Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) incorporates student culture into every facet of teacher-student interaction in the classroom. Students in the US and its regions come from various ethnic, linguistic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. According to the text “Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Guide to Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching all Students Equitably,” in 2011, diverse learners comprised 48% of the population, up from 39% in 2001 (Krasnoff, 2016). Unfortunately, instructors and school administrators do not embody this diversity for the most part. CRT requires teachers to learn about their students’ diverse cultures for them to learn and feel at ease in the school. For various reasons, educators should always concentrate on CRT. Learners must feel understood to learn; this is especially important because acceptance becomes an increasingly vital component of their lives as they grow older.
Teachers can only be held responsible for student outcomes if they are appropriately prepared to respond culturally to learning styles and requirements. In the context of the inequities that diverse groups of society confront, educators must scrutinize their socio-cultural backgrounds and prejudices (Krasnoff, 2016). Instructors should learn about the student’s life and be able to use approaches that support a constructivist view of teaching. Generally, an encouraging attitude toward learners substantially impacts teaching outcome, self-confidence, and overall academic achievement.
Cultural responsiveness is a crucial component of good teaching and encompasses several characteristics that identify effective educators. According to Krasnoff (2016), they ought to maintain high expectations for all learners and assist them in learning. They should assist students in achieving desirable educational, behavioral, and social outcomes, such as frequent attendance. Additionally, instructors should plan and structure engaging learning activities using various tools and keep track of student progress. An efficient instructor can assist in the creation of schools and classrooms that encourage diversity. Finally, it is crucial to work with coworkers, administrators, parents, and educators to guarantee student achievement.
Creating fair classroom climates that are mutually suitable for learners is a fundamental element of CRT. In CRT, the educator restructures instruction and learning so that students collaborate with their teacher to improve their performance. Teachers must be so concerned about their multicultural pupils’ success that they will accept nothing less than accomplishment from them and strive tirelessly to achieve it (Krasnoff, 2016). Instructors must trust in all learners’ academic potential and take responsibility for facilitating its development without disregarding, insulting, or abandoning students’ racial identities to create a meaningful classroom community. Diverse pupils’ academic success is founded based on social affirmation and resilience.
Teachers must decipher their interaction methods to better teach different pupils by properly comprehending the interaction linkages between individuals and teams. Most ethnically diverse groups’ communication methods are more active, interactive and multimodal (Krasnoff, 2016). According to Krasnoff (2016), culturally responsive educators must grasp not just their learners’ language patterns but the contexts, cultural influences and conversation features. Therefore, the duties of the speaker and audience should be interchangeable and dynamic.
Considering cultural diversity when developing educational methods is crucial. Essentially, instruction must occur in a student-centered environment to foster high expectations for all students. According to research, diverse learners’ performance rises when guided via experiential perspectives (Krasnoff, 2016). Generally, aligning teaching to learning style necessitates a teacher’s understanding of diversity and accepting that different groups have varied preferences or express similar qualities in contrasting ways.
Teachers must be deliberate in their efforts to eliminate prejudice and create a CRT setting. Everyone has inclinations that affect how they communicate with students and coworkers. According to research, educators should use six tactics to establish an environment where all students have equal learning chances (Krasnoff, 2016). Among these is the recognition of teachers’ inherent prejudices and inequitable acts. They should aspire to learn about the student’s background and needs.
Ideas in the text remind me of the Ted talk video “Culturally Responsive Pedagogy.” Dessources (2018) defines CRT as a “pedagogy that recognizes the importance of infusing the students’ cultural references in all of their learning” (00:18-00:25). According to Dessources, if educators do not listen to a student’s interests, they fail to build the connection that will aid their personal growth and do a disservice. Generally, this discussion made me realize how critical it is in learner development to be culturally relevant.
The ideas in this text relate to the experiences of observing students of second language acquisition (SLA). Most of the SLA learners are from marginalized communities or cultures. Therefore, some educators find it challenging to be culturally responsive while teaching and separate the students indirectly or directly. Essentially, it is critical to make each pupil feel equally valued and significant in the classroom. Many measures are made to assist individuals with learning and behavioral difficulties, but they are still isolated from the rest of the class. Generally, if instructors put more effort into making minorities feel accepted, a beneficial relationship between these people and the educational system will emerge.
The ideas in the text relate to the larger world’s past, present and future. For instance, a few years ago, most classrooms were in person, and instructors had to learn how to incorporate CRT in such a setting. Currently, especially after the COVID-19 crisis, learning changed to online. Therefore, educators must learn new ways of assimilating CRT in digital classes. Soon, the world will become more globalized with increased immigration, requiring teachers to be more culturally responsive.
References
Dessources, J. (2018). Culturally responsive pedagogy [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Krasnoff, B. (2016). Culturally responsive teaching: A guide to evidence-based practices for teaching all students equitably. Education Northwest.