If I could go back in time...

to my undergrad at ECU,

I wish I could have learned more about...

culturally responsive teaching

and supporting diverse students, to include English Language Learners.

I realize the world is constantly changing and evolving and new ideas are emerging, so the research on these topics may not have been available when I was in college (2002-2006) or they may not have been a priority.  Even if that is the case, school districts need to provide professional development to ensure teachers are aware of these concepts as they scaffold learning for diverse students.  

"Addressing the unique needs of students from diverse backgrounds is one of the major challenges facing public education today because many teachers are inadequately prepared with the relevant content knowledge, experience, and training" (Culturally Responsive Teaching, pg. 1).

As I reflect, I feel like I was one of the inadequately prepared teachers as I began my career 15 years ago.  I realize that there are opportunities I missed, students I failed to adequately support, and things I should have done better.  Moving forward, I will adjust some of my practices based on culturally responsive teaching and sheltered instruction for ELs.

Both Valerie Purdie-Vaughns and Dr. Sonia Nieto mention the need to examine yourself for biases you may have and of which you might not be aware.  As teachers, this would be an important first step to culturally responsive teaching since you interact with students from all types of backgrounds.  Failing to look within could have unintentional consequences on students.  Even though it might be uncomfortable to do this, our students deserve our best and need us to be honest with ourselves so we can better support them.

One model from the reading that seems effective and that I will use to scaffold reading and writing instruction for diverse learners is culturally responsive teaching.  In Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Guide to  Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching All Students Equitably, it is defined as "the use of diverse students’ cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles to make learning encounters more relevant and effective for them (pg. 12)."  When this approach is used, learning is more personally meaningful, has higher interest appeal, and occurs more easily and thoroughly.  Nine culturally responsive "best practices for teaching racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse students" were outlined on pp.18-20.  I would like to remember and implement these practices in classrooms throughout my school.

1. Acknowledge students' differences as well as their commonalities.

It is important as a teacher to recognize that students from different backgrounds have different ways of knowing, styles of questioning, ways of interacting, funds of knowledge, and dynamics of home and community (pp. 59-60 Vacca, Vacca, Mraz).  Beyond recognizing it, teachers need to adapt and vary the learning for all of these things.  

At the same time, it is important to help students see the commonalities amongst all people, so we don't get to a place, as Chimamanda Adichie said in her TED talk. where there is "no possibility of a connection as human equals."

2. Validate students' cultural identity in classroom practices and instructional materials.

One way to do this is to incorporate multicultural books.  This helps diverse students to see themselves reflected in books, as well as to help students learn about other cultures (pg. 57 VVM).

Chimamanda Adichie said that as a child she "didn't know people like me could exist in literature," and that it was an empowering experience when she discovered African authors.  I certainly don't want to be the reason that any student feels invisible.  Incorporating more diverse, representative books into the classroom library, read alouds, and text under study can validate students' cultural identities.

Another way to do this is through incorporating multiple perspectives when studying any given topic, which enhances and deepens the content and cultural knowledge (pg. 59 VVM).

3. Educate students about the diversity of the world around them.

I think many educators feel they do a good job with this, but they focus on a contribution or additive approach (pg. 55 VVM), which can actually lead to a single story perspective like Chimamanda Adichie spoke about in her TED talk.  We need to do better to represent cultures and people as multifaceted and complex through a more transformative or decision-making/social action approach.  These approaches help students to see a fuller picture, form their own conclusions and opinions, and actually begin to understand how to function in a diverse society.

4. Promote equity and mutual respect among students.

I think if you are implementing the first three practices mentioned, then a mutual respect will develop naturally as students grow and become more culturally aware.

That being said, it is important for a teacher to convey the message that all students, their opinions, beliefs, and questions are important (CRT pg. 4), and if any bias or discrimination is present in the classroom that it is addressed immediately (CRT pg. 16).

To help develop mutual respect, team building activities can be used to foster "social cohesiveness" (CRT pg.5).  Once that has been established, cooperative learning activities can be implemented, as they have "great potential to facilitate building cross-ethnic friendships and to reduce racial stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice" (CRT pg. 5).

5. Assess students' ability and achievement validly.

To avoid simply identifying what diverse students don't know, a variety of assessment techniques should be used.  These could include informal assessments such as observation and discussions (pp. 90-91 VVM).  Portfolios "can be a powerful tool for educators because of the unique opportunity they provide to assess patterns in students' academic progress, reflective thinking, and achievement over time" (pg. 93 VVM).  Incorporating a variety of contributions including checklists, interviews, rubrics, self-assessments, and reflections would give a more complete picture of a student's strengths and actual knowledge than a standardized test would.

6. Foster a positive interrelationship among students, their families, the community, and school.

Showing interest in students' home cultures and ethnic backgrounds builds trust in the classroom (pg. 61 VVM).

There needs to be trust in order for students to feel safe in a classroom, which in turn opens the door for learning.  To help promote that trust, family or community members could be invited to present information and artifacts about their country of origin (pg. 63 VVM) or to serve as a guest speaker on a topic related to the content (pg. 61 VVM).  Beyond that, teachers need to understand the effects that the home culture has on students, to include their performance and value of education.  "Ultimately, for culturally responsive involvement, schools need to consider families as partners in their children’s education. For this to occur, the partnership needs to be built on a foundation of mutual respect and trust." (CRT pg. 23)

7. Motivate students to become active participants in their learning.

A good example of active participation and engagement was created by Chris Gable in the video of his ELA and SS classroom.  He used relevant material, groupwork, differentiated reading and writing, and discussion to involve all students in the learning.  They were not simply taking information in; they were actively participating with the content to produce their understanding.