- #CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND THE BRAIN HOW TO#
- #CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND THE BRAIN PROFESSIONAL#
- #CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND THE BRAIN SERIES#
Unfortunately, there is still a cultural and racial mismatch between majority White teachers and majority students of color in most public school classroom. Can you give a brief description and explain its purpose?Ī key part of being culturally responsive as a teacher is recognizing that you are a critical linchpin in helping students navigate both the content and the classroom community. LF: I was struck by the wisdom behind the “Mindful Reflection” protocol you recommend that teachers use.
#CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND THE BRAIN HOW TO#
My goal is to help them learn what they are and how to use them. Now, the reality is that most teachers don’t know what those cultural learning tools are. Or when, the teacher uses students’ natural cultural learning tools like talk and word play to help them process new content. Culturally responsive teaching is when the teacher grounds the lesson in community issues that is relevant and meaningful to students’ daily life as a vehicle for teaching content. Doing call and response at the beginning of a lesson to get kids excited isn’t culturally responsive teaching. That’s just a reason for kids to break out their cellphones and giggle. Motivation is only a small part of it.įor example, teachers rapping their content isn’t culturally responsive. The focus isn’t on motivation but on improving their brainpower and information processing skills. In a nutshell, culturally responsive teaching is about helping culturally and linguistically diverse students who have been marginalized in schools build their skill and capacity to do rigorous work. With more brain power and cognitive routines they are able to do more rigorous work and build their background knowledge and deepen understanding. When students are in their ZPD, the brain responds by growing more neurons and dendrites - brainpower. It’s about rebuilding trust with them through a learning partnership, using that rapport and trust to get permission from students to push them into their zone of proximal development. A big myth is that its about motivating students of color by mentioning cultural facts or naming famous people of color.Ĭulturally responsive teaching is not just about motivating disengaged students.
#CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND THE BRAIN PROFESSIONAL#
I’ve been doing equity-focused professional development and school support for over 18 years and I wrote the book in order to get dispel the urban myths and misconceptions about what culturally responsive teaching. LF: I suspect that many educators are not familiar with “Culturally Responsive Teaching.” Unfortunately, as you indicate in your book, even some who have heard of it think it might be more like a “bag of tricks.”Ĭould you briefly describe CRT, perhaps including some examples of what it is and what it is not? She blogs at and offers a 2-day workshop based on her book. Zaretta Hammond, a former writing teacher, is an education consultant who supports schools around the country in creating more culturally responsive instruction.
#CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND THE BRAIN SERIES#
I’m kicking off this summer series with an interview with Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain. It’s that time of year again, and I will be alternating between publishing thematic collections of past posts and sharing interviews with authors of recent books I consider important and useful to us educators.