Connect to Student's Lives
Did the teacher connect instructional content with the daily lives of students by using culturally affirming texts that tap into their existing interests, knowledge, youth culture or relevant current events?
Why does this matter?
“Educator Lisa Delpit coined the term "culturally responsive teaching," and her research showed that students really need to see connection between learning and their lived experiences. Therefore, teachers need to create routine situations where students' lives are brought into the learning and connections are made between the stories they share and the content being learned.” - Rebecca Alder, UCLA
“The notion of culturally responsive education is premised on the idea that culture is central to student learning. According to Gloria Ladson−Billings, ‘It is an approach that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes.’ The use of cultural referents in teaching bridges and explains the mainstream culture, while valuing and recognizing the students' own cultures. This link between culture and classroom instruction is derived from evidence that cultural practices shape thinking processes, which serve as tools for learning within and outside of school (Hollins, l996). Thus, culturally responsive education recognizes, respects, and uses students' identities and backgrounds as meaningful sources (Nieto, 2000) for creating optimal learning environments.”
What does this look like in a classroom?
Teachers encourage students to use their identities and backgrounds as sources from which to make required text(s) more valuable and to increase engagement with literature. Class conversations allow students to relate to one another and learn from both shared and differing experiences while seeing authentic versions of themselves in classroom text(s). Teachers foster an environment in which students bring their personal and cultural experiences into class discussions.
These resources can really help: (and are repeated below in the CR-SE section)
Responsive Reads is a website which "shines a light light on culturally authentic texts by and about diverse cultures. Below are some specific examples of ways to use these texts. Wheter or not you use these specific texts or different ones, these will generate ideas for how you can use ANY text you choose in a more culturally responsive way.
What does this look like in a remote learning context?
Teachers can utilize the unique opportunity to include online activities into the curriculum while prioritizing student well-being by acting as a support system through this difficult time. Teachers may build mutual trusting relationships with students while creating opportunities for student-centered discourse. The following resources provide scaffolding for teachers to establish trusting relationships in a remote learning environment.
What are some key PD resources related to this topic?
The following resources can be used as a starting point for teachers to bring relevance, rigor, and social-emotional learning into their classes.
What are special considerations / resources for Multilingual / English Language Learners?
The following resources can be used to gain a detailed understanding of how to provide clear expectations and scaffolded support for multilingual/ English language learners both in the classroom and in a remote learning context.
What are special considerations / resources for students with IEPs?
The following resource provides teachers with a common language to describe effective teaching for continuous growth in supporting students with IEPs.
How is this related to CR-SE? (Culturally Responsive /Sustaining Education)
The following resources provide teachers with detailed guidelines on ensuring that required text(s) are culturally authentic. Teachers can provide many opportunities for student engagement with the text(s) by providing diverse and authentic book choices for each grade that reflects students’ backgrounds and identities.
How is this related to the Supportive Environment Framework / Social-Emotional Learning?
Teachers can establish a mutually-trusting relationship with families in order to ensure that families feel listened to and adequately supported.