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Writing instruction in the culturally relevant classroom

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Writing Instruction in the Culturally Relevant Classroom (Principles in Practice)

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• ISBN-10 0814158560
• ISBN-13 978-0814158562
• Publisher National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
• Publication date October 25, 2011
• Language English
• Dimensions 7.25 x 0.25 x 9 inches
• Print length 101 pages
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) (October 25, 2011)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 101 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0814158560
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0814158562
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 0.25 x 9 inches
• #190 in Rhetoric (Books)
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What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?

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For decades, researchers have found that teachers in public schools have undervalued the potential for academic success among students of color, setting low expectations for them and thinking of cultural differences as barriers rather than assets to learning.

In response, scholars developed teaching methods and practices—broadly known as asset-based pedagogies—that incorporate students’ cultural identities and lived experiences into the classroom as tools for effective instruction. The terms for these approaches to teaching vary, from culturally responsive teaching and culturally sustaining pedagogy to the more foundational culturally relevant pedagogy . Though each term has its own components defined by different researchers over time, all these approaches to teaching center the knowledge of traditionally marginalized communities in classroom instruction. As a result, all students, and in particular students of color, are empowered to become lifelong learners and critical thinkers.

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• Definition

• Characteristics

• Glossary of Terms

But as a growing number of states seek to pass legislation banning the teaching of the academic concept known as critical race theory in K-12 schools—as well as more broadly limiting classroom discussion on topics of race, gender, and sexuality—this work is caught in the fray. Some politicians have conflated culturally responsive teaching with separate academic concepts and initiatives, including diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. As a result, legislation gets written in ways that could stifle efforts toward equity in schools, such as policies that can help underserved students, researchers say.

This explainer unpacks what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher, how all these research terms are related, and where other academic concepts such as critical race theory tie in—or not.

What is the definition of culturally responsive teaching?

Culturally responsive teaching means using students’ customs, characteristics, experience, and perspectives as tools for better classroom instruction.

The term was coined by researcher Geneva Gay in 2000, who wrote that “when academic knowledge and skills are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference for students, they are more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly.”

It’s the kind of teaching that helps students of color see themselves and their communities as belonging in schools and other academic spaces, leading to more engagement and success.

What is culture, and why is it relevant to student learning?

Culture refers to the customs, languages, values, beliefs, and achievements of a group of people. Students’ culture and lived experiences that influence how they understand and make sense of the world or themselves are an integral part of who they are as learners. As Emily Style, the former founding co-director of the National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity), once wrote, “Half the curriculum walks in the door with the students.”

While more than half of public school students are students of color, most schools are organized around the mainstream culture of white Americans. The culture that many students experience at home and in their communities is not always represented at school—or is represented in a stereotypical way.

Also, 80 percent of teachers are white. Research has found that teachers are just as likely to have racial biases as non-teachers , and those biases tend to influence the expectations they have for their students and their ways of managing their classrooms. For example, past research has found that white teachers have lower expectations for Black students than they do for white students, and those can turn into “self-fulfilling prophecies” when students internalize them or when teachers change their approach to students as a result of their mindsets.

One study found that white teachers were more likely to praise a poorly written essay if they thought it was written by a student of color than if they thought the essay was by a white student. Teachers’ racial biases can also result in decreased access to advanced coursework and higher rates of suspensions .

When did culturally responsive teaching start?

Culturally responsive teaching stems from the framework of culturally relevant pedagogy, which was introduced by scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings in the 1990s. Ladson-Billings was tired of the commonly held narrative that Black children were deficient and deviant, and that there was something wrong with them. Instead, she wanted to find out what was right with Black children, their families, and their communities. To do so, she researched the practices of effective teachers of Black students.

For about two years, Ladson-Billings observed teachers who were identified by both principals and Black parents as being excellent. The teachers had different ways of teaching, but they all had high expectations for their students and fostered academic success. They also all valued and integrated themselves in the community from which their students came.

Ladson-Billings distilled the commonalities in those teachers’ beliefs and practices into the framework of culturally relevant pedagogy, which she defined as a model that “not only addresses student achievement but also helps students to accept and affirm their cultural identity while developing critical perspectives that challenge inequities that schools (and other institutions) perpetuate.”

There are three components of culturally relevant pedagogy: 

• student learning —prioritizing students’ intellectual growth, including their ability to problem-solve; 
• cultural competence —creating an environment where students affirm and appreciate their culture of origin while also developing fluency in at least one other culture; and 
• critical consciousness —teaching students how to identify, analyze, and solve real-world problems, especially those that result in societal inequities against marginalized groups.

So, what are the characteristics of culturally responsive teaching?

Gay’s research shows five essential components of culturally responsive teaching: 

• A strong knowledge base about cultural diversity . Teachers should understand different racial and ethnic groups’ cultural values, traditions, and contributions to society, and incorporate that knowledge into their instruction.
• Culturally relevant curricula . Teachers should include multiple perspectives in their instruction and make sure the images displayed in classrooms—such as on bulletin boards—represent a wide range of diversity. Teachers should also contextualize issues within race, class, ethnicity, and gender.
• High expectations for all students . Teachers should help students achieve academic success while still validating their cultural identities.
• An appreciation for different communication styles . Teachers should understand different communication styles and modify classroom interactions accordingly. For example, many communities of color have an active, participatory style of communication. A teacher who doesn’t understand this cultural context might think a student is being rude and tell the student to be quiet. The student may then shut down.  
• The use of multicultural instructional examples . Teachers should connect students’ prior knowledge and cultural experiences with new knowledge.

Doesn’t that require teachers to reinforce stereotypes about students of color and even discriminate against white children?

In short, no. While the academic framework of culturally responsive teaching and other asset-based pedagogies emerged from how to best support students of color, it evolved into a teaching approach that serves all students, regardless of their racial background.

Sharroky Hollie, the director of the nonprofit Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, works with teachers to practice what he calls cultural and linguistic responsiveness. In his work, he talks about the rings of culture, meaning the various aspects of students’ identities that can impact how they interact with the world around them.

To Hollie, it’s not just about thinking of ways to validate and incorporate a student’s racial background into the classroom. It’s not about thinking of students in a one-dimensional, stereotypical way. Culturally responsive teachers must also consider the student’s gender, age, socio-economic status, whether they live in the suburbs or a rural area, and more.

“It’s not as simplistic as we’re trying to value our students of color,” he said. “We’re actually trying to value the rings of culture that they bring to our schools, regardless of their racial background.”

For instance, in predominately white school districts, there are white students who, due to where they live or their family’s socio-economic status, are underserved by their school district and could benefit from a culturally responsive approach to education, Hollie said.

What is culturally sustaining pedagogy, and how is it different than culturally relevant teaching?

Schools are still places where white norms are considered the default standard in the curricula, behavioral expectations, linguistic practices, and more. Culturally sustaining pedagogy says that students of color should not be expected to adhere to white middle-class norms, but their own cultural ways of being should be explored, honored, and nurtured by educators.

Django Paris, who coined the term in 2012, and co-author H. Samy Alim once told Education Week that culturally sustaining pedagogy “positions dynamic cultural dexterity as a necessary good, and sees the outcome of learning as additive, rather than subtractive, as remaining whole, rather than framed as broken, as critically enriching strengths rather than replacing deficits. … As such, CSP explicitly calls for schooling to be a site for sustaining—rather than eradicating—the cultural ways of being of communities of color.”

The framework builds on the work of Ladson-Billing and others but offers a “loving critique” that cultural relevance in the curriculum is not enough for students in today’s world, given demographic shifts toward a more diverse society. Paris and Alim also argue that asset-based pedagogies, like culturally relevant teaching, traditionally haven’t paid enough attention to young people’s more fluid relationships with their identities.

Ladson-Billings has embraced the evolution of her foundational pedagogy, writing in 2014 that “culturally sustaining pedagogy uses culturally relevant pedagogy as the place where the beat drops.” She also told Education Week that she is now paying close attention to how teenagers shape culture, an aspect that wasn’t present in her original work.

It’s important to remember that these asset-based pedagogies—culturally responsive, culturally relevant, and culturally sustainable, among others—are not in conflict with each other. While their frameworks vary, they all have the same goal of dismantling a deficit approach to educating students of color and focusing instead on their strengths, assets, and communities in the classroom.  

What does the research say about the effectiveness of these teaching frameworks?  

A 2016 synthesis of decades of research on culturally responsive teaching and related frameworks found that engaging in culturally affirming practices across subject matters, including mathematics and science, led to positive increases in students’ understanding and engagement with academic skills and concepts.  For instance, students in high school math class could learn about statistics by assessing the probabilities of racial profiling cases in various neighborhoods or using other datasets applicable to their communities that bring up questions about justice and injustice.

Culturally responsive teaching and similar approaches to teaching also increased students’ motivation, interest in content, and the perception of themselves as capable students, among other benefits, the study found. Brittany Aronson, an associate professor in educational leadership at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a co-author of the study, said, whenever teachers drew direct connections between classroom lessons and students’ experiences outside of school, students could see greater value in the academic content as it applies to the real world. Such work helps students see themselves as knowledge producers and researchers.

Overall, teaching that makes school relevant to students helps them succeed both in terms of quantitative measures such as high test scores, and more qualitative measures such as becoming life-long learners able to ask critical questions about the world around them, both in and out of school, Aronson said.

What are some examples of culturally responsive teaching?

Teachers who practice culturally responsive teaching have a classroom full of books featuring characters and images that represent a variety of ages, genders, ethnicities, and other types of diversity. They share the achievements and expertise of people from different ethnic groups in every subject area. They include multiple perspectives when discussing historical and contemporary events, including those from oppressed groups who are often left out of the narrative. And they encourage students to draw on their prior knowledge and cultural experiences to make connections to the academic content.

Culturally responsive teaching also must have an element of critical consciousness, where students are empowered to critique and analyze societal inequities. For example, Teddi Beam-Conroy, an associate teaching professor at the University of Washington, was teaching the Declaration of Independence to a class of 5th graders. When they got to the line that said, “All men are created equal,” Beam-Conroy asked her students, “Who were the men who were considered equal at that point?” To illustrate the point, she asked everyone to stand up—and then told them to sit down if they didn’t identify as male, if they didn’t identify as white, or if their parents rented instead of owned a home. 

That exercise opened the door to a conversation about how Americans weren’t all equal in the late 18th century. Beam-Conroy’s students discussed when women and African Americans got the right to vote—and what implications that has had on the composition of U.S. Congress or the Supreme Court. The critical consciousness piece is “examining how historically, power has been distributed and guarded among particular folks who make the laws,” Beam-Conroy said. “Fifth graders can understand that.” 

Culturally responsive teaching can also involve a deeper reimagining of classroom codes of conduct. For instance, in some students’ culture, talking while someone else talks shows how invested and engaged they are in the conversation, said Hollie with the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning. Culturally responsive teachers find ways to incorporate that verbal overlap into their lesson rather than seeing it as rude or worthy of discipline. 

To better understand the dynamics of culturally relevant teaching, browse the terms below.

• asset-based pedagogies: teaching methods and practices that incorporate students’ cultural identities and lived experiences into the classroom as tools for effective instruction. These types of pedagogies seek to dismantle a deficit approach to educating students of color and instead focusing on their strengths, assets, and communities in the classroom. Examples include culturally relevant teaching, culturally responsive teaching, and culturally sustaining teaching, among others.
• critical consciousness: teaching students how to identify, analyze, and solve real-world problems, especially those that result in societal inequities against marginalized groups
• critical race theory: an academic concept with the core idea that race is a social construct, and racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies
• culture: the customs, languages, values, beliefs, and achievements of a group of people
• cultural competence: the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from other cultures. Students should be taught to value and affirm their culture of origin while also developing fluency in at least one other culture.
• cultural identity: how an individual or group identifies themselves according to ties to one or more cultures
• culturally relevant pedagogy: a way of teaching that fosters student achievement while helping students to accept and affirm their cultural identity, as well as develop critical perspectives that challenge societal inequities
• culturally responsive teaching: a pedagogy that uses students’ customs, characteristics, experiences, and perspectives as tools for better classroom instruction. Students of color see themselves and their communities as belonging in academic spaces.
• culturally sustaining pedagogy: a way of teaching that explores, honors, and nurtures students’ and communities’ cultural ways of being. This approach considers the evolving identities and languages of students.
• pedagogy: teaching methods and practices; more broadly the art and science of the teaching profession
• racial biases: perceptions of, attitudes toward and treatment of a person or group based on their race

What isn’t culturally responsive teaching?

Researchers note that some educators say they’re practicing culturally responsive teaching, but it’s an overly simplified version. For example, for some teachers, a multicultural school potluck meal or adding diverse books to their classroom library sufficiently counts as affirming students’ culture in education. But culturally responsive teaching is deeper, more critical work.

“There’s a tendency to truncate culturally responsive teaching to be about a whole myriad of things—it’s about relationships, it’s about anti-racist education, it’s about diverse books,” said Zaretta Hammond, the author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain . “It’s like that old parable of the king who asks nine blind men to describe an elephant. Each one grabs a different part of the elephant. ‘Oh, it’s flat and wide’—he’s got the ear. ‘No, it’s like a rope’—he’s got the tail. No one has the whole picture.”

Too often, she said, white progressive educators view culturally responsive teaching as an add-on to their regular instruction instead of a fundamental shift in their pedagogy. For example, a teacher might think students of color just need to see themselves in order to feel motivated and do the work, so she’ll incorporate diverse books into her classroom or syllabus—but not change anything to the content or her way of instruction.

Another common misconception is that culturally responsive teaching is a way of addressing student trauma, which is a deficit-based ideology that assumes the universal experience of people of color is one of trauma, Hammond said.

How widespread is culturally responsive teaching?  

A 2019 analysis by the think tank New America found that all states include some combination of culturally responsive teaching competencies into their professional teaching standards, but some are more widely incorporated than others. For example, every state’s standards says teachers must work with families and develop relationships to learn more about students’ cultural background, and 28 states say that teachers should bring real-world issues into the classroom, but only three states—Alabama, Minnesota, and Washington—advise that teachers learn how institutional racism and other biases can hinder students.  

Most teacher-preparation programs have also incorporated culturally responsive teaching into their courses. And some school districts, including New York City and Baltimore City , have adopted a culturally responsive and/or sustaining approach to education.

Still, experts say it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many teachers have adopted these asset-based pedagogies because some may use only certain tenets. For instance, helping students develop a critical consciousness is often ignored. 

What does all of this have to do with critical race theory?  

Critical race theory, broadly speaking, is an academic concept with the core idea that race is a social construct, and racism is not only the product of individual bias or prejudice but is also embedded in policies and systems, such as a legal system—or as some scholars such as Ladson-Billings propose, an educational system. 

Aspiring K-12 teachers in graduate level courses may study aspects of critical race theory to better understand how school systems are designed in ways that don’t serve the needs of students of color. But critical race theory is not taught as a guide for classroom instruction, nor is it typically used as a culturally relevant or culturally responsive lesson plan for kids and teens, said Aronson with Miami University. 

Asset-based pedagogies, like culturally relevant or culturally responsive teaching, are not the same thing as critical race theory. They have different theoretical bases and different goals. However, there might be some commonalities—for example, the questions students are encouraged to ask about social systems, including education, may ring close to the consciousness critical race theory is meant to evoke.  

Because these pedagogies directly address aspects of students’ cultural identities and how those identifiers are present in classroom conversations, legislation against critical race theory—or protests at school board meetings —often end up lumping these concepts together and targeting them in bans and investigations.

For instance, in his first executive order earlier this year, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, ordered the superintendent of public instruction to “review the department of education’s cultural competency training to determine if it or any portion promotes inherently divisive concepts.” Divisive concepts as defined by the executive order includes “critical race theory and its progeny.”

And in Florida last year, publishers of mathematics instructional materials were told that “in an effort to make sure Florida students have the highest quality instructional materials, we are advising publishers and school districts to not incorporate unsolicited strategies, such as social emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching.” That memorandum led to the recent rejection of more than 50 math textbooks from next school year’s curriculum.

In an interview with Education Week, Ladson-Billings stressed that culturally relevant teaching, as she defined it, has nothing to do with critical race theory. But opponents to critical race theory have glossed over those nuances, she said, adding that deliberative public debate is hard when people don’t know what they’re talking about.

“The attack on anything that allows more participation and moves us toward equity is going full force,” she said.

Education Issues, Explained

There is a vast body of research on asset-based pedagogies. Here are some starting points to read more about culturally relevant teaching, culturally responsive teaching, and culturally sustaining teaching.

Aronson, Brittany and Laughter, Judson. “The Theory and Practice of Culturally Relevant Education: A Synthesis of Research Across Content Areas.” Review of Educational Research, Vol. 86, No. 1. (2016)

Gay, Geneva. Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice . New York: Teachers College Press (2000).

Gay, Geneva. “Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching,” Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2 (2002).

Hammond, Zaretta. Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students . Corwin (2014).

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. “Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy,” American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3 (1995).

Paris, Django. “Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A Needed Change in Stance, Terminology, and Practice.” Educational Researcher, Vol. 41, No. 3 (2012).

Paris, Django and Alim, Samy H. “What Are We Seeking to Sustain Through Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy? A Loving Critique Forward,” Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 84, No. 1 (2014).

Paris, Django. “Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies and Our Futures,” The Educational Forum, 85:4, 364-376 (2021). Coverage of race, opportunity, and equity is supported in part by a grant from The Wallace Foundation, at www.wallacefoundation.org . Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage. A version of this article appeared in the May 11, 2022 edition of Education Week as What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?

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Literacy Lines

Home » Literacy Lines » Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction

Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction

Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of meeting students where they are culturally and linguistically. It puts students at the center of instruction that validates and affirms students’ identities and gives students from historically marginalized communities an equitable education experience. When culturally responsive educators validate and affirm students and bring them where they need to be academically, students are more likely to feel recognized, valued for their contributions, and eager to learn. (Hollie, 2017)

Muniz (2019-2020) points out that over time, several frameworks were developed for culturally responsive approaches, and identifies Gloria Ladson-Billings (who is credited with coining the term culturally responsive teaching in the early 1990’s), Geneva Gay, and Django Paris as early authors of seminal works. Zaretta Hammond (2020) suggests that culturally responsive teaching needs to be distinguished from multicultural education and social justice education. She explains that culturally responsive teaching is focused on the cognitive development of under-served students, while multicultural and social justice education have more of a social supporting role.

What are the tenets of Culturally Responsive Teaching?

Educators use varying definitions that emphasize different aspects of culturally responsive teaching, but there is a common theme among all definitions (Hollie, 2017; Martinez, 2021; Muhammad, 2020; Hammond, 2014; Krasnoff, 2016; Johnson, 2021; Gatlin,-Nash, Johnson, Lee-James, 2020; Kubic, 2021; Stringfellow, 2019). Culturally responsive teaching is a strategy for engaging all students where teachers

• use culturally diverse and inclusive practices that recognize and validate students’ home cultures and languages as assets;
• communicate and hold all students to the same high expectations and provide instruction so all students can access the same grade-level content;
• are aware of, and take into account linguistic and dialect differences;
• include culturally diverse inclusive practices and curriculum; and
• use classroom books and sources that enable students to see themselves represented in the text they read.

How can culturally responsive teaching be applied specifically to reading instruction?

Culturally responsive teaching, including how it applies to teaching reading, cannot be deduced to a single routine, program, or set of steps to follow. As the term implies, it should be based on the culture, language, and uniqueness of those you are teaching, “…shaped by the sociocultural characteristics of the setting in which it occurs, and the populations for whom it is designed” (Gay, 2013, p. 63.) With that said, the following suggestions for integrating culturally responsive teaching into literacy instruction are a starting point upon which educators can build. For more detailed explanations of these suggestions, read the Keys to Literacy white paper titled Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction (2021).

• Set and Communicate High Expectations for Developing and Using Reading Skills: Set rigorous literacy learning objectives and provide all students with a consistent message that they are expected to attain high standards related to reading. Provide explicit instruction of reading skills and use a gradual release of responsibility model to insure that students develop grade-appropriate reading skills.
• Select and Use Culturally Responsive Texts for Reading Instruction: Students must see themselves in the tex they read. Books that are used for read aloud and student reading should reflect multicultural experiences that validate for students their worth and value at school and in society. Students also need exposure to books that will help them understand the multicultural nature of the world they live in.
• Phonology: It is important for teachers to be aware of phoneme differences between dialects when teaching students to produce phonemes, calling attention to contrasts between Mainstream American English (MAE) pronunciation and pronunciation in a student’s primary dialect, being respectful of both dialects. Dialect variation should also be taken into account for phonological awareness assessment because traditional assessments often assess only knowledge of MAE. For English language learners, some languages have different spoken phonemes than those in English. Teachers need to be mindful of these differences and provide additional instruction and support when asking students to produce phonemes or teaching letter-sound correspondences.
• Phonics & Spelling: Learning the alphabetic principle can be challenging because often, Non-Mainstream American English (NMAE) dialect differences do not map well onto the standard English writing system’s orthography. Teachers should help students recognize the difference between how words are spelled and how words are pronounced, especially for graphemes (letters) that represent sounds not always said or heard in a student’s dialect.
• Vocabulary: Contrasts in pronunciation of sounds and morphemes may also affect the ability to learn the meanings of new words. When teaching vocabulary, teachers should teach words in context and make sure that students are aware of all the features of a word — its spelling, pronunciation of its phonemes, its word parts (morphemes), multiple meanings, and related words.
• Syntactic Awareness (sentence grammar): Teachers should keep in mind that dialects of English are complex and rule-governed systems of English, no different than MAE. Dialect features related to syntax should not be considered grammatical errors. Students benefit from explicit instruction for developing syntactic awareness that respects students’ home languages while drawing attention to the differences between informal dialect and MAE.
• Explicit Instruction for Reading Comprehension Strategies: Students benefit from instruction that develops higher-order and critical thinking skills that are necessary to meet high expectations for learning. In order to become independent thinkers and learners, students need to develop metacognitive reading comprehension strategies and close reading skills. Explicit instruction for these skills and strategies enables students to monitor their understanding while reading, identify when they are not comprehending, and respond by applying fix-it comprehension strategies.
• Classroom Participation and Discussion About Text: Students benefit from culturally relevant opportunities to respond to what they are reading and learning. Teachers should set high-expectations for participation in classroom conversations and discussion with teachers and peers, as well as explicit instruction for discussion skills. Teachers should also become familiar with their students’ communication styles, including those most commonly utilized in the cultures represented by the students.

Keys to Literacy and Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction

In 2020, Keys to Literacy updated its mission statement to reflect our commitment to supporting culturally responsive literacy instruction:

We believe the ability to read and write is the foundation for all learning and essential for a fulfilling and impactful life. We also believe effective, culturally responsive literacy instruction is a critical equity issue. Our mission is to provide high-quality, engaging, and sustainable professional development that is aligned to research-based literacy instruction. The goal is to help educators teach literacy skills in a way that increases literacy achievement for all students. 

Muniz (2019-2020) points out that compelling research highlights the benefits of culturally responsive teaching (citing Hammond, 2014; Tatum, 2006, 2009; Wood & Jucius, 2013; Morrison, Robbins, & Rose, 2008; Byrd, 2016). She explains:

“Research illustrates that instructional materials, assignments, and texts that reflect students’ backgrounds and experiences are critical to engagement and deep meaningful learning. A smaller, yet promising group of studies evaluating the effectiveness of CRT interventions link this approach to a wide range of positive outcomes such as academic achievement and persistence, improved attendance, greater interest in school, among other outcomes.” (p. 10-11)

Given Keys to Literacy’s focus on providing professional development for the use of evidence-based instructional practices that increase student literacy achievement, we hope the suggestions in this post and the longer white paper will help teachers deliver instruction that supports the needs of their students who come from a large and increasing number of racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse families.

Byrd, C.M. (2016, cited in Muniz, 2019-2020) Does Culturally Relevant Teaching Work? An Examination From Student Perspectives. SAGE Open 6 (Summer 2016).

Gatlin-Nash, B., Johnson, L., & Lee-James, R. (2020). Linguistic Differences and Learning to Read for Non Mainstream Dialect Speakers. Perspectives, 46 (3). International Dyslexia Association. Retrieved from http://digitaleditions.sheridan.com/publication/?i=671218&article_id=3747561&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5

Gay, G. (2013). Teaching to and through cultural diversity. Curriculum Inquiry, 43 (1), 48–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/curi.12002

Hammond, Z. (2014) Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Corwin.

Hammond, Z. (2020). Distinctions of Equity. Retrieved from https://crtandthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/Hammond_Full-Distinctions-of-Equity-Chart.pdf

Hollie, S. (2017). Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning – Classroom Practices for Student Success, Grades K-12. Shell Education.

Johnson, L. (2021). Cultural Considerations for Diverse Readers . Webinar sponsored by The Reading League, November 30, 2021.

Krasnoff, B. (2016). Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Guide to Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching All Students Equitably . Region X Equity Assistance Center at Education Northwest. Retrieved from https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/resources/culturally-responsive-teaching.pdf

Kubic, C. (2021). Taking Small Steps Towards Equity. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/taking-small-steps-toward-equity?utm_content=linkpos2&utm_source=edu-legacy&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-2021-09-29

Martinez, G. (2021). What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching? Curriculum Associates Blog. Retreived from https://www.curriculumassociates.com/blog/what-is-culturally-responsive-teaching

Morrison, K. A., Robbins, H. H., & Rose, D.G. (2008, cited in Muniz, 2019-2020 and Krasnoff, 2016). Operationalizing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Synthesis of Classroom-Based Research. Equity & Excellence in Education 41 (4).

Muhammad, G. (2021). Cultivating Genius: How to Select Culturally and Historically Responsive Text. Scholastic. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/professional-development/cultivating-genius-how-select-culturally-historically-responsive-text.html

Munez, J. (2019-2020) Culturally Responsive Teaching. New America. Retrieved from https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/culturally-responsive-teaching/

Stringfellow, L. (2019). Sustaining Readers Through Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction . National Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved from: https://www.nais.org/magazine/independent-teacher/spring-2019/sustaining-readers-through-culturally-responsive-literacy-instruction/

Tatum, A. (2006, cited in Muniz, 2019-2020). Engaging African American Males in Reading. Educational Leadership 63 (5).

Tatum, A. (2009, cited in Muniz, 2019-2020) Reading for Their Life: (re) Building the Textual Lineages of African American Males. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Wood, S. & Jucius, R. (2013, cited in Muniz, 2019-2020). Combating “I Hate This Stupd Book”: Black Males and Critical Literacy. The Reading Teacher 66 (9).

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Thank you, Joan! Your synthesis of this body of research is so helpful. You are a gifted master at in translating research into digestible useful information for educators!

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Culturally Responsive Teaching Guide (+10 Examples)

Educators today are working in an increasingly diverse world, which translates to an equally diverse classroom. Just look at the statistics: the 2020 U.S. Census found that the population of all minorities in the United States increased from 2010, and the multiracial population specifically grew 276% over a 10-year period. When you consider a previous Census Bureau report that forecasted that half of all U.S. students in public schools would be minority students by 2020, it becomes clear why culturally responsive teaching is becoming increasingly important.

However, knowing how to implement a culturally relevant pedagogy isn’t inherently easy, and requires a balancing act on the part of you, the educator. To help you start to introduce these concepts and tactics into your classroom, here is a breakdown of culturally responsive teaching and 10 examples of CRT being implemented in schools.

What is Culturally Responsive Teaching?

According to Edutopia, culturally responsive teaching “attempts to bridge the gap between teacher and student by helping the teacher understand the cultural nuances that may cause a relationship to break down — which ultimately causes student achievement to break down as well.”

When put into practice, teachers can develop culturally responsive pedagogies which are “student-centered approaches to teaching in which the students’ unique cultural strengths are identified and nurtured to promote student achievement and a sense of well-being about the student’s cultural place in the world.”

Why Use Culturally Responsive Teaching?

There are numerous studies that point to the benefits of culturally responsive teaching (CRT). CRT has been shown to increase student engagement , cultivate critical thinking and problem solving skills, and ultimately improve a students’ sense of belonging in the classroom. For educators, culturally responsive pedagogy has been critical for improving their ability to reach students, especially in the time of remote teaching and COVID-19. Reports show that teachers who use this teaching style are better able to respond to student needs, and is an effective way to combat educational inequities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From an overall educational perspective, the biggest benefits of culturally relevant teaching include:

• Teachers and students are more actively contributing to the classroom environment and culture.
• Students get to learn from more interactive, collaborative and culturally conscious activities.
• This teaching style helps foster a sense of belonging for students of all backgrounds.
• It has been proven to improve brain processing and student engagement.

10 Examples of Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Classroom

There is no one way to implement elements of culturally responsive teaching into your classroom. There are countless different tactics to try that align with your style — here are 10 of the most common:

1. Learn About Your Students : Kick the school year off with exercises that help you get to know your students. Distribute surveys or questionnaires that allow your students to share a bit more about their backgrounds, and their learning styles. With these responses you can go into the year with a complete picture of your classroom makeup.

2. Interview Students : This is a more personal approach to getting to know your students better. Face-to-face communication will help create an open dialogue between you and your pupils, and will encourage them to open up about things like their hobbies, favorite subjects and their preferred in-class exercises.

3. Integrate Relevant World Issues : There are many different ways to do this. Consider implementing a current events roundup into your morning meetings or classroom routine. You can also use culturally relevant terms in word problems that relate back to student interests and cultures.

4. Leverage the Power of Story : Many cultures have oral traditions, myths and stories that are passed down through the generations. These stories can be used as teaching tools about manners, morality and more. Use your students’ diverse cultural stories to teach valuable lessons to your classroom, while also sharing some unique history of other groups.

5. Gamify Lessons : Gaming is hugely popular amongst school-aged children. Consider “gamifying” your lessons — popular tactics include offering reward badges or setting standards for new “levels” students can move up to for certain projects or proficiencies.

6. Use Media that Positively Depict a Range of Cultures : Find age-appropriate media outlets from different cultures and languages to use in your curriculum. These outlets can be used to teach a differing perspective on a current or historical event.

7. Encourage Students to Propose Ideas for Projects : Turning the tables and letting students propose ideas for projects is a great way to let students play to their strengths and get creative. Encourage them to use their cultural heritages or backgrounds as an inspiration, and support them in taking projects from concept to completion.

8. Experiment with Peer Teaching : It is suggested that teachers try allowing students to participate in peer-to-peer teaching. In this exercise, students are able to use their own vocabulary and cultural references  to teach each other about a topic or subject.

9. Encourage Students to Leverage Cultural Capital : Empower your students that come from varying backgrounds to use their voices and speak about their diverse backgrounds. For example, if you teach an English class that includes ESL students, try to find ways to include them in lessons and allow them to share experiences they have had.

10. Involve Parents by Using Take-Home Letters : Open the door to parent participation at the start of the school year, when starting a new unit or trying an education tool for the first time. Parents can provide cultural context and support, and will appreciate being kept in the loop regarding their child’s education.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TEMPLATE [FREE TEACHING TOOL] 

Use our handy 3-page Classroom Management Template to create a plan for everything that goes into successfully operating a classroom.

How to Implement Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Classroom

There isn’t a step-by-step process that every teacher must follow to introduce culturally relevant teaching into their classroom. Instead, here are some elements of a culturally inclusive classroom, and some choices you can make to begin this exciting process:

• Gather demographic information on students such as background, languages spoken, etc.
• Identify students’ assets and their cultural capital.
• Create a welcoming classroom environment and develop authentic, caring relationships with your students.
• Examine the curriculum to identify where you can tie in cultural elements.
• Explore CRT resources to deepen your own understanding of the concept.
• Share your own background and experiences with students to open lines of communication.
• Encourage students to talk in pairs or small groups before sharing their own experiences with the whole class.
• Learn about your students’ traditions, holidays and family or other cultural activities, and try incorporating some of these traditions or activities into classroom activities.
• Choose media, like stories or poems or video, that reflects the culture of the students so they can relate to the topic or characters, and teach their classmates about their heritage.

How Does Culturally Responsive Teaching Apply to Parents & Families?

Students’ parents and guardians can be one of your most valuable resources when it comes to building a culturally relevant pedagogy. Because they are your students’ resource when it comes to learning about their own cultural backgrounds. As such, you should be sure to engage with families from the beginning, inviting parents and guardians into the classroom community. They can share books from their native cultures or country, or participate as a guest speaker to tell their own stories. This helps them actively participate in their child’s learning and share a bit about what makes them unique.

Resources for Culturally Responsive Teaching

Some easily accessible CRT resources available to teachers include:

Mathematica

Education Northwest

ChangeKidsLives

Inclusive Schools Network

Culturally Responsive

Professional Development for Culturally Responsive Teaching

There are a number of introductory resources available online for educators interested in culturally responsive teaching. However, these articles and eBooks provide a surface-level overview of CRT. While this information is hugely valuable, for educators who seek to have a more comprehensive understanding of this practice, there are other options.

Consider the Teaching for Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity in the Classroom Series offered by the University of San Diego. This program is available through the school’s Division of Professional and Continuing Education, meaning each course in this series is available completely online. Through the Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity program, learners will learn how to celebrate diversity, and also strategize how to promote inclusivity, equity and anti-racism in the classroom. To learn more about this program, please contact us .

What is culturally responsive teaching?

Culturally responsive teaching is “a student-centered approach to teaching in which the students’ unique cultural strengths are identified and nurtured to promote student achievement and a sense of well-being about the student’s cultural place in the world.”

What are the benefits of culturally responsive teaching?

There are numerous benefits of culturally responsive teaching, but the four biggest takeaways teachers should have are, teachers and students are more actively contributing to the classroom environment and culture, students get to learn from more interactive, collaborative and culturally conscious activities, this teaching style helps foster a sense of belonging for students of all backgrounds, and it has been proven to improve brain processing and student engagement.

How can I implement CRT in my classroom?

There are many tools you as a teacher can use to implement CRT in your classroom, but a few easy tactics to try early in the classroom include gathering demographic information on students such as background, languages spoken, etc., identifying students’ assets and their cultural capital, and examining the curriculum to identify where you can tie in cultural elements.

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5 Ways to Create a Literacy-Rich Preschool Classroom

Consider these straightforward ideas for setting up a literacy-friendly environment for pre-K learners.

Language and literacy skills in preschool and kindergarten are a strong predictor of children’s academic achievement in all subject areas through high school. In light of this, many preschool teachers feel compelled to provide rote, direct instruction to explicitly teach alphabet knowledge and phonics. Contrary to this inclination, theories of child development suggest that children are concrete learners and retain information best when it is grounded in their existing knowledge (e.g., constructivism ). Teachers can support this by offering real and meaningful experiences that help children connect new learning to what they already know.

The good news for preschool teachers is that such experiences don’t necessarily require hours of planning and carefully crafted lessons. Preschool classrooms can be filled with literacy-rich materials and opportunities for teachers to facilitate meaningful, contextualized learning throughout children’s day.

Here are five ways that preschool teachers can create a literacy-rich environment that encourages children’s natural curiosity and meaningfully promotes emergent reading and writing skills.

An environment for literacy

1. Label children’s personal items and spaces with their photos and names: Preschoolers first begin to identify the letters in their own names, followed by their friends’ names. Add labels with children’s photos and their names to cubbies, coat hooks, seats, place mats, classroom jobs, or any other individual items you may have in your classroom.

When it is time to put things away, encourage children to find their own name. This not only encourages valuable self-help skills but also helps them begin to identify their names in print. Occasionally, you can also ask children to help a friend put away their items too. For example, “Sally left her water bottle on the table. Can you put it in her cubby?”

When children are ready, remove the photo support and continue with only written names. Ask questions like “How do you know that’s Sally’s cubby?” to guide them toward letter identification in the context of their friends’ names.

2. Label classroom materials with both pictures and words: Environmental print in the classroom serves multiple purposes. First, photos of materials with word labels on baskets, bins, and shelves help children easily find materials and know exactly where those materials belong when they’re cleaning up. They also allow children to see that print has a purpose and that groups of printed letters represent words.

Finally, with adult support, children can begin to associate beginning letters with sounds, using the pictures of familiar classroom materials as a reference. As children are cleaning up, try asking, “What goes in this basket?” and “How do you know?” Encourage them to “read” the label using the pictures and the words.

3. Add books to every learning center or interest area: Books don’t have to be limited only to your classroom library. Adding a basket of topic-related books to each interest area helps children develop an understanding between print and its purpose.

Educator Kristin Rydholm provides some great lists of picture books related to dramatic play , blocks , math , and makerspaces . Here are some relevant topics for books for interest center libraries. 

• Community helpers, different types of families, and cookbooks in the dramatic play center
• Buildings, construction, and maps or atlases in the block area
• Books showcasing famous artists or featuring colors and shapes in the art center
• Counting, numbers, sorting, and patterns in the math center
• Critters, nature, and creating with loose parts in the science center
• Mentor texts in the writing center (like A Squiggly Story , by Andrew Larsen)

4. Offer writing materials in every learning center or interest area: Preschool teachers often have a writing center available in their classroom, but why limit writing to just one space? Adults use writing all the time—from writing out birthday cards to jotting down grocery lists and sticky note reminders, writing is all around us. Young children, who learn best through meaningful and contextualized experiences, should also have opportunities to practice writing for a variety of purposes. Though a well-crafted writing center is important, offer writing materials in every area of the classroom.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children provides tips for strategically placing writing materials throughout the room and connecting emergent writing experiences to topics of interest. Other opportunities for emergent writing practice throughout the classroom may include the following:

• Taking restaurant orders, making price tags, and more in the dramatic play center
• Drafting architectural plans and labeling buildings in the block center
• Recording observations of a science experiment in the science center

5. Create resource rings with relevant vocabulary words: With intentional and continued exposure, young children can build the rich and expansive vocabulary they need for later reading development. As your class explores new topics of interest throughout the year, be intentional about exposing children to new vocabulary words.

Create resource rings with topic-related vocabulary words and picture cues to add to a designated area of the classroom; some teachers may prefer to place these in the writing center. Add a hole punch to each card, and group topic-related word cards on a single binder ring. These school-related vocabulary cards by Karen Cox are a great example. As children are discussing topics of study with their friends, or writing/drawing about their learning, direct them to the resource rings as a tool for remembering and/or writing vocabulary words.

Preschool language and literacy skills are critical for children’s long-term school success, but teachers shouldn’t feel pressured to spend hours planning for direct instruction. Much of children’s early language and literacy learning will occur organically in a literacy-rich preschool classroom. By embedding language and literacy materials throughout the classroom with special attention to each interest area, teachers can encourage literacy development in ways that are engaging, contextualized, and driven by each child’s interest.

Study Shows How Higher Education Supports Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Students Through Culturally Relevant Courses, Programs, and Research

Analysis of minority-serving institutions on the East and West Coasts demonstrates layered processes to build students’ capacities

The model minority myth paints a picture of Asian Americans as a monolithic group with unparalleled success in academics. A new NYU study unpacks this myth, exploring the needs of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students and how higher education institutions support these populations.

In 2007, Congress established a federal designation for higher education institutions that enroll at least 10 percent of undergraduate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA&NHPI) students, and who enroll a significant proportion of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This designation as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) was among one of the newest categories of minority-serving institutions that receive federal funding to advance educational equity and support for ethnic and racial minorities.

In a two-site case study, Mike Hoa Nguyen , assistant professor of education at NYU Steinhardt, collected data from interviews, internal and public university documents, and observations of activities, courses, and meetings to determine the process in which AANAPISI programs expand students’ capacities through culturally relevant coursework, mentorship, research, and civic engagement. His findings are published in The Review of Higher Education .

“AANAPISIs demonstrate a federal commitment to supporting the unique educational needs of AA&NHPI students, which are too often obscured by the model minority myth,” said Nguyen. “This myth dangerously asserts that Asian American students, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students by association, are universally successful and unparalleled in their academic achievements. AANAPISIs play a major role in addressing this problem, and in doing so, provide critical resources to uplift the students they serve. This study documents the process in which these colleges and universities engage in this important work.”

Nguyen's study centered on a large, public community college on the West Coast and a large, urban, regional public university on the East Coast. Nguyen’s findings related to the experiences of students in these programs.

He uncovered a five-tiered process that the two institutions use to build opportunities for learning, practice, and engagement:

AA&NHPI Focused Coursework At both institutions, courses focused on these populations are offered through the institutions’ Asian American Studies programs, where students are exposed to concepts connected to their racial and ethnic identities. One student shared her experience with a course, Asian Women in the United States, “Through my experience with that class I learned…for the first time, issues that affected my community. Specifically, me as an Asian American woman, specifically Vietnamese American…”

Teaching and Mentoring Students who had previously taken AA&NHPI coursework provided tutoring and mentoring to support new students with classwork, programs, books, and scholarship applications.  According to one mentor, “Cambodian Americans fall through the cracks, we’re just not in higher ed…It’s not a supportive space for us…[the AANAPISI faculty] understand…from their own community work, from being on campus, and [from] teaching for so long that…when they find students who fit these demographics it makes sense for them to mentor them.”

Advanced AA&NHPI Focused Coursework After serving as mentors, students often take more advanced courses focused on theoretical, historical, and contemporary issues regarding the AA&NHPI experience to continue their academics while gaining tools to make larger contributions toward their communities. 

Academic and Research Development Students who complete advanced coursework are provided opportunities to engage in academic projects and research with faculty and staff, presenting research at conferences or publishing in peer-reviewed journals. 

Professional and Community Experience The final step in the process offers opportunities for students to engage in community-based projects, internships, and employment with partner organizations, government offices, or other schools. A student shared that his research experience led to the creation of a Vietnamese American organizing and training program. “[Researchers] found out that Vietnamese Americans in [the neighborhood] don't participate in civics or politics…they basically feel disenfranchised, like their vote doesn’t matter…So, the research showed that there needs to be an organization to help push and provide opportunities to talk about politics in a Vietnamese American progressive context…”

“AANAPISIs are the backbone for AA&NHPI students in higher education. These institutions account for six percent of all colleges and universities, yet enroll over 40 percent of all AA&NHPI undergraduates,” said Nguyen. “This study offers new understandings of the critical role that AANAPISIs play to expand educational opportunity and enrich learning experiences—which can be adopted beyond AANAPISIs and for other students—as well as inform the work of policymakers as they seek new solutions to refine and regulate the administration of minority-serving institutions.”

Funding for this study was provided by the UCLA Institute of American Cultures and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. 

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