“Were There Any Black People in Johnstown?” An Investigation of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Service of Supporting Disciplinary Literacy Learning in History

Abstract

This case study describes how culturally relevant pedagogy can be used in disciplinary rigorous ways in an urban middle school history classroom. The focus is on a unit about the Johnstown Flood of 1889, which provided a setting for teaching about the event as well as the historical thinking practices of contextualizing, sourcing, and corroborating. The teacher supported students’ cultural and academic competence for learning both historical content and historical thinking about that content by capitalizing on their funds of knowledge, making use of accessible cultural referents, and sharing personal narratives.

Carnival Classrooms: Sites of Resistance in Secondary Composition Classrooms

“…Instructors can improve student success by using what they already know and applying it to other concepts. As a survival strategy, cultural norms are passed down multiple generations, molding behavior, values, and beliefs (Kucan & Cho, 2018). Learning is often a socially constructed and collaborative process related to students' cultural experiences; if new information is not relevant to their narrative, they will not remember the content learned (Ladson-Billings, 1995;Irvine, 2010).…”

“…Ladson-Billings (1995) argues that culturally relevant pedagogy, or CRP, should create culturally competent students who can understand and evaluate existing social conditions and how those conditions do or do not fit in with the ideals of a multicultural democracy. Using CRP principles in the classroom, students become more engaged in their community (Kucan & Cho, 2018). And because student engagement has increased, students become aware of how institutionalized racism impacts people in a society and how we can understand various perspectives by utilizing a social justice lens (Kucan & Cho, 2018).…”

“…Using CRP principles in the classroom, students become more engaged in their community (Kucan & Cho, 2018). And because student engagement has increased, students become aware of how institutionalized racism impacts people in a society and how we can understand various perspectives by utilizing a social justice lens (Kucan & Cho, 2018). Ladson-Billings (1995) argues that being culturally competent is defined as those educational professionals who understand the culture in which their students live.…”

“…Students, and especially those from a marginalized population, need educators and mentors to be familiar with where they come from-their culture, norms, traditions, values, etc. Students need adults to understand that cultural norms, often seen as a survival strategy, are passed down multiple generations that subsequently mold behavior, values, and beliefs (Kucan & Cho, 2018). Learning is often a socially constructed and collaborative process related to students' cultural experiences.…”

“…In doing so, teachers impart the idea that students can challenge societal norms, affirm their cultural identity, and develop critical thinking skills necessary to critique and challenge social inequities that institutions, like schools, seem to perpetuate (Young, 2010). Kucan & Cho (2018) argue that to reach marginalized students effectively, teachers must bring into the classroom the academic skills and concepts needed for them to situate themselves within the social order properly to understand historical events. Teachers who learn about their students' cultures provide a safe place to explore the world around them (Kucan & Cho, 2018).…”