1. Culturally
Responsive
Teaching
Krista Ruane
Juan Acosta
Dan Lardaro

2. THE HOOK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccEu7r2IwM0

3. OBJECTIVE
 By the end of this lesson, you will be able to identify and
implement teaching methods that relate to the specific
culture of your students, and as a result learn how to
motivate students to learn more effectively.

4. But Why Do We Need to Know
This Krista, Dan, and Juan?
 We need to know this because as future teachers it is
necessary that we learn to recognize, respect, and use
students’ backgrounds as a tool to motivate the students
to learn.

5. Culturally Responsive Teaching:
What Is It?!
 Culturally Responsive Education is the idea that culture is
central to student learning. It utilizes cultural referents to
impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

6. Ways to Be Culturally Responsive
In Your Teaching
 High Expectations
 Being Active as a Teacher
 Being a Facilitator in the Classroom
 Positive Perspectives of the Families of Students
 Cultural Sensitivity
 Reshape Curriculum
 Student Controlled Classroom Discussions

7. High Expectations
 High expectations influence teacher-student relations and
affect student performance and motivation.
 Teachers need to understand that how students act has a
direct relationship to their community.
 Teachers need to give positive feedback to the students and
praise their students.
 Schools need to de-track and pose challenges to the students
through the curriculum.

8. Being Active as a Teacher
 To be an active teacher, you need to adapt your teaching
styles to ones that empower the students to control their
own learning.
 An example of Active Teaching: A Question-Based
Curriculum
 Encourages students to work together on work that is socially
and culturally relevant to them.
 This helps the students to learn both inside and outside of the
school, and help them understand real-life issues.

9. Being a Facilitator in the
Classroom
 Teachers need to develop learning activities that are
relevant and relate to students’ and their experiences.
 Teachers need to have certain approaches to reach
students in culturally appropriate ways.
 Teachers need to have knowledge of the language and culture
of the students and what they play in their lives.
 Teachers can do this through effective classroom
management.

10. Positive Perspectives of the
Students’ Parents
 Parents play a huge role in Culturally Responsive Teaching.
 To help the parents become effective, as a teacher, you
need to talk to parents as early as possible about their:
 Hopes for their child
 What they believe their child needs
 How you, as a teacher, can help their student
 You can invite the parents to participate in their students
education in ways that advance their child’s education, to
show your own investment.

11. Cultural Sensitivity
 As a teacher you CANNOT devalue the culture of your
students, because it has demoralizing and negative effects
on the students.
 Cultural sensitivity is based on teaching lessons in ways
that are familiar to and interest the student.
 Teachers need to gain knowledge of the cultures
represented in their classrooms to help them create
lessons and methods of teaching.
 In doing this, the students will use their knowledge and
experiences from their own culture to motivate learning.

12. Reshape Curriculum
 In order to reshape the curriculum, you need to challenge
the students in a way that includes their culture, rather
than ignoring it.
 The curriculum needs to connect to the child’s life, develops
their knowledge, and uses diverse learning styles (all which are
relevant to the student’s life and culture.

13. Student Controlled Classroom
Discussions
 It is not only necessary for a teacher to be aware of the
cultural diversity, but the students can use their
experiences to involve themselves in classroom
discussions.
 Through sharing experiences, and seeing how it relates to
the lesson, they are able to advance their knowledge of
the subject.