‘CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS’ or ‘Knowing Your Students’ LEARNING MEDIA Angela Millar, Julie Beatie and the Literacy Leadership Teams of ‘Fraser and Trentham School’ 1st March 2012 Cultural responsiveness- Not just talking about ethnicity- its about “knowing the student”. Use these phrases interchangeably….mean the same thing “The culture of the child cannot enter the classroom, until it enters the conciousness of the teacher”

WHAT CONNECTS US & WHAT IS DIFFERENT 10mins Turns out: •Teremoana came from the cook islands for a better life, my grandfather from Italy for the same reason..  Started to talk about treasures- something dear to our hearts •Tere identified very early on her treasure was her family….its within the family you learn respect, value and the culture of who you are as an individual ...you take that out into the world.   •I had some difficulty finding my treasure …. I don’t have children of my own- dear neices and nephews but they are abroad…..it was more a feeling that I got.  SOmetimes it came  from family, from my job, from my friends…. …. decided it was  feeling authentically connected which was my treasure… We ended up talking passionately about our treasures and doing scribbles on a paper that you can see in the middle there: What  made us similar was connectedness What made us different was that Teremoana’s connectedness was coming from within her family , mine was extending outwards from me to other things…Teremoana represented her family as an individual, I represented only me. If termoana was my student I would need to be aware that achieving in a group was ‘her way’ NOT NECESSARILY THE cook island way BUT HER WAY…… that she would work best- achieving things together from within a group. We know as teachers being active within that group is important...what if she isnt?  We know that she learns to be respectful at home and that can mean if you don't understand you don't say so and you don't play up....  Teremoana thought that by giving everyone in her group a role and aiming an activity at her needs but  delivering to the whole group this would help...

Feels Familiar Activity… Spend a few minutes thinking through who you are, whom you are and where you have come from’ In twos complete the ‘ feels familiar activity’ IN PART OR WHOLE FIND WHAT CONNECTS YOU FIND WHAT IS DIFFERENT WHAT DOES THAT BEGIN TO TELL YOU ABOUT HOW YOU ARE IN THE CLASSROOM WITH YOUR STUDENTS? Pair up with someone you don’t know so well…another school even… 20 mins

LINE UP ACTIVITY Student and Teacher relationships 1=Weak 5=Strong 20 mins Research brings up specific points for consideration when trying to be culturally responsive or getting to ‘know the student’ PRE LINE UP: Do your students know things about you such as: your favourite foods? your hobbies/pass-times/talents? your favourite music? how many children you have and what they like to do / how demanding they are of your time, etc? What do you know about your students? A STRONG relationship will generate greater levels of engagement, responsiveness and positivity.

Co-construct lessons with students 1=Never 5=Often PRE LINE UP: Do you or your students select what topic/theme is to be learnt/taught? How often is the programme of learning designed around student interest and/or student initiated topics? Lets students describe what is ‘relevant’ to them and what they wish to know more about.

Ako – Learn from as well as teach students 1=Rarely 5=Always PRE LINE UP: To what extent do your students (or members of their family/whānau) provide information/knowledge that contributes to learning alongside what you teach in your classes? How often is classroom learning designed around the expressed aspirations and interests that families/whānau articulate for Māori/Pasifika students? POST LINE UP: Means people help each other to know more about what it is that they are interested in. & Teachers and students collaborating to achieve mutually understood outcomes.

Set relevant contexts for learning 1=Rarely 5=Always PRE LINE UP: If, for example, a student partakes in marae-based activities/a church group do you show genuine interest by encouraging them to talk about those things, discuss their sense of belonging, organisational structures etc? Engaging students with topics/materials for learning that reflect their world, the things that are relevant to their life experiences, the things that resonate with them.

Use a range of Teaching/Learning techniques 1=Limited 5=Varied PRE LINE UP: How effectively do you vary the learning experiences of your students by allowing them to work in various ways such as: in groups, in pairs, individually? sometimes write, sometimes speak? sometimes in the classroom and sometimes beyond? ‘Mixing it up’ aligns the learning experience with the outcomes- learners also respond differently in various settings, which raises their level of enthusiasm for tasks and activities.

Have high expectations of every student’s performance 1=Rarely 5=Always PRE LINE UP: How well does every student in your class know that you demand the best from them because you believe they can succeed and that you are dedicated to helping them do so? To what extent do you ensure every Māori/Pasifika student knows that you believe they are culturally valued? To what extent do you affirm their culture in and through their learning? An “Ok” response isn’t good enough because the teacher expects the best from everyone. Setting high expectations drives levels of achievement as both teachers and students strive to meet them.

Key Concept: Engage with Parents/Families/Whānau 1=Never 5=Often PRE LINE UP: To what extent do parents, family, whānau members have opportunities to engage in lessons (presence and/or content) and are welcome to engage with you about their child’s learning/progress at any time? How well do you incorporate the valuable knowledge that parents, families and whānau have about their child into the pool of information you use to design relevant learning experiences? POST LINE UP: Bringing the most influential adults in a learner’s world together over a shared set of expectations.

Questions to Begin to Answer… What does cultural responsiveness mean? What does it look like? What does it mean for my students? Why…? Evidence shows that high-quality teaching is the most important influence the education system can have on high-quality outcomes for students with diverse learning needs. Evidence also shows that effective teaching and learning depends on the relationship between teachers and students and students’ active engagement. hattie

RESOURCES TO BE DIPPED INTO: NZC- New Zealand Curriculum ELP- Effective Literacy Practice Literacy Learning Progressions Reading and Writing Standards ALSO: Registered Teacher Criteria ELLP Tātaiako Throughout year in support of our inquiries……..

A Definition for Culture Culture is the shared perceptions of a group’s values, expectations and norms. It reflects the way people give priorities to goals, how they behave in different situations, and how they cope with their world and with one another. People experience their social environment through their culture. Culture is transmitted from generation to generation. 10 mins: Pop up some definitions- jot down things that stick out to you…. As we go…. Silent reading activity

Cultural Responsiveness Defined: Ladson-Billings, "It is an approach that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes." The use of cultural referents in teaching bridges and explains the mainstream culture, while valuing and recognizing the students' own cultures.

And in the teaching context…. Culture and classroom instruction is derived from evidence that cultural practices shape thinking processes, which serve as tools for learning within and outside of school (Hollins, l996). Thus, culturally responsive education recognizes, respects, and uses students' identities and backgrounds as meaningful sources (Nieto, 2000) for creating optimal learning environments. In order to teach students effectively, we need to maximize their opportunities to become actively engaged with reading and writing and this can be achieved by activating students’ prior knowledge, scaffolding meaning so that content and language become comprehensible, affirming their identities, and extending their knowledge of, and control over, language. Cummins, (in press)

Culturally Responsive Teaching According to scholar Gloria Ladson Billings, Culturally Responsive Teaching is: An approach that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impact knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Where are we currently with our thinking? Join with another group of two for a three way interview to answer the following question, “what does being‘culturally responsive (knowing your student)’ means to you…?” Be prepared to share a theme that clearly emmerged in your group. 20mins

VIEWING VIDEO… NOW THINK… Look out for : * E Discuss with a partner what you noticed under these headings… 10 mins Plus 10 video

What does cultural responsiveness mean? NOW WHAT?? What does cultural responsiveness mean? Explore as a group or syndicate What does it look like? Have we got examples in our own school? What does it mean for my students? Thinking about your inquiry (and focus group- boys, Maori) what are your strengths and possible needs? 5 min whole group discussion to come up with ideas…

CONCLUSIONS Culturally Responsive Teaching Builds on what students already know. Helps students understand there is more than one way of knowing. Encourages students to embrace their culture and develop a love of learning. Highlights students’ strengths, and gives them confidence to confront their weaknesses.

Gloria Ladson-Billings, Ph.D. In her 1994 book The Dreamkeepers, Ladson-Billings, further defined CRT as possessing these nine principles: Communication of High Expectations Active Teaching Methods Teacher as Facilitator Inclusion of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Cultural Sensitivity Reshaping the Curriculum Student-Controlled Classroom Discourse Small Group Instruction and Academically-Related Discourse

To Be A Teacher of Diverse Students You Need To: Be willing to reexamine your teaching pedagogy and make it relevant to your students. Be someone who deeply cares about your students. Be a student-centered teacher, which means taking an interest in your students’ community and making positive contact with their parents. Be willing to learn about cultures other than your own. Leave up as explaining feels familiar activity