Culturally Responsive Teaching Experiences

Chapter two of the Educational Research Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Qualitative Research, composed of the research problem, one needs to address some sort of controversy in education. One needs to understand if the topic if the topic is important enough to study, how the study will add to current research or understandings, and finally who will benefit from the study (Creswell, 2015). Chapter three is consumed with the understanding of literature and it relevance to the problem at hand (Creswell, 2015). By using mono cultural resource are students of color being disadvantaged? The majority of teachers, as well the authors of textbook and testing questions have a predominantly European ancestry. Students of color are expected to conform to these resources.

What is culturally responsive teaching? Culturally responsive teaching as defined by Gay (2000) and quoted by Griner and Stewart says: “Culturally responsive teaching can be defined as using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (Griner and Stewart, 589). CRT has certain elements that give opportunities for students to be valuable assets to and in their education, such as: placing a value on the cultural groups and ethnicities students bring into the classroom and giving those cultures

Culturally Responsive Teaching is an emerging field that focuses on student cultural backgrounds and experiences in the development of pedagogy. According to Kea (2013) cultural difference is the single largest difference in U.S. schools and also the most neglected. The goal of Culturally Responsive Teaching is to provide an equal opportunity for all students to learn in school, regardless of their gender, social class, ethnic, racial or cultural characteristics (Banks 2005). Ladson-Billings (1994) suggest that the historic failings of educators in educating non-white students is that educators attempt to insert culture into education rather than insert education into the culture. In other words, educators are not providing an equal multi-culturally relevant education by bringing tokens of culture such as food, national flags, or maps from around the world into the classroom alone. Although these actions promote a sense of multiculturalism, an education that is relative to a diversity of cultures is not necessarily being provided. Culturally Responsive Teaching attempts to bring the various experiences of the student’s cultural home life into the classroom. Schmidt (2005) identifies seven characteristics that must be incorporated into curriculum in order to provide culturally responsive instruction. These characteristics are high expectations,

Research has been conducted and the study showed that, "Latino students perceived that teachers' actions escalated disciplinary problems and believed that administrators used unfair and discriminatory practices"(90). Educators will never be able to teach students if the students perceive them as being racist. The degree to which education for cultural diversity is realized depends on the teacher's attitudes, knowledge, and behavior. They make the mistake of mismatching their own life experiences and professional training. Le Roux realizes that an increasing diverse school population encounters a mostly middle-class teaching force that is inadequately prepared to manage the reality of diversity in schools, and that is due to lack of knowledge of diversity (46). He also states that some teachers make the mistake of generalizing about particular ethnic groups and cultural groups, as a result of being exposed during training to information about culture; that is very dangerous in itself. Educators also focus mostly on general characteristics of a group instead in a single individual, and this is wrong because each individual is unique and should not be generalized by culture (Le Roux 46).

Public schools are beginning to see a shift in demographics in the United States. There is now a culturally diverse student population and educators need to respond to this shift in order to ensure an equal education for all students. Culture aids in determining how students learn, and culturally responsive teaching is a way teachers can educate culturally diverse students and provide an equal education for all. Culturally responsive teaching is defined by Geneva Gay as using the various characteristics, perspectives, and experiences of many cultures to effectively teach culturally diverse students (2000). Culturally responsive teaching prepares teachers to work with and teach a culturally diverse classroom of students and allows teachers to create a classroom environment that is similar to their students’ home environments so students do not have to assimilate to the dominant culture or change from their home culture to their school culture depending on their setting (Brown). Multicultural education is not only important for ensuring equal education for all students, but also creates youth who will be able to function and be effective citizens in a pluralistic society (Gay 2003). In order to implement culturally responsive teaching, teachers must acknowledge potential biases and reconstruct their attitudes, create a diverse knowledge base, be caring and empowering, and create a classroom environment that is conducive to a culturally diverse

Therefore, we cannot assume we know all about that person. An example of this can be the language. Many times, we assume that people speak Spanish because they look Hispanic. I accept that my first thought when I heard someone said that they don’t speak Spanish is because they were ashamed to speak it. However, Melinda’s story has opened my eyes with her personal story. Perhaps some people are ashamed, but other people did not learn to speak their parents’ or grandparents’ language because they were afraid to face the same discrimination. As a future teacher, I believe the prejudices that I have must be gone. I cannot be assuming how my students and their families are based on their cultural background. Therefore, instead of having prejudices, I will learn about different cultures to become more aware and not judge

Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-Billings, 1994). This approach to teaching encompasses how knowledge is both communicated and perceived by the students. The teacher must have a good relationship with the parents, have high expectations, learn about their students culture, have culturally mediated student-centered instruction, willing to reshape the curriculum, and be a facilitator in order to accomplish this method of teaching. These are key points a teacher must be willing to do if they intend to be an effective teacher especially in a highly culturally diverse area like central

After reading Geneva Gay’s article Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching I realized my pedagogy is culturally responsive in many ways. For one, I always

To build a culturally responsive pedagogy in response to the advancing technological era, educators can promote individuals through curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. Likewise, it can close the gap for low income families and students of color (Beerer, n.d.). Additionally, as students utilize digital resources, they are being prepared for success in life.

In order to develop a curriculum that exemplifies the ideals of CRT, researchers sought to record and analyze the best practices of teachers across the United States. In particular, researchers focused on describing how teachers use citizenship, social justice, controversial issues, and research skills to incorporate

Teacher education programs need to better prepare pre-service teachers to enter the diverse classrooms they will encounter; therefore, educating future teachers on culturally relevant teaching is necessary. Literature on culturally relevant pedagogy outlines that teacher educators must include new ways to prepare pre-service teachers for the classroom in the areas of cultural knowledge so they can become better educators. Kang and Hyatt (2010) conducted a study in a teacher education program that had pre-service teachers learning about culture (p. 46). Results of the study showed that pre-service teachers acquired a deeper understanding of cultural diversity (p. 47) and realized how much impact they can have on students in the classroom by using culture in the classroom (p. 48). The pre-service teachers found the teacher education training to be “an eye-opening experience” (p. 47) because of their limited personal

While there are definitions of CRT that are widely used and accepted in the field (Sobel et al., 2011), researchers have yet to agree upon an operational definition of cultural competence, which makes it difficult to measure (Kahn, et al., 2014). What can be agreed upon is that cultural competence is multi-dimensional and TEPs have taken various approaches to try and prepare teacher candidates for the diverse needs of the ever-evolving classroom. In the late 1970’s the

An example as to how culturally relevant pedagogy is an approach used to provide equitable educational experiences for all students is stated in the class text White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms. Culturally relevant teachers imagine somewhere in the classroom is the next Toni Morrison, or Benjamin Carson, which helps the teacher to feel with the student rather than feel for them. By doing this, teachers are able to

Another characteristic of culturally sensitive teacher is to “learn as much as possible about the students, their families, and the community and use it in their teaching” (Glickman et al., 2014, p.375). Under

I want to teach because I believe that education is extremely important. Education is the foundation of success in life, and teachers can make a lasting effect on each student’s lives. I love to help others explore and learn new things, and teaching is a way for me to accomplish that. As a teacher, I will strive to promote positive learning, spark learner enthusiasm, and provide a strong foundation to my student for lifelong learning. As a future teacher, one of my many goals will be to develop a student-centered environment where students learn through social interaction and collaboration with the support of technology. I want to incorporate a number of teaching methods and approaches to accommodate a wide variety of learning styles and to meet the goals and objectives of the course or program being taught. Specifically, for English Language Learners in the general education classroom, I will provide more visuals and models, incorporate more group work, and incorporate the student’s home language and culture into the classroom. Students come from many racial, cultural, ethnical, and social-economic status backgrounds. Because of this, I will use culturally responsive teaching which is instruction that acknowledges and accommodates cultural diversity. I will build on students’ backgrounds to help them transition into my classroom. I believe that teachers should respect, celebrate, and recognize the normality of diversity in all areas of human life. I believe that