Is good teaching culturally responsive?

Abstract

Demographic data show an increasingly diverse student population in all urban settings. This contrasts with the teacher force, which is predominately middle class, female, monolingual, and of European ancestry. This discrepancy adds complexity to an already complex profession. To bridge this cultural gap, researchers advocate for a change in the teaching paradigm, in which teachers understand the relationship between students' culture and learning. This paradigm is called Culturally Responsive Teaching. The participants of this study were twenty-two secondary mathematics and science teachers. The researcher analyzed whether some of the strategies used in mathematics and science urban classrooms were studentcentered as well as culturally responsive. Results show that teachers used a variety of student-centered strategies, such as discovery learning, centers and group work, and games. Similarly, the teachers incorporated their students' culture into their mathematics and science classrooms, by including their students' interests in the lessons, exposing students to similar role models, and using real-life examples that students found relatable.

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Urban Secondary Schools

“…Each of these two categories is further divided into sub-categories. These data make the subject of another manuscript that was recently published (see Tanase, 2020b).…”

“…Finally, Tanase (2020b) discussed some of the startegies used by twenty-two mathematics and science urban teachers in thier middle and high-school classes. To maximize learning opportunities for their students, the teachers used student-centered startegies such as: discovery learning, centers and group work, and games.…”

“…Moreover, to ensure that their practice was culturally responsive, these teachers incorporated thier students’ culture into their mathematics and science classes, by adapting some of thier students’ language and incorporating the students’ interests into their lessons (i.e.music, sports, genetics, money, social media, social justice issues). And since “The communities in which students live are a significant component of thier culture” (Tanase, 2020b, p. 12), the teachers embedded community examples in their lessons, such as: using the church analogy to teach about cells, taking students on nature walks around campus to familiarize them with the organisms living within these ecosystems, or introductig students to African American scientists.…”

“…But intention without action is not enough, so teachers need not only educate themselves about their students’ cultures, but also to accompany this knowledge with the skills that help students dismantle the status quo (Banks, 2011; Gay, 2018; Howard, 2010). Like in the case of the results of a similar study, conducted with the same participants, the researcher (Tanase, 2020b) admits that it may be too early to call the 22 teachers 100% culturally responsive, as CRT is strengthened by time and teaching experience. But what the teachers in this study lacked in experience, they compensated in their willingness to relate to their students.…”

“…It is thus vital that teachers develop a repertoire of strategies that tap into their students’ cultural and ethnic potential, in order to maximize learning for their students and close the achievemenr gap between cultural groups (Tanase, 2020b).…”