STCC |  Praxis Equity
Community of Practice [CoP]

Relevant Thoughts from Zaretta Hammond:

• Teachers need to develop their understanding of the pro-social cultural ways of interacting rooted in a particular group’s community that go beyond a checklist or one-off strategies.

• The goal isn’t to simply have a friendly relationship. Culturally responsive teaching is a holistic approach that uses the relational trust developed between teacher and student to move the student into her zone of proximal development where deep learning happens and students “get ready for rigor.”

• The culturally responsive educator assumes the role of “warm demander of students’ cognitive development,” where knowing students well is coupled with apprentice-like supports, not over scaffolding.

  • We do this by noticing and naming the ways we see students stretching their thinking, making connections between what they already know and the new content being taught in a lesson. The goal isn’t to give a pep talk or cheer them on, but to witness and appreciate the ways they use their brain power as they engage in productive struggle.

• Yes, we need a curriculum that is inclusive and provides accurate history and facts. That doesn’t mean it only needs to be centered around social-justice themes. Students of color care about a variety of topics that interest them. They are interested in more than just civil rights.

  • The more we learn about our students, the more we can contextualize the curriculum in age-appropriate ways. 

  • This begins with teachers asking what matters to their students, what topics get them excited, where is their intellectual curiosity.

• We will need to expand our understanding of how culturally responsive pedagogies work. Educators need high-quality professional learning around an interdisciplinary approach to child development in a diverse society. That means recognizing and moving beyond the oversimplified definitions and performative actions too many educators have developed. It isn’t too late to move beyond checklists and motivational engagement strategies to realize the real promise and potential of culturally responsive teaching as a method to help students own and level up their learning.