“Half the curriculum walks in the door when the students do.” —Emily Style (Founding Co-Director of Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity)
I have always believed that quote to be true. To me, culture is one of those elements that are central to learning and teaching. It affects how we communicate and how we receive information. It plays a role in how our thinking process is shaped, and how valued we, and others feel within our classroom. As educators we aim to create a classroom that is diverse and welcoming of all; a classroom that moves beyond acceptance of differences to the celebration of them. As educators it is our role to ensure that all participants feel valued in the classroom by welcoming diversity, and teaching our students’ often untold stories.
Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that acknowledges, responds to, and celebrates cultures. It recognizes the importance of including students’ cultural references in our curriculum and offers equitable access to education to all students regardless of culture (Ladson-Billings,1995). Ladson-Billing’s work is the basis of the Ontario Government's (2013) Capacity Building: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. The purpose of the pedagogy is to provide inclusivity and equity in classrooms. The full report can be found at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_ResponsivePedagogy.pdf
Some of the characteristics of culturally responsive teaching identified in the report are:
*Socio-cultural consciousness - understanding that socio-cultural structures shape experiences
*High expectations - of students regardless of student background
*Desire to make a difference - act as a change agent to equity
*Constructivist approach - allow learners to construct their own meaning and knowledge (and make connections to their previous knowledge and experiences)
*Deep knowledge of their students - know your students, where they are from and how they learn
*Culturally responsive teaching practices - design lessons around student knowledge and encourage them to grow in their thinking and learning.
Technology integration can help us ensure our classroom is culturally inviting. Here are some tips on how we can integrate technology into our curriculum to uphold the characteristics of Culturally Responsive Teaching.
Online Resources provide sources for multicultural and social justice classroom content. Story telling applications such as Storybird supports students’ expression of their identities. Digital images can capture up-to-date situations, scenes, celebrations and traditions that will allow students to see themselves and their culture represented in the classroom. Virtual field trips using applications such as Google Cultural Institute, can provide opportunities for students to experience each other’s culture in a way they could never have before, and through these experiences build an understanding and appreciation of the others in their classroom. These virtual reality friend trips can be taken using inexpensive devices such as Google Cardboard. For students who are English Language Learners, varied digital resources such as videos, and animations may assist in the students’ grasping the content and/or learning new vocabulary. Video-conferencing tools such as Skype allow for students to interact with people all around the world. Imagine the connections, new learnings, and appreciation that would be gained by having the opportunity to have a conversation with a First Nations elder! The opportunities to integrate technology into Culturally Responsive Teaching are plentiful!
Image Retrieved From: http://legacy.cscc.edu/about/faculty/pd/craft/crt.shtml
References:
Capacity building series. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_ResponsivePedagogy.pdf
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465
No comments:
Post a Comment