Culturally Responsive Teaching:

Culturally Responsive Teaching is defined as using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant and effective for them. It teaches to and through the strengths of students.

Culturally responsive teaching is an intentional expression of knowledge, beliefs and values that recognize the importance of racial and cultural diversity in learning.

Culturally Responsive Practices Include:

• Seeing cultural differences as assets;

• Creating caring learning communities where culturally different individuals and heritages are valued;

• Using cultural knowledge of ethnically diverse cultures, families, and communities to guide curriculum development, classroom climates, instructional strategies, and relationships with students;

• Challenging racial and cultural stereotypes, prejudices, racism, and other forms of intolerance, injustice, and oppression;

• Being change agents for social justice and academic equity;

• Mediating power imbalances in classrooms based on race, culture, ethnicity, and class; and

• Accepting cultural responsiveness as endemic to educational effectiveness in all areas of learning for students from all ethnic groups.

See: Culturally Responsive Instruction: A Teacher’s Checklist