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Using Culturally Relevant Teaching and Cultural Capital to Improve African American “At-Risk” Students’ Academic Performance Within An Urban Social Studies Classroom

Action Research Proposal

Author: Eric Zenzel

Editor: Christine Khamis

SUNY Oswego

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Table of Contents

Abstract 3

Introduction 4-13

Purpose of Study 5

Personal Interest in Study 6

Definition of Terms 7

Research Context 8

Research Questions 11

Methodology 13

Context of Study 14

Research Design 14

Data Collection 14

Analysis of Data 17

Ethical Issues 18

Conclusion 18

Dissemination the Results 18

Limitations/Implications 19

References 21

Appendices 22

Appendix A-Student Interviews 22

Appendix B-Student Questionnaire 23

Appendix C-Cultural Capital Activity 25

Appendix D-Permission Slip 27

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Abstract

Anyone who has experienced working within an urban city school district can tell you

that the students come from a wide range of cultures, race and backgrounds. Significantly, the

African American population within these types of school districts is on a considerable rise.

Upon this deliberation, it is also important to take notice that teachers in the field of education

are predominately white. Of concern is the fact that in these types of school settings, a large

percentage of the African American student body is considered “at-risk.” Many argue that the

reason for this is the cultural differences that exist between these students and their white

teachers. In this action research proposal, I discuss the dilemma of African American students

within social studies education and the possible disparities that exist between them and their

teachers. I will look at the role culture plays in helping teachers better understand and educate

African American at-risk students through use of mixed method design using both quantitative

and qualitative data. Student interviews, student questionnaires, student observation and an

assessment will all be used during this study. I hope to discover whether using students “cultural

capital” is an effective way of teaching and improving academic performance and behavior of

African American students who are considered at-risk.

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Introduction

In most urban city school districts, the highest concentration of students are of African

American descent. The Syracuse City School District (SCSD), for example, has 20,076 students

enrolled districtwide. Within that student population, 1% are American Indian, 11% are

Hispanic/Latino, 5% are Asian, 29% are white and 50% are African American (New York State

Dept. of Ed). Almost 73% of all students are eligible for free lunch. This figure is one factor that

indicates that most of the students enrolled in the SCSD come from low socioeconomic

backgrounds. In the case of African American students within the SCSD, many live within the

inner city of Syracuse and come from low-income and single parent homes. Many others are

even homeless and survive by “couch surfing” in many different peers’ homes/apartments for

long periods of time.

Even more alarming is the fact that many African American students within the SCSD

are considered “at-risk” of failure due to poor performance and/or behavioral problems. As a

result, these students face higher suspension rates and have a higher chance of being held back.

Because of the hardships these students face in seeing success in the classroom, many drop out

before they can even earn a chance at graduation.

With all the different challenges many of the African American students face in school

and in their outside lives, it is quite easy to understand why most are labeled as at-risk of failure

and act out in a way that is considered inappropriate for a learning setting. Certainly, it is easy to

become frustrated as a student when you are falling behind your classmates. The question then is

what can be done to yield better results in a classroom comprised of many at-risk of failure

African American students, specifically within a social studies classroom? This is an important

inquiry of consideration, especially when the educator comes from a different ethnicity and

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background. Also, most social studies classes teaches the white Eurocentric point of view within

history. What could be added to make the class more relatable to African American students,

chiefly those who are considered at-risk of failure? One possible suggestion is to understand the

cultural differences between teachers and their African American students. In doing so, we can

use our students’ “cultural capital” to achieve better academic success and behavior in the

classroom.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to examine whether teaching “at-risk of failure” African

American students through an understanding and usage of their culture and cultural capital can

generate positive results both academically and behaviorally. Using student interviews and

student questionnaires, I hope to find out whether students believe that using aspects from their

culture and everyday lives within a social studies context could make the subject more

interesting and fun to learn. Furthermore, this qualitative data will help me in getting to know my

students on a more personal level. Things such as their outside interests will be of consideration.

Finally, through observations and assessment, I will determine if using students’ cultural capital

to teach social studies lessons is indeed effective. If this action research project can prove that

using students’ cultural capital does in fact enhance academic performance and better behavior

for this population of students, then teachers could add information relevant to cultural capital to

lessons. This would give at-risk African American students the best chance for success and a

chance at graduating in the future.

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Personal Interest in Study

As I prepare to hit this research topic head on, I think of my reasons for doing so,

specifically the students in my own classroom. For the past two years, I have taught social

studies in Twilight, an alternative education program in the SCSD. Approximately 80 percent of

my students are African American and have been removed from school due to poor behavior or

poor academic performance. Most come from low-income single parent homes, while others live

with a grandparent or friends. When I first started working in Twilight, I noticed that most of my

students initially came in feeling hostile toward me and the other teachers. They seemed to be

ashamed and embarrassed about being placed in Twilight, which led to frustration and anger

which at times produced inappropriate behavior. In relation to that, I also noticed that most

students showed little to no interest in learning the subject of global studies.

At first I was unsure how to deal with the issues presented to me. The students’

performance and behavior bothered me at first. I would often return the hostility, but that

response just resulted in more problems between me and whatever student had decided to “butt

heads” that day. However, after only a short period of time, the students started to grow on me

and I found that I cared for them quite deeply. I was concerned for their wellbeing and wanted

nothing but success for them. I soon realized that if I treated the students with kindness and took

the time to learn about their interests and views, I could use those actions to gather information

on how to make the subject of global studies a little more relatable. By incorporating the

information that I gathered into the teaching of social studies, most of my students started

behaving better and even performing substantially better than they had been while attending a

regular school setting. Having this newfound knowledge, I was left to ponder what other things I

could do to get these students even more involved in the class.

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This led me to seek out and research effective means of teaching students who were

considered at-risk. It was through my research that I realized that as a teacher who encounters

mostly African American students, I would need to seek out a means to reach this specific

population of students. Now, it is with great sincerity and hope that though this action research

project, I will discover more about my students and their “cultural capital” and use that to

generate a better success rate for all of them.

Definition of Terms

At the outset, it is worth noting that when I say “students at-riskof failure,” I am generally

referring to students who encounter environmental factors and personal issues beyond their

control (e.g., homelessness, poverty, single parent homes). More so than not, these students often

display some sort of behavioral and/or emotional problems. These factors increase the likelihood

that students from this type of background will have encounter difficulties in succeeding and

staying in school. For the purpose of this study, when the term “students at-riskof failure” is

used, it is referring to students of color.

Culture is a way of life. It is everything that makes us who we are. What we view as

important, what interests us, what we believe in terms of religion, how we should act and talk

and basically what we value are all parts of culture. What is important to consider is that

whatever culture one many have, it is often shaped by our families, our race, our neighborhoods

and anything else that influences our upbringing and surroundings?

Sociologist Prudence L. Carter used the phrase “dominant culture” in regard to “the

system of mainstream and widely acceptable social practices and ideas, often based on the ways

of life of social groups with the most power in our society” (as cited in Goldenberg, 2014, p. 13).

It can be assumed then that if whites are part of the dominant culture, African Americans are part

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of the “non-dominant culture.” Understanding how African American students are typically not

members of the “dominant culture” is significant in learning how and why these students are less

likely to engage in school (Goldenberg, 2014).

According to Goldenberg (2014), French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu uses the term

“cultural capital” to describe the beliefs, knowledge and sense of self that is closely linked to a

person and has value in the marketplace of society (pg. 115). It can refer to the values and

culture that students identify with and deem valuable in their self-expression. Both white and

non-white students have cultural capital. The difference, however, is that the “cultural capital” of

non-white students who are “at risk” is often viewed as undesirable or unbeneficial to teaching.

Goldenberg (2014) sets forth the theory that recognizing the cultural capital of African American

students is key to successfully engaging and improving their academic performance.

Culturally responsive teaching involves purposely responding to the needs of the many

culturally and ethnically diverse learners in classrooms. (Brown, 2004). Just as with cultural

capital, culturally responsive teaching involves taking the needs and interests of students from

culturally diverse backgrounds and using them to develop and deliver ethnically and culturally

relevant curricula (Brown, 2004).

Research Context: Cultural Capital

I have found adequate research that addresses teaching at-risk African American students

through use of culturally relevant teaching as well as using students’ cultural capital to design

and develop appropriate lessons and teaching methods. It is first important to take note that most

pre-service teachers entering the field of education are predominately white (Goldenberg, 2014).

These teachers come from what is considered the “dominant culture,” while their African

American students do not. As a result, there are many cultural differences that a teacher has in

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comparison to that of their African American students, which in turn can lead to the students

feeling disengaged within the class and even oppressed.

In consideration of the cultural differences a white teacher may have with their African

American students, the students’ own culture can play a hand in their disengagement within the

class. Anthropologist John Ogbu (as cited in Goldenberg, 2014, p.119) argues that African

American students resist education out of fear of “acting white” and possess a certain culture of

speech and behaviors that are in opposition to the dominant culture of schools. This is something

I am all too familiar with. I recall one particular occasioned when I had an African American

student working hard on a document based essay question, while his peers were messing around

in the back of the classroom. One of his friends told him to “stop acting white” and come join

them in their horseplay. You could tell the student felt almost ashamed of what the other student

had said to him. It was not long before the student abandoned his work and joined his friends in

disrupting the class.

Can it be said then that African American students don’t value education? On the

contrary. While a large percentage of African American students may in fact resist schooling,

Goldenberg (2014) suggests they are not resisting the idea of academic achievement. Rather,

they are resisting a culture of schooling they see as unwelcoming and dismissive of their cultural

competences and capitals. It is because of this that Goldenberg (2014) argues that it is imperative

that white teachers recognize their African American students’ culture and use it to have a clear

understanding of their cultural capital. By understanding this capital, white teachers can

pedagogically appropriate it within the classroom and produce culturally relevant teaching. In

doing so, students can use knowledge they already have to further gain new knowledge taught in

the classroom.

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Goldenberg (2014) outlines several examples of using cultural capital in the classroom as

a means to promote better learning and achievement among students who are African American

and considered at risk. The first example suggested using hip-hop lyrics as a means of teaching

English. In doing so, not only did these teachers engage African American students who were at-

riskof failure, they also increased the students’ reading and literacy skills (Goldenberg, 2014, p.

127-128). Goldenberg also suggested that hip-hop culture can also be used to teach classes

outside of English. One example used was how reviewing pictures of famous hip-hop artists can

in fact engage students in science as well. By reviewing the chains that hang from the necks of

hip-hop stars, students could think about the physics and chemical components of the metal. This

is a clear example of using African American cultural capital, as both the hip-hop star himself

and the chains worn by the hip-hop star are considered worthy cultural capital by African

American students.

Research Context-Understanding Cultural Differences

To effectively teach African American at-riskstudents, I have included research that has

shown that using their cultural capital as a means to teach is extremely efficient and useful. In

doing so, students become more engaged and start performing better academically. However, I

have also discovered through personal experience and my own research, that it is important to

form caring relationships with at-risk African American students. I believe this to be necessary in

order to better understand certain behaviors and displays of cultures different than that of our

own. In having a clear understanding of such matters, better classroom management skills can be

used with these students and in turn will aid in developing culturally relevant teaching.

Brown (2004) suggests that in order to gain at-riskAfrican American students’

cooperation in the classroom, the educator must establish an atmosphere in which teachers are

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aware of and address students’ cultural and ethnic differences. In other words, in order to run a

successful classroom, teachers must use management strategies that support culturally responsive

pedagogy (pg. 21). To give this opinion credibility, Brown (2004) performed an empirical

interview research study using qualitative data to determine if and how teachers establish a

classroom management system that reflects the needs of learners whom they encounter each day.

13 urban educators teaching 1st through 12th grade from urban school districts were selected and

interviewed based on their students’ performance and success rates.

Of all of the educators selected, the question of how they treat and interact with their

African American students was asked. Furthermore, they were also asked to describe their

classroom management style. Through his research interviews, he found that most of the teachers

interviewed believed in developing personal relationships with each student, creating caring

learning communities, establishing business-like learning environments, establishing congruent

communication processes teaching with assertiveness and clearly stated expectations and

respecting students’ cultural backgrounds. In addition to the interviews, the teachers were also

observed within their classrooms to see how they interacted with their non-white students. In the

end, Brown (2014) concluded that those teachers not only understood their students and their

cultures, but used that understanding to better manage their students and their classes which in

turn improved the students’ academic and behavioral performances.

Research Questions

The questions that I am proposing in this action research study are the following: how

can teaching effective strategies for teaching social studies to African American students who are

considered at risk? What can I do to yield better behavior within my classroom and also improve

the academic performance of those students? Through my research, it would seem that a

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possible answer is using students’ culture and cultural capital to design and develop culturally

relevant lessons within my own social studies class. Additionally, it seems that in order to

successfully manage a class where most of the students come from a different background than

that of myself, understanding the different cultural backgrounds is key to successful classroom

management as well as forming close relationships with these students. The studies I have

critiqued and included show just how effective understanding culture is when teaching and

managing African American students who are at risk. However, there were gaps that needed to

be filled. I hope that I can use this study to fill those gaps.

Goldenberg (2014) focused on the cultural disparities African Americans have in contrast

to their white teachers. In addition he explained what the term “cultural capital” means and why

it is important when it comes to African American students. He also insinuated that being part of

the non-dominant culture made these students feel oppressed and that they in turn were not

interested in learning from the perspective of the dominant culture group. He concluded that in

order to effectively reach these students, we must use their cultural capital to teach and improve

students’ academic performance. Examples of how cultural capital could be used were discussed

in regard to the subjects of English and science. The article used very clear and detailed

examples but it lacked any details on how cultural capital could be used in teaching a social

studies class. One would think that this would be one of the easiest courses to teach using

students’ culture and cultural capital.

Brown (2004) provided reasons as to how knowing and understanding students’ culture is

important when seeking cooperation from urban students. By understanding their culture, white

teachers could manage the class in a way where students did not feel oppressed or unwelcomed.

Instead, they would feel cared for which would make them want to act in a way that was

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expected of them. He then used interviews conducted with teachers who came from many

different urban school districts and had seen positive performances and behaviors from their

students. These teachers were asked what they were doing that yielded so many success stories.

What this article lacked was an actual study. Brown calls it an “empirical interview research

study” but no real research was actually done. Teachers were interviewed and observed, but I am

not convinced that the interviewing and observations prove anything. Perhaps spending a large

period of time with these teachers and then comparing how they teach and manage a class with

that of a teacher from an outside district would have been more useful.

Methodology

Context of the Study

This study will take place in a 10th grade Global Studies II classroom in an after school

alternative education program that runs from 3pm to 7pm with two 90 minute classes. The

program, called Twilight, is located in an urban public high school in a low socioeconomic area

on the south side of Syracuse, NY. This alternative education setting is designed for students

who have been removed from school due to poor academic performance, poor behavior or just

simply because they are under-credited. There are 75 students total in the program. Within my

Global Studies class, there are 21 students enrolled, with 17 coming from African American

descent. This arrangement allows for this study to be conducted in a classroom that is 80 percent

African American students. All students have underperformed in their past studies and some are

known to act out due to behavioral problems. Most of the students that attend Twilight were

originally enrolled in the high school full-time and live throughout parts of the inner city of

Syracuse. A majority ride public transportation home for free once classes get out, while only a

handful live close enough that they can walk home.

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Research Design

I intend on studying my research through exploratory mixed-methods designs. This will

allow me to first collect qualitative data that can aid me in developing lessons and an assessment

that will gather quantitative data. In terms of how I’ll collect my qualitative data, I will be using

student interviews (appendix A), student questionnaires (appendix B) student observations

(appendix C). My intended purpose for using these methods of data collection go as follows: the

student interviews will make it possible for conversation between me and the students about

some of the hardships they have with learning and understanding social studies; the student

questionnaires will allow students to indicate what their interests are and how they would like to

see them incorporated into social studies lessons; while students engage in an activity using

African American cultural capital, I will be able to use observation to determine if students

behavior and performance changes within my classroom as a result of using their interest in the

assignment. My objective for collecting quantitative data (assessment) at the conclusion of the

study is to determine if using students’ cultural capital to teach social studies is indeed an

effective method of teaching at-riskAfrican American students.

Data Collection

I will first set up student interviews made up of at least 12 10th grade African American

students. These interviews will be set up as a one on one session for 20 minutes after the final

class of Twilight comes to an end. Students who seem to be struggling the most in the class both

behavioral wise and academically wise will be selected. My reasons for this is I feel that these

students are the ones that need the most attention. The student interview questions (appendix A)

will focus on how the students feel about learning social studies and why they feel it is such a

difficult course to master. There will also be questions asking students how they would feel

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differently about social studies if they’re interests were used to develop culturally relevant

lessons. I will use my IPad to record the interview to. In doing so, I will be able to review the

material on a later occasion and hopefully find common themes within the students answers.

The student questionnaire (Appendix B) will be a survey that subsists of seven questions.

Unlike the interview sessions where at least 12 students are selected based on their performance

in the class, all students in the class being studied will participate in the questionnaire. I will

instruct students to only answer their own questionnaires and not share their answers with

anyone else. I will inform students that only I will see what they write down on their papers.

Finally, I will give them the choice of remaining anonymous. The survey will ask specific

questions relating to the use of their cultural capital as a means of making social studies more

relatable, interesting and fun to learn. In filling out this survey, students will assist me in

understanding their interest and cultural capital so I can use the information to develop a lesson

that addresses the topic.

My next step in collecting qualitative data on the effects of cultural relevant teaching to

generate interest in the social studies subject is actually using a small activity using hip hop to

determine if cultural capital really has any impact on students learning and behavior. We are

about to start the unit on the history of Africa and I would like to use the 2003 rap song, “I can,”

by rapper Nas to introduce the unit. In the song, Nas raps about how young African American

children need to focus their energy on learning and working hard to gain success later in their

lives. The song indeed holds a positive message and maybe it could be used to motivate at-

riskAfrican American students. Furthermore, in regard to using the song to introduce the unit on

African history, in the last verse Nas raps about the rich history of the African people by rapping

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about the kings and queens and the influences Timbuktu had in bringing in people from all over

the world in search of knowledge.

In order to make an activity out of this, that is both educational and culturally relevant, I

would like to make a worksheet (appendix C) that has the songs’ lyrics. I will play the song and

ask students to follow along and pay close attention to the message of the song as well as the last

verse that focuses on the history of Africa and its people. Once the song has finished, the

worksheet will ask students to pair up and pick a lyric from the end of the song. Once they have

completed this, they can use their textbooks or class computers to find further information on the

topic and write down what they learn. Finally, they can take the information they just learned and

write their own rap song focusing on the topic. They may even perform their rap to the class if

they choose to do so.

As the students are working in partners, I will walk around the room and collect my

observation data for my research. I will use a rating scale to measure and observe if I notice a

difference in interest and behavior coming from students in comparison to how they act during

regular lessons/activities. The scale will have three choices to choose from, with one being

“student is more involved than usual,” two being “students are less involved than usual” and

three being “no differences in student is noted.” I will be looking for students’ involvement with

the lesson, levels of enthusiasm/excitement with the assignment and how well each student

works with their partners on completing the tasks.

Once I have collected enough qualitative data, I will then have enough information to

start developing lessons and more activities using students’ interest and cultural capital. This will

eventually lead me to turn my attention towards assessments to collect my quantitative data to

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determine if students perform better on their social studies exams after learning new information

using their cultural capital and interests.

Analysis of Data

Through the exertion of data analysis, I hope to find common themes with information

the students provide me with their responses. To start, I’ll review the data from the student

individual interviews. All questions will be open-ended and will allow students to give me their

raw honest opinions about the subject, my class and how I teach it, why they think they struggle

and what could be done by me to make the subject/my class more interesting for them. Also,

students will be asked they think they’d like the subject more if their interests were used to teach

the subject. Since the interview will be video recorded, I will be able to review it and type the

students’ answers. Similar responses will be noted.

The student questionnaire that is done by the whole class will contain multiple choice,

rating scale, checkbox and short answer questions. With the former, I will use excel to help me

calculate the data the students give me by forming bar graphs and pie charts. The bar graphs will

show what answers are the most to least common with the multiple choice, while the pie charts

will provide me with the percentage/average answers students responded with for the rating scale

and checkbox answer . Just as I did with the interview answers, I will also take the short answers

students provide me and type them into a word document. Through this I can review all answers

on a single source and note the most common answers given.

The cultural capital activity using the Nas song to introduce students to the history of

Africa unit won’t be graded, but will aid me in my observation of measuring student involvement

in the lesson. Since I am using a rating scale to do this, I can use excel to calculate the mean and

mode of my observations to provide me with a better idea of just how effective this type of

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activity is in relation how students behave during regular class activities. This can also provide

me with a clear idea on how to implement other cultural capital lessons/activities in the future

should this show to be successful.

Using the data provided to me by students through interviews, questionnaires and

observations, I will form the remainder lessons on our new unit using students’ cultural capital,

as indicated by arranging and reading the data given. This will take place over the course of a

week in a half and will conclude with a student assessment. How the students score on this

assessment will give me the measurements I need for my quantitative data and will be compared

to their assessment scores of the past. This will help me in determining if using cultural capital in

my social studies lessons is indeed helpful in getting at-risk African American students more

involved with social studies and if their academic performances has changed to be more on the

positive side.

Ethical Issues

Students will in no way face any sort of physical or psychological harm from

participating in this study. What is being asked and expected of them will fall into the same

realm as what is asked and expected from them during a regular day of school.

Conclusion

Disseminating the Results

Should the results of this study prove positive and effective, the information will be

made public to other social studies teachers within my district, as I think most teachers in the

SCSD would benefit greatly from what I find. Additionally, the head of the social studies

department and administration would also be contacted and informed about this study in hopes

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that they would want other teachers in the future to include its findings in developing social

studies lessons. I could also request to spread this information at professional development

meetings and perhaps even contact surrounding school districts in hopes that they would let me

come and speak to their teachers about what I find. I would also try to make information public

by designing a website discussing my study and may even consider trying to get my information

published in hopes of influencing social studies teachers throughout the nation.

Implications

The purpose of this study is to discover effective teaching strategies and methods to use

when teaching at-risk African American students through use of culture and interest. As the

African American population increases, especially in urban settings, many teachers will most

likely have black students who are considered at-riskof failure. It is of the utmost importance that

we find ways to reach these students and increase their chances for success. Finally, I believe

that teachers from every type of school setting can benefit from this study as schools are

becoming more and more diverse with students from all different kinds of races. Cultural capital

isn’t only reserved for African American students. By understanding how culture is important to

all races, teachers can make cultural capital lessons for any group of students they have in the

present or near future.

Limitations

There is only one limitation that I see as potentially throwing this study off track. As

students are going to be involved in a study and the fact that I intend on recording sessions with a

select group of students, I’ll need to send out permission slips (appendix D) requesting

parents/guardians to allow me to involve their children in my study as well as asking for

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permission to video record my sessions. My concern is that some parents will either deny me to

work with their children –or-students will forget to even give their parent/guardian the slip to

sign. This will drastically change my study as the number of students I intend to involve will be

shorten. Furthermore, this could cause certain complications with my class in general as the

students who weren’t able to get a signed slip will have to leave the room during the lesson. It is

with hope that if this situation arises I can think of a way to continue on with my study with the

smaller amount of student involvement than planned.

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References

Brown, D. F. (2004). Urban Teachers' Professed Classroom Management Strategies: Reflectionsof Culturally Responsive Teaching. Urban Education, 39(3), 266-289.

Grayson, D. (2012). Generating Expectations for Student Achievement : An Equitable Approachto Educational Excellence (p. 190). Tehachapi: Graymill.

Goldenberg, B. (2014). White Teachers in Urban Classrooms: Embracing Non-White Students'Cultural Capital for Better Teaching and Learning. Urban Education, 49, 34-34.

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Appendix A

Student Interviews Questions

These are questions that would be for individual student interviews comprised of 12 10th grade African American Students who seem to struggle the most within my class.

1) Why do you think you have such a difficult time learning the subject of social studies?

2) In your honest opinion, what kind of support could I to help you improve in this subject?

3) How important do you think it is for teachers to learn about their students’ cultures and outside home lives?

4) Do you think it would be helpful if your teacher started using YOUR culture, interest and home lives to develop his lessons?

5) Do you think if the subject was taught using your interests and culture, would the material become easier to learn? Would you find it more relatable?

6) What are some things about yourself that you would like to share with me so I could take that information to form my own lessons?

7) Is there anything else you want to share?

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Appendix B

Questionnaire

Please complete the questions below. Remember to keep your answers to yourself. You may remain anonymous but should you decided to use your name, do not worry about your answers effecting you in this class. I am just looking for honest opinions.

1) What parts of social studies interest you? Please provide your answer in the space below

2) What makes social studies boring for you? What makes social studies hard for you? Please provide your answer(s) in the space below

3) Please rate the following:

On a scale of 1 to 6: If I could use your cultures, interests and outside lives to form how I teach global studies, how much more interesting would this class be for you?

1 2 3 4 5 6

1=you will never reach me! 6=you’ve caught my attention, salesman, go on.

4) The most important interest I have are (you may pick up to 2 answers) a. Music b. Sportsc. Food d. Religion e. TV f. Video Game g. Clothing

5) This is my_____ time taking Global Studies a. First b. Second c. Third

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6) To be successful in this class, I would like (check all that would apply)o More time with the teacher after classo More opportunities to share my input in the develop of lessons o More lessons involving my interest and culture to make the class relatable o More regents review prep o Review sessions before testo More group/partner activities o More in-class readings

7) Finally, tell me a little about yourself. Something I don’t know, something that’s important from your lives, the most important aspect of your culture that you find is most relevant to this class

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Appendix CName: _________________

History Rap

Directions: You’re going to listen to a verse from the 2003 rap song, “I can,” by rap artist Nas in which he raps about the early history of Africa and the beginnings of African slavery. I’ve provided the lyrics below. Once we are finished listening, I want students to partner up and pick a topic from the verse. Following the answer preps that follow the lyrics, I want you and your partner to use a textbook or class computer to find as much information on your topic as you can. Once you have finished looking for and gathering information, I want you to create your own rap on the subject and share with the class. Bonus points will be provided to those with the most creativity. Remember, have fun!

Verse from the Song: “I can” by Nas

Be, be'fore we came to this countryWe were kings and queens, never porch monkeysThere was empires in Africa called KushTimbuktu, where every race came to get booksTo learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and RomansAsian, Arabs and gave them gold whenGold was converted to money it all changedMoney then became empowerment for Europeans

The Persian military invadedThey heard about the gold, the teachings and everything sacredAfrica was almost robbed nakedSlavery was money, so they began making slave shipsEgypt was the place that Alexander the great wentHe was so shocked at the mountains with black facesShot off they nose to impose what basicallyStill goes on today, you see?

1) The topic we’ve picked from the song is:

2) This topic looked interesting to us because:

3) Information we’ve found shows:

4) Using the information and previous knowledge of social studies, we can determine that this topic is unique to history because:

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5) Other information on the topic that we like to share is:

Using the space below, write down your own rap on the subject. Please use tasteful language and try to make it as relevant to the history of the topic as you can. Bonus point will go to the group with the most creative and historically accurate rap.

Appendix D

SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL

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DISTRICTTwilight At Corcoran High School Sharon L. Contreras919 Glenwood Ave Syracuse, NY 13207 Superintendent of SchoolsPhone 315•435•4450

Date:

Dear Parent or Guardian

My name is Eric Zenzel, I teach your child’s Global Studies Twilight Class at Corcoran High School.

My reason for writing to you is I’d like to inform you of an exciting opportunity for your child to aid me in conducting a study in which I’ll search for the best and most effective ways of teaching them, in hopes of yielding academic success with their performance and behavior. Specifically, I am performing a research study on effective strategies and methods of teaching African American children through usage of their culture, interest and anything else they find relatable. However, in order to do this I’ll need to collect information from students through several means.

One method of data collection is to have students answer a 10 item questionnaire where they will provide me with information about their feelings on the subject of social studies, their interest and how using such interest and their culture could make the subject more relatable to them. There answers will only be read by myself and students will have the option of remaining anonymous. Should a student decide to put their name on the questionnaire, they’re answers will not hurt them within the class in anyway.

Students will also partake in a class activity where the hip-hop song, “I can,” by Nas, will be used to introduce the students to a unit and give them a brief overview of the concepts we’ll be covering. This activity will be used to observe how students react to using hip-hop in teaching them a new concept. I will be analyzing through observation rather it has any effect on their behavior and interest in comparison to regular class lessons.

Your son/daughter may also be picked for an interview with me, depending on their grades. The interview will take place after class for about 20 to 30 minutes. The interview will be video recorded and a discussion will be held between me and the student on the subject of social studies, why they struggle and what could be done to help them.

With the information your son/daughter gives me, I’ll be able to form culturally relevant lessons and teach from them for about two weeks. At the end of the two week period, I will give the

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students a test. The test grade will only be compared with previous grades and will not add or take away from the grade they already have in the class. The test is only for the purpose of my research study.

Since your student will be involved in a research “experiment” and there is the possibility of them being video recorded. I would like to ask both their permission as well as your own. New York State Law requires consent of students’ parents should they be recorded in any way. If you or your child choose not to participate in this study, there will be no negative consequences and the student will join in in another social studies class while the study is conducted.

I thank you in advance. Should you have any questions or concerns before signing this permission slip, you can contact me through my personal email at zenzel@oswego.edu. You may also contact me on my personal cell phone. The number is 607-348-4902

Sincerely,

Eric ZenzelSocial Studies Teacher at Twilight

By signing below, I give my consent for my student to participate in the above mentioned research activity.

Parent’s Name________________________________ Student’s Name___________________

Parent’s Signature _____________________________