Culturally responsive teaching aims to validate and affirm student diversity by using cultural references to impart knowledge and skills. It recognizes that students' cultural backgrounds influence their experiences in school. Effective culturally responsive practices incorporate students' experiences, communities, and cultural strengths into lessons to make learning more meaningful and relevant. By acknowledging cultural diversity, teachers can help students advance academically while also teaching respect for all backgrounds.

1. Culturally Responsive
Teaching
Nicoleta Martinez
Educ. 671

2. Rationale for choosing to research the topic of
culturally responsive teaching
According to North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards, Standard II
“Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of
students”, teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world
by:
● creating lessons that incorporate and address all aspects of culture: race,
ethnicity, language, religion, beliefs, customs, traditions, etc.
● strive to counteract stereotypes and capitalize on strengths of cultures;
● understand that students’ cultural backgrounds influence their school lives;
● create an environment that is nurturing and accepting of all cultures;

3. Rationale for choosing to research the topic of
culturally responsive teaching
One other reason I decided to address this particular topic is based on my observations
in my school. Sometimes, I am being asked to participate in mainstream classes
(especially during observations) as a way for the content area teachers to show their
‘compliance’ to Standard II. Some of the ways teachers would ask me to participate are:
read a book in Spanish, or say the numbers in Spanish, or make a connection of their
lesson to something that is Spanish/Hispanic related. Sadly, to me this is not
incorporating students’ cultural backgrounds into teaching.
Therefore, my choice for researching this topic stems from the misconceptions and
stereotypes I notice. I hope that in the future, I will have the opportunity to develop and
deliver professional development with the staff at my school in order to address the
complex aspects of culturally responsive teaching.

4. How does this research topic fit into the Curriculum &
Instruction class context?
Culturally responsive teaching is an important aspect of the
broader context of Curriculum & Instruction from the
following points of view:
● in order to familiarize ourselves with the multi-faceted aspects of
curriculum
● in order to be able to evaluate and make decisions about curriculum to be
taught in the classroom
● in order to reshape or design curriculum so to meet the cultural
particularities of our students
● in order to develop instructional practices that integrate students’ cultural
backgrounds

5. Components of Culturally Responsive Teaching
● Culture - values, views, attitudes, perceptions, preferences that determine
and influence how individuals understand the world;
● Ethnicity - a group to which one belongs as dictated by origins and
customs. For instance, one can be White Irish, or Italian, or Romanian. Or
one can be Black African American, or Black Haitian.
● Race - a social construct as determined by social rules and context:
White/Caucasian, Black, Hispanic, Asian
● Language
● Religion
● Gender
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/42921_3.pdf

6. What is Culturally Responsive Teaching?
Cultural responsiveness is a significant aspect of school nowadays. Culturally
responsive teaching validates and affirms students’ diversity of cultural
backgrounds as to empower students “intellectually, emotionally, and politically
by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes" (according
to Gloria Ladson−Billings (1). Cultural referents such as students’ backgrounds,
experiences, knowledge, set of values and beliefs, language, ethnicity are used
strategically by the teachers in order to inform instruction. This attempt to relate
to students’ cultures results in creating the much needed bridge between
students’ home lives and their school lives.
(1) definition retrieved from http://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/sites/brown.edu.academics.
education-alliance/files/uploads/KLOOM_crt_entire.pdf

7. What is Culturally Responsive Teaching?
According to Geneva Gay (1), culturally responsive teaching displays the following
features:
● validating: recognizing students’ cultures and incorporating their strengths into
daily teaching validates who they are and makes learning relevant and
effective to them;
● comprehensive: culturally responsive instruction teaches the whole child,
intellectually, emotionally, socially and politically. Academics are as important
as students’ cultural heritage.
● multidimensional: culturally responsive teaching involves the many dimensions
of education - curriculum, learning process and context, the environment of the
classroom, relationships, instructional methods, assessment;
(1) information retrieved from http://www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture/curriculum/culture/teaching.htm

8. What is Culturally Responsive Teaching?
- cont’d
● empowering: by acknowledging students’ cultural heritage, they are empowered to
better themselves academically. Their academic growth will impact their lives
outside the school setting. Academic knowledge and skills, inquiry, curiosity, critical
thinking skills translate to students’ personal lives determining self and social
change.
● transformative: culturally responsive teaching incorporates practices that are
transformative and progressive. For instance, teachers recognize that some
Hispanic students respond to close and affectionate relationships. Therefore, this
strength can further be developed into instruction, such as a short one-on-one
session during center time, or a time appropriate for the teacher during the school
day.
● emancipatory: implementing culturally responsive practices in the classroom on a
consistent basis will open students’ minds to understanding that we all share
differences and similarities and that there is not only one accepted truth, but a
multitude of perspectives, based on each and everyone’s cultural background.

9. Why is it important to address, respect and incorporate
students’ cultural background into classroom practice?
- to bridge the gap between what students know & are able to do and what
they need to learn in school;
- to meaningfully and genuinely connect families and communities to
schools;
- to further students’ advancement of academic knowledge and skills, as
well as social skills by capitalizing on their cultural background;
- to establish a classroom environment that is respectful and conducive to
acceptance of all, no matter the cultural background;
- to teach the whole child;
- to acknowledge students’ cultural backgrounds and expose them to a
diversity of cultures;

10. Effective Culturally Responsive Teaching practices
The constructivist approach to education emphasises the need for integrating
culturally responsive practices into daily instruction. Constructivism recognizes
the value of multiple cultural viewpoints. Some of these practices can be:
- use students’ experiences and understandings that they have acquired in
their families to connect them to content to be taught;
- incorporate issues and concerns of the local communities into the lessons;
- engage students actively into the learning process by capitalizing on their
cultural strengths;
- use equitable group practices;
- use of cognitive strategies such as scaffolding, self-evaluation, and self-
monitoring to help students advance to more challenging learning
situations;

11. Effective Culturally Responsive Teaching practices
- cont’d
- integrate technology to facilitate learning and engage students through
visual and auditory input;
- guide students to question, challenge, and analyze information rather than
accept it;
- engage students in reflective activities - lead students to introspect and
analyze their personal beliefs and views;
- use of simulations and cross-cultural games for students to experience
hands-on cultural differences;
- study literature that exposes students to a variety of cultures;
- have students investigate the history of their families

12. Reflection
The diversity of cultures that we encounter nowadays in schools brings upon new
perspectives on teaching and learning. The cultural dynamic of the classroom has been
changing significantly lately. As members of different cultural groups and sub-groups
enter the school system, they bring their cultural diversity to the classroom. They bring
their language, ideas, beliefs, norms and values. And this cultural diversity cannot be
ignored; it must be acknowledged and incorporated in the educational process.
Knowing and responding to the culture of our students, the need for culturally responsive
education has become a fact that must be faced by all teachers. Cultural diversity in our
classroom brings students with different learning styles, different goals and expectations,
different communication styles. In order to reach our diverse groups of students, a
teacher must first acknowledge this diversity as a valuable one, and consequently modify
his/her teaching as to incorporate their culture.

13. Reflection - cont’d
For instance, Hispanic, African American, Arabic students value emotions, and
relationships; they show their feelings when they interact; they prefer face-to-face
interaction and feel uncomfortable with silence; On the other hand, mainstream
Americans and European ancestry students value facts and figures, and use a direct
communication style, whereas Native Americans and Asian students prefer indirect
communication style and value subtle communication, listen first, then respond. These
behaviors reflect the modal personality of the group and they influence the students’
cognitive styles, thus affecting the way in which they learn.
Being aware of these particularities, a culturally responsive teacher will modify teaching
so as to reach the individual styles of his/her students.

14. References
Culturally Responsive Teaching. (2002). Retrieved from http://www.intime.uni.
edu/multiculture/curriculum/culture/teaching.htm
Culturally Responsive Teaching. (2008). Retrieved from
http://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/sites/brown.edu.academics.
education-alliance/files/uploads/KLOOM_crt_entire.pdf
NC Professional Teaching Standards. (2009) Retrieved from http://www.ncpublicschools.
org/docs/effectiveness-model/ncees/instruments/teach-eval-manual.pdf
Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to Improve Teaching and Learning. (n.d.)
Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/42921_3.pdf