Equity in the classroom: Creating Culturally Responsive Learning Communities Kyrene School District September 16, 2011 JoEtta Gonzales, Director & Seena Skelton, Co-Director The Equity Alliance at ASU

Participants will: Explore the impact that identity and context have on teaching and learning Build an understanding of educational access, participation, and outcomes as they relate to issues of power and privilege Examine characteristics of culturally responsive teaching Equity Alliance at ASU 2

Agenda TimeTopics 8:30Welcome and introductions Everyday Anti-Racism Personal and cultural identities The cultural nature of learning Lunch The Social Construction of Race and Whiteness Power and Privilege Introduction to culturally responsive teaching 3:30Wrap up day one Equity Alliance at ASU 4

How will we spend our time? Facilitated DiscussionsReflection ActivitiesVideo DiscussionsReadings Equity Alliance at ASU 5

What’s in your packet of materials Equity Alliance at ASU6

Equity Everyday Anti-Racism Culturally Responsive Teaching Equity Alliance at ASU 7

Everyday Anti-Racism in Education involves: Rejecting false notions of human differences Acknowledging lived experiences shaped along racial lines Learning from diverse forms of knowledge and experiences; and Challenging systems of racial inequality.

As the demographics have changed within many school communities, educators have struggled with proactively addressing the behavioral and learning needs of an increasingly diverse student population for a variety of individual and systemic reasons. Achievement Gaps Disproportionality

Key Ideas Policy changes alone have not changed outcomes Educational gaps are due to pervasive institutional racial, cultural, and ethnic bias not simply poverty Culturally responsive teaching creates culturally supportive and inclusive learning communities Equity Alliance at ASU 10

Equity Alliance at ASU 11 Linguistic Differences Cultural Differences Societal Racism Inferior Education Rationales for Schooling Au, 1998

Educational Equity When educational practices, policies, supports, curricula, school resources, and school cultures are such that all students have access to, participate and make progress in high quality learning experiences in order to reach academic success, regardless of race, ses, gender, dis/ability, national origin, religion, or other characteristics.

Equity Alliance at ASU What people bring with them What’s already there What’s already there The work people do together The work people do together Cultural Histories The Institutional Culture The Culture We Create The Cultural Nature of Learning

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Our own Cultural Histories Equity Alliance at ASU15 What we bring with us

Education Exploring personal identities Equity Alliance at ASU 16

Think and Write What does “race” mean? What determines race? Equity Alliance at ASU 17

Reflection Individually Think about the selections: What points from the reading and video resonated with you? Pair and discuss: your reflections and questions implications for practice Share: highlights from your discussion in large group Equity Alliance at ASU 18

View and Discuss Equity Alliance at ASU 19

Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible Conversations -Video Activity Discuss the following questions: When did you first become aware of white privilege? How does the intersection of privilege and difference show up in your context? Have you ever thought about your “space” (working, living, learning) as a racialized space? How do you react to this concept? Equity Alliance at ASU 20

Break “"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams.” Equity Alliance at ASU 21

How does Power and Privilege relate to students in schools?

Cultural differences affect how behaviors are interpreted by everyone as well as burden students and families with making subtle and overt shifts in their behavior when school behavior codes are not transparent. The power for making judgments about behavior are made by school personnel who may not understand or be conscious of the relational nature of their cultural stances, and therefore behavior differences become magnets for conflict among and between students, families, and school personnel. Where cultural differences exist, but are not adequately considered, school personnel, families, and students may exacerbate conflict rather than help to defuse, redirect and negotiate new norms. NCCRESt, 2005

The institutional culture Equity Alliance at ASU24 What’s already there

Socio- Historical Context Economic Constraints Cultural Practices, Patterns and Histories Educational Mandates and Policies Demographic Shifts Current Political Climate We must consider the socio-historical context in which schooling occurs to adequately address the achievement of all students.

26 ImprovisationMulti-taskingRelationship Standardization Single-task activity Task completion Home Culture School Culture Approach to Work Cultural Practices

27 Story TellingDirect commandsAuthentic questioning High context Home languageCasual register Simultaneous Conversation Print LiteracyIndirect commandsInauthentic questioningLow contextEnglish onlyFormal register Turn Taking Home Culture School Culture Communication Cultural Practices

The Culture we Create Equity Alliance at ASU 28 The work people do together

The cultures we create in shared learning and work spaces develop as people work together and interact to define their community. Understanding culture as a dynamic ingredient in human interactions provides entry points where people can help each other make meaning from their work and school experiences. New cultures are created every time people come together on an ongoing basis and engage in common experiences. It is critical to be cognizant of our interactions, if left unexamined, the norms that make up learning and work cultures could result in excluding some from fully accessing, participating and progressing in quality learning and work experiences. Equity Alliance at ASU 29

What’s needed to get students college and career ready? Equity Alliance at ASU 30

A statement that is heard from many teachers when asked about student differences is – "I see all of my students the same way.” It is critically important that teachers recognize the individuality of each student as cultural beings (Pollock, 2008).

the overall approach one takes to delivering instruction, using curricular materials, making educational decisions, including student discipline; and interacting with students and their families. the lens through which teachers see their students and their students' learning. the filter through which teachers listen to how students express their needs and desires. Culturally Responsive Teaching is…

Culturally Responsive Teaching DispositionKnowledgeSkillsPractice

Villegas and Lucas (2002) identify six salient characteristics for preparing teachers to work successfully in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. These characteristics can be thought of as important teacher dispositions necessary for demonstrating culturally responsive teaching.

Dispositions Discussion Activity Dispositions Gallery Walk Small Group Discussion Whole Group Sharing

WHAT IS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING? VIDEO VIEWING ACTIVITY Dr. Geneva Gay University of Washington Seattle Equity Alliance at ASU36

Group Processing Activity IndividuallyPairsQuads Equity Alliance at ASU 37 Think about what questions you have about implementing the culturally responsive teaching practices Dr. Gay described in the video. Both people complete the following statement: “What comes up for me when we start to talk about creating an inclusive and culturally responsive learning community is …..” Discuss the challenges related to culturally responsive practices and possible leverage points that can be used to facilitate full implementation.

Break

Answer the following questions: What did you observe regarding the teacher’s use of cultural referents and cultural practices to encourage active engagement of her students? How might a teacher use the curriculum in ways that reflect multiple perspectives and diverse cultural histories? What questions would you have for this teacher? Culturally Responsive Teaching in Action

Environment Curriculum Instruction & Assessment Climate

Instruction & Assessment Four foundational culturally responsive teaching strategies: 1) Actively engaging students in learning 2) Connecting students' new learning to their prior knowledge and lived experiences 3) Including diverse cultural representations & multiple perspectives 4)Assessing student knowledge to inform instruction

Culturally responsive curricula reflect multiple ethnic and cultural perspectives; and incorporate everyday-life concepts of various cultural groups in the teaching of new content. Curriculum is designed to develop students’ critical thinking skills and is integrated across all subjects and content areas. Curriculum

Environment SafeOrganizedWelcoming

Climate Fun Belong ing Students feel share their ideas. Power Freedom/ Choices

Classroom Equity Indicators Read Pair Share Read the equity indicators Discuss the indicators with your partner and write 1 or 2 additional indicators for each area Share additions with group

Discussion 3 Key take-aways from today’s session 2 Immediate next steps I will take to forward my understanding of my own cultural identity and the cultural identities of my students 1 Question I have about implementing culturally responsive teaching

Equity exists, in part, to the degree that all students feel they belong, are included, and are empowered.

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