Synthesis 14 – Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices
This chapter addresses and describes instructional strategies designed to promote and ensure successful achievement for students who are diverse learners - whose values, beliefs, customs, traditions, and celebrations differ from those who are peers in the classroom and those who are teaching these diverse students schools of America. The text was designed to encourage expression, argument, and achievement among the learning community of educators. Donna Ford and Gilman Whiting’s chapter is about teachers, their classroom children, and the fruitful research that has addressed the educational needs of students who are affected economically, ethnically, and culturally. Effective principles and instructional strategies which incorporate the needs and abilities of the diverse learner are addressed and discussed. Concrete teaching techniques in the classrooms of America reach students, but today’s educators must expand their instructional tool base to unite the needs of students from diverse backgrounds with the needs of the dominant group students. I do this on a daily basis in my classroom and this is one aspect of my teaching that I do well. I try to maintain an environment that encompasses all cultures represented in the class. The students love to talk about their native land and everyone in the class has the opportunity to learn and discover a new world.
In a culturally responsive classroom, however, the curriculum and materials should incorporate all cultures. I am still in the learning and discovery stage of culturally responsive teaching techniques and have few materials or texts in my classroom which address other cultures. This week, I am in the process of cleaning the clutter from my classroom. Yes, it is true – I HOARD school materials! I am cleaning the junk and making room for more insightful, thought provoking, enriching literary materials. One thing my students and I have in common is that we love to eat – Cookbooks may be a great place to begin….
One thing I would really love to address is foreign language. When I have completed my master’s program, I intend to begin taking classes in Spanish! Wish me luck!
Your commitment to self-improvement is evident in your endeavors! Your masters and then Spanish...I am IMPRESSED! Like you, my class library is not as diverse as it could or should be. Updating the selection will be an ongoing project, since funds are always limited. However, awareness is the first step in the right direction. I plan to make this a priority when adding new books for the students.
ReplyDeleteI am still building my future classroom library and I lack a lot of diversity books as well. I am the same way I love to buy school material and I never want to get rid of it. I have not even started teaching and I have stuff I could get rid of. I am sure I will have a classroom full of stuff in the next couple of years. : ) That is a great idea that you are taking spanish, I have taken several spanish courses throughout high school and college. I honestly still do not know or remember most of the language. My tip for you is to always practice with someone that speaks spanish. You will never learn it completely unless you use it all the time.
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