Operationalize Culturally Responsive Practices
Step 1: Read the paragraph below.
Hammond (2015) stated that students' difficulties in education are not caused by their race, language, or poverty. Instead, the main reason is the need for more opportunities provided in the classroom for them to develop the cognitive skills necessary for tackling more advanced academic challenges. Consequently, a culture of dependent learners has emerged instead of fostering independent learners. A solution is implementing culturally responsive teaching practices, which can aid dependent learners in enhancing their cognitive abilities and developing positive thinking habits. However, how do we operationalize these practices?
Hammond (2015) suggested using the Ready for Rigor Framework, which focuses on key areas that teachers can focus on to move students from dependent to self-directed, independent learners. The four areas of culturally responsive teaching are awareness, learning partnerships, information processing, and community building.Â
Step 2: Review the Ready for Rigor Framework.
AWARENESS
Understand the three levels of culture
Recognize cultural archetypes of individualism and collectivism
Understand how the brain learns context around race and language
Know and own your cultural lens
Recognize your brain's triggers around race and culture
Broaden your interpretation of diverse students' learning behaviors
LEARNING PARTNERSHIPS
Reimagine the student and teacher relationship as a partnership
Take responsibility to reduce students' social-emotional stress from stereotype threats and microaggressions
Balance giving students both care and push
Help students cultivate a positive mindset and sense of self-efficacy
Support each student to take greater ownership of his learning
Give students language to talk about their learning moves
INFORMATION PROCESSING
Provide appropriate challenges in order to stimulate brain growth to increase intellective capacity
Help students process new content using methods from oral traditions
Connect new content to culturally relevant examples and metaphors from students; community and everyday lives
Provide students with authentic opportunities to process content
Teacher students cognitive routines using the brain's natural learning systems
Use formative assessments and feedback to increase intellective capacity
COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS
AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Create an environment that is intellectually and socially safe for learning
Make space for student voice and agency
Build classroom culture and learning around communal (sociocultural) talk and task structures
Use classroom rituals and routines to support a culture of learning
Use principles of restorative justice to manage conflicts and redirect negative behavior
Source: Z. Hammond (2015) Culturally responsive teaching & the brain. Corwin
Step 3: Reflect on your reading.
Think about it and write down your answers to the following questions:
How do you support struggling students to become independent learners?
Which area of practice do you need to focus on? Why?
Click next to continue learning.
