Leveling Up Your CRT Game

From Zaretta Hammond's January Newsletter

Now is a great time to deepen your culturally responsive practice with the power of habits. We often confuse culturally responsive practices with strategies. Yes, there are teacher-led strategies that are part of culturally responsive teaching. But it also means new structures, processes, and routines in our classrooms focused on getting students to engage in learning in new ways. The effectiveness of these processes and routines is all about consistency through habit formation.

Just like the science of learning and the science of reading, there’s a whole science to creating new habits. It’s called “behavior design” by habit experts like Stanford professor, BJ Fogg, author of Tiny Habits and made famous by authors James Clear of Atomic Habits and Charles Duhigg of The Power of Habit.

Here’s the rub. We often try to make too many changes all at the same time and then nothing really sticks. Focus more on habit stacking. Create a new habit. Once it becomes consistent, which usually takes about 35 days. Then add another one.

So, here are five steps for creating new instructional habits based on the principles of behavior design.

1. Pick a “lead domino.” Select one area on the Ready for Rigor frame. Then, select a smaller move within that area. This is your “lead domino.” A lead domino is a small but high leverage move that sets the stage for bigger changes down the road.

2. Make that high leverage move or practice *tiny*. Find that Goldilocks sweet spot. Select a level that’s not too easy and not too hard for you. Think of it as your habit ZPD. Too easy, you won’t bother. Too hard, your brain resists.

3. Now, anchor this new move to a regular routine or habit you already do without thinking much about it (it’s already an automatic habit). We call this the trigger point.

4. When you do the tiny habit, immediately celebrate. This triggers dopamine in your brain, getting your neurons to fire and wire together. Your brain rewarding you for taking action and making it easier for you to be consistent with the new move.

5. Aim for consistency. See if you can get on a habit streak. When you forget to do it or don’t do it correctly, just start the streak over. Don’t forget to celebrate even when you have to start over.

Learn more about Tiny Habits here https://www.tinyhabits.com