F. (2007). Addressing Diversity in School: Culturally
Responsive Pedagogy. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 399(3), 64-68.
Wlodkowski, R. J., & Ginsberg, M. B. (1995). A Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching.
Strengthening Student Engagement, 53(1),17-21.
Comments (4)
Adam Schwartz said
at 5:26 pm on Nov 20, 2012
Hey Alaa, A few key things here:
Be sure to use dates and page numbers in in-text parenthetical cites.
More of your own voice and writing is necessary here. You've included several lists and bullet points (you must cite all of these, by the way!) but be sure to narrate these contributions by synthesizing just as you have for critical reports, discussion cycles, etc. In addition, I only see answers to two of the necessary prompts (and for one you've only copied and pasted a video, without any sort of written context).
In short, be sure to flesh this draft out completely by the end of the week in the ways I mention. Email me if you have any more specific questions/concerns.
courtney murray said
at 8:24 pm on Dec 1, 2012
I enjoyed reading your page, it was filled with great information and tips for teachers. I also made a few suggestions although I am not sure where my comments went. In addition to this, I inserted a picture.
Alaa said
at 12:43 pm on Dec 2, 2012
Thanks Courtney! I like the picture, and I couldn't find the suggestions you made either.
Renee Mortellite said
at 4:45 pm on Dec 2, 2012
Alaa,
I added in the word and as well as a couple of suffixes. I altered the word order in one place as well. You had typed help will build. I changed it to will help build. It made more sense to me. I really enjoyed your topic. I think it is extremely important to include all cultures since our classrooms reflect so many different backgrounds.
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