Culturally Responsive Teaching

Laura Holdman
Demographics of Concord, MA
● Total District Enrollment: 2,065 students in Elementary and Middle School (High
School is a separate regional district)
○ 418 students at Willard Elementary
● Race:
○ African American 4.4% of District
○ Asian: 7.5% of District
○ Hispanic: 7.0% of District
○ Native American: 0.1% of District
○ White: 74.0% of District
○ Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 0.0% of District
○ Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic: 7.0% of District
Demographics (cont.)
● Selected Populations
○ First Language not English: 8.2% of District
○ English Language Learner: 2.9% of District
○ Students with Disabilities: 18.1% of District
○ High Needs: 26.4% of District
○ Economically Disadvantaged: 6.6% of District
Rationale for Culturally Responsive Teaching
● Culturally Responsive Teaching is not only the acknowledgement of all cultures
and ethnicities but the celebration and incorporation of all cultures in daily
teaching practice.
● It is important because racism and stereotypes stem from a lack of knowledge
about other cultures and a fear of the unknown. Educating young people about
the truth of other cultures’ values, traditions, and history creates an understanding
and an appreciation for diversity.
● Students need to grow up talking about race, appreciating the benefits of diversity,
and communicating with people with different racial backgrounds in order to
grow up to be anti-racist adults. Teachers have an ethical responsibility to provide
the space to do so.
Goals of Cultural Competence
Make it Our Business Blog (2017) outlines the goals of creating culturally competent
leaders:

● “have an understanding of, and honour, the histories, cultures, languages, traditions, child rearing practices
● value individual’s different capacities and abilities
● respect differences in families’ home lives
● recognise that diversity contributes to the richness of our society and provides a valid evidence base about
ways of knowing
● demonstrate an ongoing commitment to developing their own cultural competence in a two-way process
with families and communities
● promote greater understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing and being
● engage in ongoing reflection relating to their cultural competence”

These goals encapsulate the ideal level of understanding for both teachers and students
to achieve to be culturally competent humans.
Teaching Strategies
Overall, students need to be seen and represented throughout all parts of instruction,
whether that be content instruction or social-emotional instruction.

All students should:

● Be seen as an individual.
● Be represented as a race/ethnicity.
● See peers with value and respect.

The following slides will address teaching strategies for each of those areas.
Strategies for seeing each student as an individual
● Student questionnaires and interviews
○ Learn about each students’ interests, hobbies, home-life, and language background.
● Diversify learning methods
○ Give each student the opportunity to show their best learning style by creating activities that utilize
various methods of showing what they know.
○ Use rotating stations to effectively represent learning needs and preferences.
● Total participation
○ Use total participation techniques to hear from every student in every lesson.
○ Instead of always raising hands and speaking in front of the entire class, allow students to participate
through written sentence frames, individual white board responses, sticky notes, and technology such
as Padlet.com to anonymously type and share answers.
○ These strategies allow students to show their knowledge in a low-risk environment.
● Keep high expectations for all students
○ Create a growth mindset for all students to meet their highest academic potential, regardless of race.
Strategies for representing each race/ethnicity
● Culturally relevant topics in lessons
○ Using traditions, beliefs, values, and interests of specific races and ethnicities, incorporate these
ideas into lessons such as word problems, nonfiction articles, and fictional stories to increase
engagement and understanding for all students.
○ For example, if a student grew up on a farm, word problems about city-life will make little sense
and be less engaging than utilizing the prior knowledge they have of farm life.
● Guest Speakers
○ Allow parents or other guests to join class for a lesson on cultural values.
○ Send home parent letters encouraging parents to participate in their child’s classroom community.
○ Even if the race of the guest is not represented in the class, putting a familiar face to a race makes
the students more knowledgeable and understanding of that culture and will reduce stereotypes
about the group of people.
● Know your own biases
○ As a teacher, we have a responsibility to treat all students equally. By acknowledging our own racial
biases, we decrease our chances of subconsciously imparting our biases upon students.
Strategies for peers to value and respect each other
● Peer teaching
○ Use strategies such as think-pair-share, jigsaw, and partner work to give students the opportunity to
work with students from all backgrounds.
● Group work
○ Assign groups to facilitate communication and allow students to learn from each other. This opens
their minds to hear reasoning and perspectives different from their own.
● Materials from home
○ Allow students opportunities to bring in culturally representative books and artifacts from home to
share with their classmates. Through the students sharing their own items, they have the chance to
show their cultural and social perspective to peers.
● Discovery Learning
○ Instead of telling students how to think or act, provide the accepting space for students to share and
learn from one another to form their own opinions and solve their own interpersonal conflicts.
Critical Information
TeachNews.GR (2020) wrote a very comprehensive statement as to why students need
to be engaged in culturally responsive teaching:

“Students need to understand that there is more than one way to interpret a statement, event, or
action. By being allowed to learn in different ways or to share viewpoints and perspectives in a
given situation based on their own cultural and social experiences, students become active
participants in their learning (Nieto, 1996). Hollins (1996) believes that culturally mediated
instruction provides the best learning conditions for all students. It may help decrease the number
of incidences of unacceptable behavior from students who are frustrated with instruction not
meeting their needs. Also, students from cultural groups who are experiencing academic success
will be less inclined to form stereotypes about students from other cultures.”

This statement highlights the positive results we can achieve by being culturally
responsive teachers, especially in terms of reducing stereotypes, minimizing
behavior issues, and maximizing academic potential.
Critical Information (cont.)
The Anti- Defamation League (ADL) Checklist for Creating An Anti-Bias Learning
Environment is a valuable tool for all educators. Whether teachers are just starting to
create a culturally responsive classroom, or they are working to maintain their existing
practices for culturally responsive instruction, this checklist is an essential
self-evaluation tool. There are concrete examples of images and experiences that
contribute to creating the most effective anti-bias learning environment.

A few examples are:

● “Does the physical environment include images that counter existing stereotypes (for example, a Mexican
physician instead of a Mexican in a sombrero taking a siesta)?”
● “Does the school provide opportunities for all students and staff to participate in anti-bias education
programs that promote awareness of personal biases and provide opportunities to develop skills to
challenge bias?”
Citations
Culturally Mediated Instruction. (2020). Retrieved June 30, 2020, from
https://teachnews.gr/glwssologia-didaktikh/item/537-culturally-mediated-instruction
Make It Our Business. (2017, June 22). What does it mean to be culturally competent? [Web log post]. Retrieved June 30, 2020,
from http://makeitourbusiness.ca/blog/what-does-it-mean-be-culturally-competent
Guido, M. (2017, September 14). 15 Culturally-Responsive Teaching Strategies and Examples + Downloadable List [Web log
post]. Retrieved June 30, 2020, from https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/culturally-responsive-teaching/
Anti-Defamation League. (2020). Creating an Anti-Bias Learning Environment. Retrieved June 30, 2020, from
https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/creating-an-anti-bias-learning-environment
Lynch, M. (2014, November 30). 6 Ways Teachers Can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom [Web log post]. Retrieved
June 30, 2020, from
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2014/11/6_ways_teachers_can_foster_cultural_awareness_in_the_clas
sroom.html
The following checklists provide some suggestions for creating anti-bias environments by identifying strengths and needs [PDF].
(2020). New York, NY: Anti-Defamation League.