Culturally and Geographically Relevant Performance Interventions

This article attempts to showcase how one particularly financially endowed organization is seeking to modify its instructional and organizational practice to better serve its Iñupiat (Eskimo) target/client population. This is an extreme and instructive situation of socio‐cultural tension that provides interesting contrasts with the issues of performance in culturally diverse corporations, governmental and non‐governmental organizations. Considering the thematic argument made in this issue that multiple levels of analysis are sometimes required in developing human performance interventions in complex socio‐cultural contexts, this author observed that running a school system conceived almost entirely along Western lines while serving a predominantly non‐Western population leads to some problems at the macro, meso, and micro levels. This strongly suggests that, in today's cross‐ and multi‐cultural organizational contexts, human performance technology (HPT) analyses and interventions must unearth the rich complexity of issues embedded in our increasingly complex world or suffer the consequences of doing more harm than good.     

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.     

Culturally Relevant Assessment and Support of Grade 1 Students with Mild Disabilities in Tanzania: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

In Tanzania, many people are not aware of the concept of learning disabilities. Parents and teachers often do not realise that children who do poorly in school and do not have visible disabilities, could still have a disability that is causing their poor school performance. This paper presents the results of a research and service project to identify and support students with mild disabilities in an inclusive school in Tanzania during the three-year pilot process. An international NGO implemented a culturally-relevant, curriculum-based assessment for screening grade 1 students with potential delays or disabilities and provided Tier 2 interventions through small group lessons. In this three-year study, 413 students were screened, 108 students received Tier 2 services and six students received Tier 3 services. Students in Tier 2 received small group instruction in mathematics and literacy as a pull-out programme. Students in Tier 3 attended a special school for children with disabilities. Results showed that students who received Tier 2 intervention made statistically significant gains in their assessment scores after six and twelve months of services. This study demonstrated one successful assessment and intervention model in a typical Tanzanian school to support young children with disabilities to improve their academic outcomes.     

Operationalizing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Synthesis of Classroom-Based Research

In this article, we present a synthesis of classroom-based research on the implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy. We examine 45 classroom-based research studies from 1995 to the present, highlighting culturally relevant pedagogy as enacted in classrooms. In the final section we address a few conundra and unanswered questions stemming from the research. By describing and synthesizing how others have operationalized culturally relevant pedagogy in the classroom, we offer illustrative discussion points that will assist preservice teachers, experienced teachers, and teacher educators in developing a more holistic understanding of what culturally relevant pedagogy “looks like” in classrooms.     

Cultural Vibrancy: Exploring the Preferences of African American Children Toward Culturally Relevant and Non-Culturally Relevant Lessons

Despite the laudable intent of various educational initiatives in raising the achievement level of all children, limited progress has been made. In an effort to diminish the achievement gap of students of color, some researchers have examined the cultural relevancy of the curriculum in promoting student achievement. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the preferences of African American children toward culturally relevant and non-culturally relevant lessons, through a six-week series of lessons in an American History classroom. Critical Race Theory and Racial Identity Development provided the theoretical underpinnings of this study. This study takes place in an ethnically diverse high school in Colorado. Culturally relevant lessons were rich in oral traditions, music, historical connections, and a structured culturally relevant field trip. Non-culturally relevant lessons were administered devoid of cultural referents, and utilized the existing curriculum guide. Study results revealed statistically significant findings for African American children’s preferences for culturally relevant lessons. These lessons were found relevant to their culture when administered by a culturally responsive and caring teacher. Recommendations are made for educators and administrators in promoting achievement through culturally relevant lessons and curriculum.     

Visualizing Culturally Relevant Science Pedagogy Through Photonarratives of Black Middle School Teachers

This study situated in a Southern resegregated Black middle school involved four Black teachers and two White science educators’ use of photonarratives to envision culturally relevant science pedagogy. Two questions guided the study: (1) What community referents are important for conceptualizing culturally relevant practices in Black science classrooms? and (2) How do teachers’ photonarratives serve to open conversations and notions of culturally relevant science practices? The research methodologically drew upon memory-work, Black feminism, critical theory, visual methodology, and narrative inquiry as “portraiture.” Issues of positionality and identity proved to be central to this work, as three luminaries portray Black teachers’ insights about supports and barriers to teaching and learning science. The community referents identified were associated with church and its oral traditions, inequities of the market place in meeting their basic human needs, and community spaces.     

Developing and Enacting Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Voices of New Teachers of Color

ABSTRACT

A group of preservice and first year teachers share their experiences as new teachers of Color entering the profession in urban public schools. Specifically, these novice teachers discuss the transition from an urban education teacher preparation program into the classroom and their successes and challenges enacting culturally relevant pedagogy. Findings showcase understanding self, community, and collaboration among critical pedagogues and navigating theory and practice as emergent themes. These new teachers speak to the journey of becoming the teachers they want to become and the challenges they encounter in public K-12 schools. Implications are presented to highlight the power and passion of these new teachers and how we, as critical scholars, must learn from them and work with them as we seek to disrupt the dominant, middle class, white discourse in teacher education programs and educational research.     

Learning to Develop Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Lesson About Cornrowed Lives

This article describes the process of using African American children's literature through culturally relevant pedagogy. It chronicles how two teachers carefully plan a lesson using the literature, and then describes how one of the teachers enacts the lesson using pedagogy relevant to her students' cultural background. A framework that focused on the cultural patterns of the students' lives was used to help guide the planning process. The components of the lesson include a prereading activity, read aloud, group discussion, journal writing, and a follow-up activity. In the end, the teachers found that tailoring instruction to fit the textual, social, cultural, and personal lives of their students is largely about seeing pedagogy through the norms and practices of their students' lives.     

Telling Their Side of the Story: African-American Students' Perceptions of Culturally Relevant Teaching

An increasing amount of scholarship has documented the salience of culturally relevant teaching practices for ethnically and linguistically diverse students. However, research examining these students' perceptions and interpretations of these learning environments has been minimal at best. In this article, the author details the findings from a study that sought to assess African-American elementary students' interpretations of culturally relevant teachers within urban contexts. Student responses indicated that culturally relevant teaching strategies had a positive affect on student effort and engagement in class content and were consistent with the theoretical principles of culturally relevant pedagogy. The qualitative data revealed three key findings that students preferred in their learning environments (1) teachers who displayed caring bonds and attitudes toward them, (2) teachers who established community- and family-type classroom environments, and (3) teachers who made learning an entertaining and fun process.     

Culturally Relevant STEM Out-of-School Time: A Rationale to Support Gifted Girls of Color

Gifted girls of color represent a potentially untapped resource for increasing and sustaining a diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Girls of color possess unique mathematics and science gifts and talents that can remain unrealized if not addressed before middle school. Culturally responsive STEM out-of-school-time (OST) activities can be an effective means to develop STEM capacity in gifted girls of color. The researchers present three considerations to support the implementation of STEM OST. First, they offer a rationale for culturally relevant STEM enrichment activities for gifted girls of color. Next, the researchers consider how culturally relevant STEM OST activities can help to close the achievement gap. Finally, they explain how professional mentorship opportunities within OST activities can help gifted girls of color navigate the STEM pipeline.     

Following the Drinking Gourd: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Curriculum Development Through the Arts

This article describes the experiences of three teachers who engaged in culturally relevant pedagogy and an arts curriculum designed to enhance student understanding of critical events in history. Their students attended a professional dance production based on the history of the Underground Railroad and then were exposed to a curriculum guide developed with the tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy in mind. Teachers reported that their students’ comprehension of important themes improved, and that the arts experience was deeply beneficial.     

Relevant Classroom Assessment Training for Teachers

What are the areas of mismatch between the assessment problems teachers face and the type of assessment training they receive? How can the gaps be addressed in testing courses?     

Motivating Young Native American Students to Pursue STEM Learning Through a Culturally Relevant Science Program

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Data indicate that females and ethnic/race minority groups are underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce calling for innovative...     

关于几类特殊矩阵特征值的结论及应用

矩阵是代数学的一个重要研究对象,也是数学分支不可缺少的工具,矩论方法对处理其他各分支问题也相当有力,所以文章讨论并总结了有关某些特殊矩阵特征值的结论,并加以证明,为广大读者学习矩阵时提供参考。     

金融产品需求差别定价的有关理论问题

加入WTO后，我国金融业将面临更加激烈的竞争。定价是非常重要的市场竞争手段，金融产品的定价方法，目前国外金融界用得较多的是需求差别定价法。若同一金融产品的市场可细分，且不同子市场的需求价格弹性不同时，采用需求差别定价可为金融企业获得更多的收入和利润，最优的差别价格为边际收益等于边际成本的价格。金融产品需求差别定价的应用条件和最优差别价格的确定可具体由数学证明。     

They Don't Show Nothing I Didn't Know: Emergent Tensions Between Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Mathematics Pedagogy

This article describes data from the Community Mapping Project, a set of statistical activities and inquiry projects within a summer seminar for high school students. In designing the Community Mapping Project, we attempted to create conditions under which urban students themselves would come to recognize how mathematics is relevant to their lives and their communities. Using mixed methods, we analyzed the pre- and postassessments and final projects of 25 high school students to investigate what students learned from their experience. We also analyzed the data from video case studies to begin to understand how learning was organized. Our qualitative analysis revealed several tensions that emerged between the goals and norms of our instantiation of a culturally relevant pedagogy and the goals and norms of our mathematics pedagogy. We argue that how these tensions are navigated mediate what opportunity students have for learning statistics. This article provides some considerations and lessons learned that may help inform both teachers who wish to rethink their mathematics pedagogy, and the designers who wish to create culturally relevant curricula.     

试论大学发展评估

大学发展评估是高校自主发展的现实需要,也是一个亟待研究的领域.本文探讨的内容包括:大学发展评估的涵义与主体价值选择,大学发展评估的性质与特点,以及大学发展状态的三维分析框架.