joetta gonzales, director & seena skelton, co-director the equity alliance at asu
DESCRIPTION
Equity in the classroom: Creating Culturally Responsive Learning Communities Kyrene School District September 16, 2011. JoEtta Gonzales, Director & Seena Skelton, Co-Director The Equity Alliance at ASU. Participants will:. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Equity in the classroom: Creating Culturally Responsive Learning Communities
Kyrene School DistrictSeptember 16, 2011
JoEtta Gonzales, Director &Seena Skelton, Co-DirectorThe Equity Alliance at ASU
Participants will:
Explore the impact that identity and context have on
teaching and learning
Build an understanding of
educational access, participation, and outcomes as they relate to issues of
power and privilege
Examine characteristics of
culturally responsive teaching
Compose a “Tweet”140 characters or less. Who are you?What does educational equity mean to you?
AgendaTime Topics
8:30 Welcome and introductions
Everyday Anti-Racism
Personal and cultural identities
The cultural nature of learning
Lunch
The Social Construction of Race and Whiteness
Power and Privilege
Introduction to culturally responsive teaching
3:30 Wrap up day one
How will we spend our time?
Facilitated Discussions
Reflection Activities
Video Discussions
Readings
What’s in your packet of materials
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Equi
tyEveryday Anti-
Racism
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Everyday Anti-Racism in Education involves:
Rejecting false notions of human
differences
Acknowledging lived experiences
shaped along racial lines
Learning from diverse forms of knowledge and
experiences; and
Challenging systems of racial
inequality.
As the demographics have changed within many school communities, educators have struggled with proactively addressing the behavioral and learning needs of an increasingly diverse student population for a variety of individual and systemic reasons.
Achievement Gaps
Disproportionality
Key Ideas
Policy changes alone have not changed outcomes
Educational gaps are due to pervasive institutional racial, cultural, and ethnic bias not simply poverty
Culturally responsive teaching creates culturally supportive and inclusive learning communities
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Explanations for Achievement Disparities
Linguistic Differences
Cultural Differences
Societal Racism
Inferior Education
Rationales for
Schooling
Au, 1998
Educational EquityWhen educational practices, policies, supports, curricula, school resources, and school cultures are such that all students have access to, participate and make progress in high quality learning experiences in order to reach academic success, regardless of race, ses, gender, dis/ability, national origin, religion, or other characteristics.
[email protected] Alliance at ASU
What people bringwith them
What’s alreadythere
The work peopledo together
Cultural Histories
The Institutional Culture The Culture We Create
The Cultural Nature of Learning
Understanding one’s own cultural and personal identities
Understanding and valuing the cultural identities of others
Engaging in culturally responsive practices
Pathway to Educational Equity
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Our own Cultural Histories
What we bringwith us
EducationExploring personal identities
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Think and Write
What does “race” mean?
What determines race?
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ReflectionIndividually Think about the selections:• What points from the reading and video resonated with
you?
Pair and discuss: • your reflections and questions• implications for practice
Share:• highlights from your discussion in large group
View and Discuss
Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness VisibleConversations -Video Activity
Discuss the following questions:
• When did you first become aware of white privilege?
• How does the intersection of privilege and difference show up in your context?
• Have you ever thought about your “space” (working, living, learning) as a racialized space? How do you react to this concept?
Brea
k
“"If your actions inspire others to dream more,
learn more, do more and become more, you are a
leader." - John Quincy Adams.”
How does Power and Privilege relate to students in schools?
Cultural differences affect how behaviors are interpreted by everyone as well as burden students and families with making subtle and overt shifts in their behavior when school behavior codes are not transparent.
The power for making judgments about behavior are made by school personnel who may not understand or be conscious of the relational nature of their cultural stances, and therefore behavior differences become magnets for conflict among and between students, families, and school personnel.
Where cultural differences exist, but are not adequately considered, school personnel, families, and students may exacerbate conflict rather than help to defuse, redirect and negotiate new norms.
NCCRESt, 2005
The institutional culture
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What’s already there
Socio-Historical Context
Economic Constraints
Cultural Practices, Patterns and Histories
Educational Mandates and Policies
Demographic Shifts
Current Political Climate
We must consider the socio-historical context in which schooling occurs to adequately address the achievement of all students.
Improvisation
Multi-tasking
Relationship
Standardization
Single-task activity
Task completion
Home Culture School Culture
Approach to Work Cultural Practices
Story Telling
Direct commands
Authentic questioning
High context
Home language
Casual register
Simultaneous Conversation
Print Literacy
Indirect commands
Inauthentic questioning
Low context
English only
Formal register
Turn Taking
Home Culture School Culture
Communication Cultural Practices
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The Culture we Create
The work people do together
The cultures we create in shared learning and work spaces develop as people work together and interact to define their community.
Understanding culture as a dynamic ingredient in human interactions provides entry points where people can help each other make meaning from their work and school experiences.
New cultures are created every time people come together on an ongoing basis and engage in common experiences.
It is critical to be cognizant of our interactions, if left unexamined, the norms that make up learning and work cultures could result in excluding some from fully accessing, participating and progressing in quality learning and work experiences.
What’s needed to get students college and career ready?
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Inclusive and Culturally Supportive Educational Experiences
Rigorous and Relevant Instruction
A statement that is heard from many teachers when asked about student differences is –
"I see all of my students the same way.”
It is critically important that teachers recognize the individuality of each student as cultural beings (Pollock,
2008).
the overall approach one takes to delivering instruction, using curricular materials, making educational decisions, including student discipline; and interacting with students and their families.
the lens through which teachers see their students and their students' learning.
the filter through which teachers listen to how students express their needs and desires.
Culturally Responsive Teaching is…
Culturally Responsive
Teaching
Disposition
Knowledge Skills
Practice
Villegas and Lucas (2002) identify six salient characteristics for preparing teachers to work successfully in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. These characteristics can be thought of as important teacher dispositions necessary for demonstrating culturally responsive teaching.
Dispositions Discussion Activity
DispositionsGallery Walk
Small Group Discussion
Whole Group Sharing
WHAT IS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING? VIDEO VIEWING ACTIVITY
Dr. Geneva Gay University of Washington Seattle
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Group Processing Activity
Individually Pairs Quads
Think about what questions you have about implementing the culturally responsive teaching practices Dr. Gay described in the video.
Both people complete the following statement: “What comes up for me when we start to talk about creating an inclusive and culturally responsive learning community is …..”
Discuss the challenges related to culturally responsive practices and possible leverage points that can be used to facilitate full implementation.
Brea
k
Answer the following questions:• What did you observe regarding the
teacher’s use of cultural referents and cultural practices to encourage active engagement of her students?
• How might a teacher use the curriculum in ways that reflect multiple perspectives and diverse cultural histories?
• What questions would you have for this teacher?
Culturally Responsive Teaching in Action
Environme
nt
Curriculum
Instruction &Assessment Clim
ate
Instruction & Assessment
Four foundational culturally responsive teaching strategies:
1) Actively engaging students in learning
2) Connecting students' new learning to their prior knowledge and lived experiences
3) Including diverse cultural representations & multiple perspectives
4)Assessing student knowledge to inform instruction
Culturally responsive curricula reflect multiple ethnic and cultural perspectives; and incorporate everyday-life concepts of various cultural groups in the teaching of new content. Curriculum is designed to develop students’ critical thinking skills and is integrated across all subjects and content areas.
Curriculum
Environment
Safe
Organized
Welcoming
Climate
Fun
Belonging
• Students feel share their ideas.
Power
Freedom/
Choices
Classroom Equity Indicators
Read Pair Share• Read the equity
indicators• Discuss the indicators
with your partner and write 1 or 2 additional indicators for each area
• Share additions with group
3 -2-1 Discussion• 3 Key take-aways from today’s
session
• 2 Immediate next steps I will take to forward my understanding of my own cultural identity and the cultural identities of my students
• 1 Question I have about implementing culturally responsive teaching
Equity exists, in part, to the degree that all students feel they belong, are included,
and are empowered.
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