Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in a Diverse Urban Classroom

While it is well established that the ability of teachers to build cultural competence is a critical aspect of their work especially in urban and highly diverse settings, the kinds of experiences that help them build cultural competence is less clear. The author attempts to contribute to this void by showcasing a White, science teacher’s experiences in building cultural competence in a highly diverse urban school. Culturally relevant pedagogy is used as an analytic tool to explain and uncover the ways in which the teacher develops cultural knowledge to maximize student learning opportunities. The basic premise of the article is that this White teacher was able to build cultural congruence with his highly diverse learners because he developed cultural competence and concurrently deepened his knowledge and understanding of himself and his practices. Practicing teachers, teacher educators, and researchers are provided a picture of how the teacher builds relationships with his students, how he deepens his knowledge about how identity and race manifest in the urban context, and how he implements a communal and collective approach to his work as he builds cultural knowledge and cultural competence about himself, his students, and his practices.     

Computer-Mediated Classrooms for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners

No abstract available for this article.     

Translanguaging as Inclusive Pedagogical Practices in English-Medium Instruction Science and Mathematics Classrooms for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students

Research in Science Education - In English-medium instruction (EMI), English-as-a-second-language students will learn all/some subjects through English. Although there are a considerable number of...     

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for Teachers of Color

ABSTRACT

This study utilizes the conceptual framework of culturally responsive pedagogy and theoretical suppositions about the culturally responsive teacher educator to examine the learning experiences of teacher candidates of color. Findings from the case study of a teacher educator’s and teacher candidates’ of color teaching and learning experiences in a semester-long course revealed the following: (a) The teacher educator’s culturally responsive content was characterized by resistance, revelation, and support and (b) culturally responsive teacher educator pedagogy involved instructional approaches of modeling change and building community. Implications for culturally responsive pedagogies in the teacher education classroom and professional development are explored.     

Use of Culturally Diverse Books in Daycare

Culturally diverse books are written for children to promote acceptance of diversity; however, there is little research that has examined their use. The purpose of this study was to examine the culturally diverse book use of preschoolers in daycare. Research Findings. Thirty-five children (ages 44-65 months) and their teachers in two daycare classrooms participated. The children represented a variety of socioeconomic levels and raciaVcultura1 groups. Observations of book use were conducted during freeplay and naptime. In a multiple baseline time series experimental design, comparisons were made between the use of culturally diverse books and books depicting no cultural diversity (Euro-American books). It was determined that one category of culturally diverse books (Culturally Conscious) was not being used as frequently as others. The Culturally Conscious books depicted characters from one of three cultural groups—Black, Asian, and Latino. A simple intervention was implemented in which the teachers introduced some of the Culturally Conscious books at group times and this led to an increase in their use. Additional book use information was gained through parent questionnaires, teacher interviews, and teachers' anecdotal notes. Implications for Practice. In daycare centers similar to the ones used in this study, it is likely that children will use culturally diverse books when available. Teacher introductions of infrequently used culturally diverse books may be an efficient and effective practice for encouraging their use.     

Use of Culturally Diverse Books in Daycare

Culturally diverse books are written for children to promote acceptance of diversity; however, there is little research that has examined their use. The purpose of this study was to examine the culturally diverse book use of preschoolers in daycare. Research Findings. Thirty-five children (ages 44–65 months) and their teachers in two daycare classrooms participated. The children represented a variety of socioeconomic levels and raciaVcultura1 groups. Observations of book use were conducted during freeplay and naptime. In a multiple baseline time series experimental design, comparisons were made between the use of culturally diverse books and books depicting no cultural diversity (Euro-American books). It was determined that one category of culturally diverse books (Culturally Conscious) was not being used as frequently as others. The Culturally Conscious books depicted characters from one of three cultural groups—Black, Asian, and Latino. A simple intervention was implemented in which the teachers introduced some of the Culturally Conscious books at group times and this led to an increase in their use. Additional book use information was gained through parent questionnaires, teacher interviews, and teachers' anecdotal notes. Implications for Practice. In daycare centers similar to the ones used in this study, it is likely that children will use culturally diverse books when available. Teacher introductions of infrequently used culturally diverse books may be an efficient and effective practice for encouraging their use.     

Do Your Homework! Investigating the Role of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Comprehensive School Reform Models Serving Diverse Student Populations

Like the African proverb, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, many educational researchers charge that it takes a comprehensive school reform to raise student achievement. With the passing of the No Child Left Behind legislation in 2002, national officials authorized the Comprehensive School Reform program to support low performing schools as they struggled to improve student achievement. As a result of this national effort, an increase in implementation of comprehensive school reforms is occurring in schools serving predominantly diverse student populations in urban areas. Therefore, this article explores the framework of comprehensive school reforms and challenges stakeholders to do their homework by investigating whether the school reform allows for the implementation of culturally responsive educational experiences for students.     

Towards a Culturally Situated Reader Response Theory

This article describes a theory of how culture enables literary interpretations of texts. We begin with a brief overview of the reader response field. From there, we introduce the theory and provide illustrative participant data examples. These data examples illustrate the four cultural positions middle grade students in our research assumed when responding to salient textual features embedded in African American children’s novels. Our theory suggests that because a range of cultural positions factors into students’ meaning making, we should mine texts more carefully for cultural milieu as well as find acceptance with a broader range of literary interpretations. We conclude by discussing implications for literary researchers and practitioners who study or use multicultural children’s literature.     

Adapting Strategies of Effective Instruction for Culturally Diverse Preschoolers

This article describes collaboration between preschool and university educators focused on adapting the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) standards for Effective Pedagogy for use in early childhood (EC) settings. The CREDE standards are strategies of best practices for culturally diverse K–12 students. Teachers and teacher educators worked together to adapt the CREDE standards for use with young children. Participants included 13 preschool teachers and 2 administrators serving 2- to 5-years-olds at a university-based EC center. Data sources included participant observations and video-recordings of the teachers' instruction. Criteria for measuring use of the standards were changed to be more developmentally appropriate, including adjustments for language development and a focus on goals that included self-management and social skills. The adapted CREDE EC standards may provide a useful framework for high-quality EC instruction for diverse children. This partnership may have been successful because the project drew on the strengths of both the university and EC collaborators, minimizing the hierarchical relationship that is often experienced in such an arrangement.     

Fostering Empathy through an Inclusive Pedagogy for Career Creatives

With the emergence of an entire generation of technologically infused learners comes a new challenge for educators to combat their desire for technologically enhanced isolation. The impact of social media on self‐absorption and the ramifications of excessive screen time are already evident in our current generation of tech‐native students. Meanwhile, the need for more empathetic employees who show compassion toward clients, exercise tolerance for co‐workers and demonstrate cultural awareness in all aspects of their work is already being prioritised over discipline‐specific skills and even STEM expertise by current business leaders. Similarly, the demand for more empathetic creatives is being catalysed by a design industry that now values human‐centredness. Empathy brings the human component to user‐experience and interface design and is now widely acknowledged as the first step in any design process. As a corollary, the development of empathy as a pedagogical deliverable will not only be necessary for the workplace of the future but for future generations to become fully‐functioning members of society. This research explores how an inclusive art and design pedagogy can foster collaborative learner‐centred approaches to develop empathy as a key component of emotional intelligence. Our methodology for triggering meaningful experiences and transformational growth harnesses collaborative play as a way to engage learners in stimulating, socially conscious teamwork. By becoming more intentional about designing the future of higher education in order to nurture more empathetic career creatives, we also lay the groundwork in preparation for educating the most technologically advanced, yet potentially socially isolated learners of any generation yet.     

Towards a Pedagogy of Short Story Writing

The article reports on a small‐scale short story writing project. It details the development of the project and shares the emerging findings. The aim of the project was to enhance the quality of students' writing while developing teachers' practice in the teaching of short story writing. The project team comprised the author and four secondary teachers of English. The approach to story writing outlined here was influenced by the example of gaming, where players immerse themselves in a secondary world, confront situations which demand problem‐solving skills, progress through a number of stages, and find satisfaction in completing the game. The project explored the link between talking and thinking and the value given to putting forward tentative ideas, raising questions and solving problems in a collective manner, in a whole‐class teaching situation. The teachers used guided classroom talk to explore each stage in the composition of a story. They challenged students into better ways of thinking or more elaborate forms of explanation. The teachers asked ‘what if’ questions to open up possibilities for the young writers. The teachers also had to judge when best to seize the moment and move the students towards writing. A key issue for the project was to explore the extent to which the structured approach helped to liberate the imagination of the students and improve the quality of their writing.     

Learning to Teach in Diverse and Dynamic Classrooms

Coteaching involves 2 or more teachers teaching together. This article describes how to set up coteaching and the advantages for teachers and students associated with it. Cogenerative dialogues are conversations among participants about shared experiences—often in a classroom. The participants include teachers; 2 to 3 students; and, when possible, representatives from other groups such as school administrators and teacher educators. Participants identify contradictions and negotiate agreements on how to resolve them, leading to changes to enact in future lessons and shared responsibility for improving the quality of teaching and learning.     

Measuring Pedagogy and the Integration of Engineering Design in STEM Classrooms

The present study examined changes in high school biology and technology education pedagogy during the first year of a three-year professional development (PD) program using the INSPIRES educative curriculum. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) calls for the integration of science and engineering through inquiry-based pedagogy that shifts the burden of thinking from the teacher to the student. This call is especially challenging for teachers untrained in inquiry teaching and engineering or science concepts. The INSPIRES educative curriculum materials and PD provided a mechanism for teachers to transform their teaching to meet the NGSS challenges. This study followed a longitudinal triangulation mixed methods design. Selected lessons were video recorded, scored on the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) rubric, and examined for qualitative trends. Year 1 results indicated that teachers had begun to transform their teaching and pointed to particular lessons within the INSPIRES curriculum that most facilitated the reform. Instructional practices of participants improved significantly as a result of the INSPIRES PD program and also aligned with previous, similar studies. These findings provide insights for rethinking the structure of professional development, particularly in the integrated use of an educative curriculum aligned with intended professional development goals.

     

Towards a Non‐Essentialist Feminist Pedagogy

Anna Maria Piussi's article “towards a pedagogy of sexual difference: education and female genealogy”, Gender and Education, 2, (2) 1990, is criticised on the grounds that it ignores differences between women, and that it fails to challenge the construction of gender as a binary opposition. An alternative interpretation of the relationship between the gendering of knowledge and women's subordination is put forward, and marshalled, in support of a feminist pedagogy that deconstructs the equality‐difference antimony.     

Evaluating a Constructivist and Culturally Responsive Approach to Environmental Education for Diverse Audiences

The NorthBay Adventure Center offers five-day residential programs that meld environmental and character education using experiential techniques and multi-media messaging. This article explores the influences of these programs on urban and non-urban middle-school participants in three areas: character development and leadership; environmental responsibility, and attitudes toward school. The authors found significant positive short-term effects on all outcomes of interest. Three-month delayed posttests indicate retention of significant gains in character development and leadership and environmental responsibility, while gains in school-related outcomes faded. Urban students responded more positively to the NorthBay program than did students from suburban and rural areas.     

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Online Learning: Implications for the Globalized Community College

Implicit in the open-door mission of the community college is the mandate that every learning experience should offer full equity and inclusion for all learners, including those of diverse cultural backgrounds. This mission is paramount, given the cultural diversity represented among learners served by the globalized community college. This paper presents a cross-section of research, practice, and discourse focused on expanding our knowledge and understanding of the diverse learning needs of community college learners. The relevance of the literature to the planning, design, and implementation of distance-learning is discussed. In the end, the authors offer distance-learning instructional strategies that may accommodate the unique needs of Hispanic/Latino learners. Implications for community college educators are discussed.