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By Wayne Au

Illustrator: Jordin Isip

Illustration: Jordin Isip

When I was in 9th grade, I had Mr. Anderson for honors World History. Mr. Anderson was one of those teachers that all the honors and AP-track parents wanted their kids to have. He had a reputation for academic rigor, of preparing teenagers for their stratospheric climb towards being a National Merit Scholar slated to attend an Ivy League college.

Like many history teachers, Mr. Anderson talked about his trips to places we studied. During our unit on China, I remember him telling us stories about his trip there, including the exciting fruit he ate, something he called "lee-chee."

I knew what he was talking about. I loved lychee. Available only about six weeks a year and costing up to $8 a pound, lychees were a rare treat in my family. After my parents divorced, my father would take me to San Francisco's Chinatown during summer visits, where we bought bunches of the syrupy sweet fruit with translucent flesh. Sitting in the park, cracking the lychee's rough, deep red skin and feeling its juices drip down our chins and fingers, my father told me stories of his childhood in Hawaii, about how he would sneak into the lychee groves to get the precious fruit at the risk of getting shot by farmers guarding their crops.

But in my family, we said it differently. We called it "LIE-chee." Knowing that the translation between Chinese and English is difficult and imprecise, I raised my hand and tried to tell Mr. Anderson how my family pronounced it. He wasn't having it. This white teacher had been to China and knew better. So he told me (and the class) that I was simply wrong, that I didn't know what I was talking about. Never mind my memories of lychee, never mind my father's stories, and never mind that my Chinese grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins all pronounced it LIE-chee.

Now that I have been both a high school teacher and a teacher of teachers, when I reflect back on his class, I see that Mr. Anderson taught us some basic lessons about multicultural education, albeit by negative example. For instance, in Mr. Anderson's class, student knowledge about communities, cultures, and diversity didn't matter, especially if it contradicted his own. Further, Mr. Anderson's contempt for student knowledge revealed no sense of curiosity about the experiences and stories that might lead to a different perspective than his.

Another related lesson to take away from Mr. Anderson's negative example is that multicultural education should seek to draw on the knowledge, perspectives, and voices of the actual communities being studied. In Mr. Anderson's class, my own authentic cultural knowledge and perspective as a Chinese American had no value, and he actively disregarded my own lived experiences. Again, Mr. Anderson was contemptuous of student knowledge and he disregarded the importance of building from kids' lives and prior experiences.

Mr. Anderson's example also teaches us that, because it is connected to students' lives, multicultural education has to be based on dialogue - both amongst students and between students and teachers. As students in Mr. Anderson's class we were always on the outside looking in, and he and the textbooks were the sole authorities. There was no dialogue, only monologue.

The final lesson to draw from Mr. Anderson is that, when classes are not grounded in the lives of students, do not include the voices and knowledge of communities being studied, and are not based in dialogue, they create environments where not only are white students miseducated, but students of color feel as if their very identities are under attack.

Multicultural Education on the Down Low

I had to get my real multicultural education on the down low, outside of classes like Mr. Anderson's. I went to Garfield High School, located in Seattle's historically African American neighborhood, the Central District. Garfield has been known for many years as Seattle's "black high school," and back in the 1970s there was a strong Black Panther Party presence both in the neighborhood and in the school itself. Garfield, always a basketball powerhouse, also boasts a rich connection to African American culture and music, with names like Quincy Jones and Jimi Hendrix still haunting the hallways.

By the time I got there in the late 1980s, Garfield had become a flagship for the Seattle Public Schools. It housed the district's AP program, maintained a world-renowned jazz band, was the district's science magnet high school, and provided a model of Seattle's desegregation busing system (of which I was a part). Totaling around 1,600 students, Garfield's student body hovered at about 50 percent African American and 50 percent white, with a few Latinos and Asian Americans like myself sprinkled in.

Given Garfield's history, position in the community, and commitment to racially integrated education, you might think that real multicultural education took place in most classes. Sadly, it didn't. There was one teacher, Mr. Davis, who taught two "secret" classes at my school: one section of Harlem Renaissance and one section of African Studies.

To get into Mr. Davis' classes, you first had to learn (by word of mouth) the true content of his classes, which were listed plainly in the schedule as Language Arts 10b and Social Studies elective. Second you had to convince your counselor that yes, you really did want to be in Mr. Davis' class, that yes, you really knew what you were getting into.

For the first time in my schooling experience, I was one of only two non-African American students in a class. In Mr. Davis' classes we looked at the politics of Blackness through the poetry and literature of the Harlem Renaissance and hashed through segregation, desegregation, and African American identity in U.S. history. We read about how Greek civilization was built upon a legacy of knowledge that had already existed in Egypt. And then we learned that Egypt wasn't really "Egypt." From an African-centric standpoint it was actually called Kemet, with its own rich cultural worldview, symbolism, and creation stories.

I sat in this decidedly African-centric, predominantly African American cultural space, trying to sort through my own cultural identity as a mixed white and Chinese American young man, my own connection with African American culture, and my own sense of education and the politics of race. And I'm sure my presence also left many of my African American classmates questioning. I mean, what was this half-Asian kid doing in the black studies classes anyway? Why does he care? Isn't race and racism mainly about black and white? Do Chinese Americans, let alone half-bloods, even count as people of color? Struggling with these questions (and many more), all of us were asked to stretch.

To be sure, an African-centric course cannot be "multicultural" in and of itself. African-centered is just that, African-centered. But in the real-life context of a school like Garfield, Mr. Davis' classes embodied multicultural education: it was grounded in the lives, identities, and histories of students; it provided critical and alternative perspectives on history that we were not getting in our other classes; and it openly addressed the issue of racism.

Years later, having worked with very diverse populations of students, I see that Mr. Davis' classes also taught me about multicultural education. For instance, his class illustrated how multicultural education is fundamentally based in a critique of school knowledge that has historically been Eurocentric. For example, it was in his class that we learned that "civilization" did not start in Europe, that other nations and cultures had great civilizations that pre-dated their Western counterparts. Challenging such Eurocentrism also spoke to the cultural and political imperative to resist Eurocentric curriculum, as Mr. Davis saw his course as a positive and supportive intervention in the identity development and self-esteem for the students in his classes. Finally, inherent in Mr. Davis' instruction is the lesson that it is important to critically question what textbooks and teachers say about the world.

Mr. Davis' classes also offered a lesson on how multicultural education invites students to engage with real social issues. In his courses my classmates and I connected our burgeoning historical understandings of race and racism to contemporary issues. We argued about interracial dating, black nationalism, racism, and education. In this way, multicultural education inherently connects learning to the world outside of our classrooms.

Another lesson to be gained from Mr. Davis' example is that multicultural education creates a space for students to meaningfully engage with each other. It was through such struggle over social and political issues that I developed substantive relationships with my African American classmates - relationships that I do not think could have developed in my other, more Eurocentric classes that were either populated predominantly by white kids or simply did not create the space to really engage students of color.

Finally, it is crucial to acknowledge that Mr. Davis' classes helped me learn that multicultural education is rigorous. In African Studies and Harlem Renaissance we read serious texts like George G.M. James' Stolen Legacy to learn about ancient Egypt's effect on ancient Greek civilization, or Joel Augustus Rogers' From Superman to Man to gain historical perspectives of U.S. race relations.

Rigor and Multicultural Education

The connection between multicultural education and rigor is important because one of the consistent critiques of multicultural education is that it isn't "real" education, that it isn't rigorous. However, the idea that multicultural education represents a lowering of standards or a neglect of academic rigor is false.

Let's compare Mr. Davis' and Mr. Anderson's classes. As with most "rigorous," upper-track classes, the central pieces of rigor I remember from Mr. Anderson's "honors" World History class consisted of an immense amount of textbook reading, chapter questions, and a research paper. Such courses are rigorous in particular ways. Certainly they have formal and strict requirements, and Mr. Anderson's class, like most others of its kind, was demanding in terms of workload. We were always kept busy.

Now as a professor of education, when I critically reflect on these types of "honors" or "advanced" classes, I think that, although they require significant amounts of work, they are not necessarily intellectually rigorous. Instead they often ask for memorization and textbook reading comprehension, not critical analysis. Knowledge is multifaceted and simply reading tough books does not mean that students are engaged in understanding the complexities of any particular historical episode or time period.

Take teaching about the U.S. war with Mexico, for instance. A typical class would focus solely on the actions of governments - U.S. and Mexican alike. A multicultural perspective asks about the Irish-American soldiers, Mexican women in conquered territories, black and white abolitionists who opposed the war, soldiers who embraced and also rejected the war, Mexican cadets who jumped to their death rather than surrender to invading U.S. troops, etc. A multicultural perspective is not only inherently more interesting, it is also more complex - and more fully truthful, if we dare use that word. Further, academic rigor is impossible without the multiple perspectives that multicultural education provides because without it, we miss huge pieces of history, culture, and society - leaving gaps in our knowledge about the world.

Mr. Anderson's class miseducated us about the world, too. For instance, in addition to the textbook readings for our unit on Africa, Mr. Anderson had us watch the movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy. In this movie an African San is befuddled by Western technology and makes a buffoon of himself. Through my 9th-grade eyes, I saw the colonizers' view of the African-native-as-primitive, of darker peoples as idiotic and childlike.

Mr. Anderson didn't really teach about this film. He just showed it as an "entertaining" way for 14-year-olds to learn about Africa. So we never learned about how such a film could justify the system of apartheid in South Africa by portraying the San people as incompetent and unable to be incorporated into a democratic society. We never learned how such a film might rationalize the idea that the San needed "benevolent" white rulers to take care of them.

My African Studies course with Mr. Davis, however, was different, and despite its tag as being "regular," its perspective made it more intellectually rigorous than my "honors" history classes because, as all good multicultural education should do, we were asked to consider the variety of our own experiences and relate them to the complexities of history and society.

I remember struggling to write a paper for Mr. Davis that explained the relationship between race, poverty, and education in the United States. While in many ways this topic was probably beyond my mid-teen reach, in many ways it wasn't: The relationship between race, poverty, and education was something I was trying to understand (and still am), and writing a paper about it pushed me in my writing and my thinking. Assignments like this made me think hard in my "regular" African Studies class, whereas my "honors" World History class asked for very little thinking at all - just lots of work. More importantly, this assignment illustrates how a multicultural curriculum honors the experiences and curiosity of students so that their own questions about these issues are encouraged and honored as a way of fueling their academic inquiry.

This rigorous need for multicultural perspectives raises another critical lesson: Multicultural education cannot be relegated to individual classes. Mr. Davis' classes were important because they existed within a context where most other classes were Eurocentric, so they became spaces of multicultural resistance. But ideally all classes at Garfield - social studies, language arts, math, science, art, etc. - should have taken multicultural education seriously if they really wanted to be rigorous and if they really wanted to engage all students in learning. For that matter, all classes for all students, from prekindergarten on, should take multicultural education seriously. Then, students would generally be in a position to more actively and collectively resist classroom colonization and would be smarter in that they could take up a more critical analysis of all course content.

The Struggle for Multicultural Education

Sadly, college-bound students at Garfield certainly didn't fight to get Mr. Davis' classes on their transcripts. Instead they would forego Harlem Renaissance and African Studies in order to stay in AP and on the honors track. Things haven't changed all that much since I was in high school, because in today's context of high-stakes education, multicultural education is still viewed as not academically rigorous, not "real" education, and not worthy of being included in the curriculum in its own right.

The lowly status of multicultural curriculum has also meant a constant fight to justify its existence. Take again for instance the African Studies class at Garfield. Ten years after I had walked the halls as a student, I returned to Garfield as a teacher. To my great pleasure, African Studies was given to me as part of my teaching load.

Not surprisingly, I found that many teachers in the social studies department openly sneered at the African Studies course, and the department chair - seeing that Mr. Davis had left to become a principal - thought it would be a good chance to get rid of the class. In his mind, it had no value. What the department chair couldn't see, and what I knew as a legacy student of that very same class, was that African Studies created an irreplaceable space to engage in the politics of Blackness that existed nowhere else at Garfield. Further, African Studies was an irreplaceable space where students' cultures were respected, where students learned to think in terms of multiple social experiences, where traditional narratives and explanations were complicated by race and culture. After a protracted and sometimes nasty fight, the African Studies course survived (and I enjoyed teaching it), but there shouldn't have been a fight to begin with. My experience fighting for African Studies taught me another lesson: Multicultural education is rooted in an anti-racist struggle over whose knowledge and experiences should be included in the curriculum.

The Need for Multicultural Education

I think the biggest lesson in multicultural education I've learned from my experiences as a student, teacher, and teacher educator, is that it is a valuable and necessary orientation towards teaching and learning that needs to be embraced by all educators. Every institution I've ever worked in has been resistant to multicultural education in some way, shape or form, and I'm tired of having to justify it, tired of having to prove its worth. As a person of color I take offense at the idea that my history, my perspective on the world as an individual and a representative member of a community does not matter.

As a teacher educator I encounter on a daily basis the consequences of schooling that is not multicultural. Many of my students know little of the histories and cultures of the students whom they will end up teaching. What's more, they don't know that they don't know, and I fear that many of them will enter communities of color as an army of Mr. Andersons, damaging the young people they're trusted to educate. Hopefully, the lessons in multicultural education they learn in my classes will help them become more like Mr. Davis, teachers who can lead a struggle against racism in their classrooms.

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Decolonizing the Classroom: Lessons in Multicultural Education

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Multicultural education has to be based on dialogue-both among students and between students and teachers

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Being an antiracist is an active and ongoing practice one engages in for life. It takes patience, reflection, and commitment. I believe that being an antiracist starts with going inward and taking stock of what we feel and know to be true. Only then can we begin to analyze how dominant ideology and white supremacy have shaped our individual beliefs and behaviors. While the work and act of understanding oneself deeply can be challenging and uncomfortable, it is absolutely critical if our goal is to uproot and decolonize the spaces and systems we move through, subscribe to, and in many cases, benefit from.

Being an antiracist educator is no different. But I do believe that because our work is dynamic and our reach is wide, our job is more urgent than ever. The time is long overdue to think radically about teaching and learning, and it begins with us.

Don't talk about it, be about it.
Lerone Bennett Jr. said, "An educator in a system of oppression is either a revolutionary or an oppressor." I see no lies. Educators have a special role in the revolution, they always have. With the number of students and families we serve, I believe that our impact is truly unmatched. This is a privilege and I say that with both joy and urgency. I implore you all to take action and stay active even when words are no longer buzzworthy.

Here are some ideas to help you get started.

Assess how the culture of power is manifested in your classroom.
Educators have a responsibility to dismantle racism that is built and wired into schooling, testing, response to behavior, and curriculum. However, the first step is to address our own role in perpetuating racism and assess how we may be replicating the culture of power (or dominant culture and aspects of whiteness) in the classroom as described in Lisa D. Delpit's, The Silenced Dialogue: Educating Other's People's Children.

Teachers are, by nature, incredibly quick, decisive, and efficient. We have to be. We hear things like "work smarter not harder" and "what has the highest leverage?" You know what I am talking about. But, what if, for a moment, we slowed down and looked at these decisions and the status quo that currently exist within our classroom walls. Have we become complacent?

Take a moment to write down your teaching ideology when it comes to your students and their abilities.

You might start with:

How do you view success?

What are your expectations for your students?

Now, think about your seating arrangements and the types of learning activities you plan and have your students engage in. Are students seated facing you at all times?

Do students collaborate and engage in interactive learning structures?

Think about if and how you actively amplify student voice and build student agency in the classroom. Do students have a voice and do they have a say in their learning?

Think about the student to teacher talk ratio and the nature of discussions in your classroom. Are you the sole or loudest voice in the classroom?

Think about how you talk to your students and about your students. Do you use deficit-based language or hold assimilationist beliefs?

Think about how you resolve issues in the classroom. Are you inquiry-stanced and solutions oriented?

Do you engage in power struggles with students?

How often do you give students referrals and how quickly?

Now, do your answers align with your ideology?

In Mapping the Terrain(s) of Ideology, Paula Elliot writes: "Ideological clarity allows teachers to make instructional decisions so that all their students can cultivate critical skills and dispositions to co-construct curricula that are relevant to their world." Teachers can support students to learn that they are not dependent on having access to the canon and knowledge legitimized by others. A commitment to seek clarity helps teachers define student achievement that provokes understanding of the content, context, and purposes of standardized test requirements, as well as purposes of a more just society. So equipped, their students can then make ethical and responsible choices in terms of how they want to live their lives and how they want to contribute to society at large. We must keep this the forefront of our teaching and planning.

Amplify the voices and stories of our students and their ancestors.
Textbooks and core curriculum are manifestations of the culture of power. It is imperative that we take a closer look at these texts that we have been assigned and for some, passively assigning to our young people. We cannot contribute to the erasure of history. It is our responsibility as educators to take steps in finding texts that not only showcase the voices and stories of our students and their ancestors, but prioritize and humanize them beyond a month on the calendar. But what if I am white? Nobody is asking you to be an expert or to pretend to know more than you do. This question is rooted in you being at the center. But I don't know where to start and I don't have access to the right people or resources. This is another example of you being rooted at the center. I invite you to take your white liberal teacher hat off and be the student. Continue to read and soak up information from those who have been doing the work for years. The information is out there.

Teaching and planning beyond the basics.
We cannot continue to prioritize basic skills and test preparation.To put so much emphasis on standardized testing, which is rooted in inequity and the eugenics movement, is and continues to be a disservice for our young people. When educators focus on achieving basic skills, we fail to equip students with the agency to evaluate, create, and analyze for themselves. What we need to be focusing on is holding space to learn and practice skills needed to navigate the world. This includes critical thinking skills and world knowledge required to make informed decisions. This includes the truth and history of the country so that our students know a false narrative or lie when they are presented with one. They need to know their rights.

Educators who are antiracist have the capacity to teach and plan through a critical race lens. When planning from scratch, educators use backwards design and are intentional with essential questions and learning goals, objectives, and outcomes. Educators who are antiracist are also able to look critically at existing curriculum within our content areas to decide if there is opportunity to make it antiracist and if there is opportunity, be able to identify it and act on it. By the same token, educators know if something is inherently racist and/or perpetuates white supremacy or dominant narratives, and gets rid of the lesson or unit altogether.
It is also essential that we teach our young people about what racism is and model for them how to be antiracist. This starts with giving your students sanctuary within four walls to learn, practice, and speak up against injustice. Students must learn how to be antiracist and we must teach them.
There are many ways to approach this act of decolonizing the classroom. Continue to listen, learn, reflect, act, and, then, repeat. Before creating content and speaking on a topic or on behalf of a group of people, take a pause and seek what has already been shared, researched, and created from educators and leaders before you. Remember that what works for one teacher and their classroom may not work for you and yours.

For now, I encourage my fellow educators to take the final weeks of summer to recharge and rethink your physical and digital classroom for the upcoming school year. For those who are soon to receive children in the coming weeks, good luck! May us all recognize there are no days off for an antiracist educator. Happy Planning!

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decolonizing our classrooms starts with us

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Decolonizing Our Classrooms Starts With Us | PBS Education

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Your source for teaching inspiration, blogs, and online professional events.

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EL Education - Collaborative Culture: Academic Talk

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Given how socially motivated our students can be, you’d think they’d be pros when it comes to talking about a task! Most students do not intuitively know how to have productive academic discussions, however. Asked to investigate or analyze a topic or begin a project, some students will hold back and…

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Decolonizing Your Curriculum First Steps

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Decolonizing Your Curriculum First Steps

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Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs

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Recently on social media, we have seen a lot of people posting ways white and non-Black people of color can support the Black Lives Matter movement. Like many of you, we've taken these suggestions to heart and taken action in various ways.

We think analogous lists tailored to educators and administrators in higher education are warranted and needed. Since the U.S. professoriate is majority white, some faculty members may not recognize the power and privilege they hold to dismantle educational inequities. For those who recognize that and are looking for practical ways to translate this, we hope to start a list that you can add to with colleagues. We recognize that departments and institutions have even greater power to enact change than individuals through policy and incentives, but we've chosen to keep this specific list about individual actions.

Recognize trauma and make students feel safe. The past weeks of police violence against Black citizens have been traumatic for our nation, especially for Black students. Students processing these stressful events may find it difficult to focus on and complete their work. Don't ignore discussing racism or events that you know are painful for many students. Try practicing phrases to open dialogues such as "I don't know what you're going through, but I'll always be willing to listen and support you in any way I can." Mays Imad provides principles and suggestions here to help guide our trauma-informed teaching practices.

Acknowledge and interrupt microaggressions in your classroom. Racism and racist acts don't just happen outside our classes. Train yourself to recognize and acknowledge when a microaggression occurs in your classroom. Sometimes they are subtle, but the simple act of saying, "Hold on a moment, let's examine what just occurred," can be the opening to a fruitful discussion about intent versus impact. You may find it helpful to crowdsource examples with colleagues and role-play how to respond in or out of the classroom about these incidences to be better prepared for them the next time they arise. Invite your students to point out when you commit a microaggression, too. Create a structure in which anonymous feedback is not just solicited but also encouraged.

Create a sense of belonging for your students. Add symbols to your syllabus to let diverse groups of students feel included. As an example, you can add a Black Lives Matter icon. Tell your students, "You belong here" or "You are seen." These are simple but powerful gestures we can make to acknowledge that some of our students have spent nearly all their lives being told or made to feel the opposite. Put it on your syllabus, say it in your class -- perhaps after a particularly tough assignment or exam -- send it in an email to your students. Some students do need to hear it, and it won't harm the ones who don't. Go out of your way to reach out to students, especially those of color, simply to say you notice their contributions to the class or their academic progress.

No matter what your discipline, bring issues of race and inequities into the material and provide examples of expertise from Black people. We suspect that there are a number of educators who are not sure how Black Lives Matter, racism or antiracism fits into their curriculum. Here are two examples from our own disciplines: race-based medicine (biology) and same-race recognition (psychology). Students want such work reflected in the reading assignments and class projects. Ask your students to help evaluate whom they want to read as it applies to your course if any viewpoints are missing.

Use inclusive teaching and grading practices. Learn more about what inclusive teaching means and how you can use it in your course design and interactions with students. As a primer, see our summary. You don't have to learn these strategies alone. Many Centers for Teaching and Learning have workshops related to inclusive teaching and grading.

At its core, inclusive teaching means intentionally designing learning opportunities to achieve more equity. We know that these strategies disproportionately benefit people of color among other groups of students to reduce disparities, and inclusive teaching is a form of antiracism. Educators can immediately make their teaching more inclusive with some small tweaks and build on them to make bigger changes over several semesters.

For example, you can disrupt the paradigm of whom students think their most knowledgeable peers are through randomized calling and small group discussions. You can help eliminate norm-based grading culture (grading on a normal curve), which forces a set number of failing grades, creates a toxic classroom culture and can contribute to attrition of underrepresented students. In sum, make a promise to invest in your development as a teacher through readings and workshops about inclusive pedagogy.

Reflect on how inclusive your teaching is. Does your institution have a data analytics tool to disaggregate your grades by demographics like ours does? If not, whom do you need to ask on campus to see these kinds of data for your own course? Reviewing data over many semesters can help you determine if your strategies are making a difference to certain student groups. Routinely surveying students about your inclusive practices throughout your semester is another way to be reflective and show students that you are listening.

One easy way to do so is to ask your students at the start of the semester either in a survey or discussion board, "It is important to me that all members of the class feel supported, respected and included. Can you share with me your vision of what inclusion looks like in a course/classroom setting? If it helps, you can provide examples of what inclusion does not look like."

Develop empathy and self-awareness. As noted in this article by Bryan Dewsbury and Cynthia Brame, it is hard to create a positive, supportive classroom climate for a diverse group of students without first having empathy for student experiences. Examining one's own social identity around power, privilege and biases is difficult but necessary work for engaging with students inclusively. See these evidence-based teaching guides on developing empathy and self-awareness as a jumping-off point and investigate what kind of workshops are available through your institution's diversity, equity and inclusion office.

Get to know students holistically to disrupt your own biases about who you think certain students are. Use office hours to have conversations with students beyond course content. Show interest by initiating conversation about their hometown and the hobbies and jobs they've had. Many institutions have programs that need faculty mentors, and if you want to help students who have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education or certain disciplines, these programs often need support. Donate to scholarships for these programs if you are able.

Be open to writing letters of recommendation. The willingness to provide strong letters of recommendation may be the first opportunity to make a major difference in students' lives. Students of color may have had a considerably harder path compared to other students and may have faced racism, discrimination and prejudice for much of their lives. Your letter, and your willingness to write it, may be the validation the student needs that they can do academic work at the next level in spite of these difficulties. Additionally, it shows they belong in scholarly environments, where they may not see others who look like them.

Students might have different cultural standards for how they ask you to write this important document. Don't hold it against students if they don't meet your cultural understandings for how to request a letter from you. Don't have rigid rules about who can and cannot have a letter. Learn about ways to eliminate biased language in your letter and consider providing students a form like this.

Find ways to recruit, admit and hire more faculty and students of color. Become a liaison to your campus diversity, equity and inclusion office. Be a voice on hiring committees that push for advertising widely to minority-focused Listservs and HBCUs, recommend ways to reduce bias and use other strategies listed here. Personally network with prospective students and faculty members at conferences. Kensha Marie Clark lists suggestions here, such as to "commit to giving recruitment seminars at predominantly minority institutions" and "build relationships with HBCUs that can serve as feeders for your program." Work to ensure that faculty and staff members at every level -- undergraduate learning assistants, graduate students, faculty at every rank, administrators -- are representative of your student body.

Mentor graduate students of color. As Amanda Cornwall writes, learn more about how to be a better mentor. Additionally, challenge yourself to learn more about the distinct needs minority graduate students may have. Being open to learning about mentoring can help you guide students of color and support their career aspirations, whatever those may be. Reach out to graduate students of color that you don't mentor in any official capacity to offer assistance and help them navigate the power structures in place. Oftentimes these students feel invisible to their faculty and university and may not be aware that others are available to guide them through the political nuances of academe. Be open to graduate students' concerns and suggestions on how you and others can better serve our graduate students.

Support your colleagues of color in their research goals. Danielle Cadet has noted, "Your Black colleagues may seem okay right now, but chances are they are not." It's not enough to check on your colleagues after traumatic events and then go about business as usual. Find ways to be a better ally to them on a regular basis. For example, Jasmine Abrams provides an excellent list of ways to advance their research by inviting them to collaborate on research papers and grant opportunities, and by nominating them for guest speaking engagements. Amplify their work with colleagues at your campus and beyond. Cite their research and use your privilege to help advance their careers.

Support your colleagues of color in their teaching and service goals. In academe, tools such as rubrics are still emerging and infrequently used. Heavily relying on student ratings of teaching is insufficient because they are biased against many groups, including people of color. Help push to define what effective teaching looks like and how to identify unbiased markers of it before reviewing a candidate's teaching materials.

For service, faculty of color also often take on a large service role on your campus. Chances are that they are also disproportionately asked to serve on committees, so they may be saying no many times more than you are. Help create a culture of transparency by asking for lists about service responsibilities to be made public to your department and ensure that faculty of color aren't shouldering a far heavier load than others.

Work to retain your colleagues of color at any career stage. Do everything you can to actively support promotion and tenure for your colleagues of color. In Toxic Ivory Towers, Ruth Enid Zambrana describes how often people of color experience discrimination, racism, tokenism and devaluation through consistent microaggressions at their institutions. These experiences are powerfully evident in the recent posts using the hashtag #BlackintheIvory. Such posts are the tip of the iceberg, as many people may not feel safe to contribute. When your colleagues share incidents with you, believe them. Recognize the signs of gaslighting and how to support colleagues who experience it before they leave or get pushed out.

As noted in Presumed Incompetent, academe is not above racism. These are not isolated experiences or anecdotes. Racism doesn't just exist "out there" -- it exists in every segment of our society and every work environment, including academe. We need more allies, more people taking on the hard work of antiracism. Rebecca Calisi Rodriguez reminds allies, "You will make mistakes. I do all the time. You will get called out, maybe shamed. But recall the best teacher is failure. Don't get defensive. Listen, apologize, learn how to do better, and then do it. Just keep moving forward!" Let's now grow this list and hold each other accountable for taking action.

We hope you will join us in this fight -- we could use everyone. Academe will no doubt change in response to addressing the many needs and concerns of students and faculty of color. Working together, we can make education much more equitable for all.

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Viji Sathy, Kelly A. Hogan, Calvin M. Sims

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A list of practical ways non-Black faculty members can help dismantle educational inequities (opinion)

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Non-Black faculty members have the power to help dismantle educational inequities, argue Viji Sathy, Kelly A. Hogan and Calvin M. Sims, and they suggest some practical ways for how to start.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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From the NCTE Standing Committee on Global Citizenship
This post was written by NCTE member Michael Seward, a member of the NCTE Standing Committee on Global Citizenship.

"You want to free the world, free humanity, from oppression? Look inside . . ." Ariel Dorfman

As a member of NCTE's Standing Committee on Global Citizenship, I am concerned with the legacy of pervasive and lasting pain and inequity left by colonization: across the globe, within the US, within schools, and in my own classroom.

Colonization's legacy is about power: who has it, and who is denied it? Power has to do with material existence and lived experience: access to and use of resources (money, housing, transportation, energy, healthy food, clean water), knowledge, influence, self-determination and economic potential and clout.

Power is political. In a world profoundly shaped by colonization, because, globally, power has been divided along racial lines, politics become inherently racial-even in the classroom.

The classroom is a political space: power is exerted, resisted and yielded to in every classroom; every classroom is situated within an institution, state, and nation-all locations in which resources, knowledge, and access must be negotiated. Justin Simien , director of Dear White People , reminds us that "[r] acism is systemic: It's oppression that's built into the laws, legislation, into the way neighborhoods are policed, and into job opportunities and health care and education" (emphasis added).

Thus, those interested in decolonizing the classroom must take a first, crucial step: a personal commitment to political change. To deny the racial nature of politics (and power)-both inside of and surrounding the classroom-is to perpetuate the inequities created by colonization.

In an attempt to decolonize the classroom, one can make many changes:

diversify materials and content

teach to learning outcomes that address power and social justice;

design assessments that allow diverse students to demonstrate mastery in diverse ways;

involve students in the creation of knowledge, content, and curriculum;

embrace diverse language usage in interactions, writing and tests;

involve oneself at the institutional, local, state and national levels to advocate for equity.

Yet the first change must be to become politically conscious. In order to speak truth to power, one must first enable oneself to see the truth, the truth of the profoundly damaging legacy of colonization.

Anyone who teaches English outside of England is part of the colonial project, particularly if the teaching takes place within a sanctioned institution and if the English being taught is a standardized, "official" English. One need only contemplate the role of language and schooling in European colonization of the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Asia to grasp the central function of teaching (particularly teaching English) in colonization.

A politically conscious teacher acknowledges that one cannot claim to be purely (and innocently) against racism while acting as a functionary for a colonial and racist system (especially when benefitting materially while doing so (i.e., receiving a paycheck)). To build on Napoleon's observation, "among those who dislike oppression are many who" enjoy the privileges the oppressive system offers.

I have been teaching for over 30 years; I have yet to encounter a teacher who openly espouses racism. Everyone claims to be against racism. Everyone wants to empower students. Yet to begin to ameliorate the deep damage caused by colonization and racism (systems of power) means to be actively and overtly political. To decolonize the classroom, one must examine oneself and one's beliefs:

Let go of the disingenuous notion of objectivity in the classroom, of maintaining political neutrality, of seeing all sides and positions as having equal impact on marginalized groups.

Learn to live in the discomfort of having to take a stand.

Acknowledge that your role as teacher has been historically problematic: that by teaching English you are inherently complicit with forces that damage marginalized students.

See and address the trauma that colonization, poverty, sexism, racism, homophobia and other forms of oppression can and do cause for marginalized students.

Resist seeing yourself as the "good guy," fighting the good fight.

Avoid perpetuating the myth of boot-strapping and the belief that by helping individual students you are effecting social change.

Understand that by promoting notions of a standard, correct and preferred language, you are perpetuating colonization, ensuring that future students will suffer the same marginalization.

Act to effect systemic changes that address the forces that damage groups of students, those groups that have been historically traumatized by colonization and racism.

Along with delivering required content, understand your job as providing students with the means of grasping that their difficulties and struggles stem from an inherently inequitable system and culture, as well as ways of resisting and subverting such systems.

See yourself, your curriculum, your content and your classroom as existing within a historical context of racism, subjugation, and control.

Challenge systemic oppression and acknowledge the collective experiences of marginalized groups.

Even those who are made uncomfortable by the status quo may be unwilling to take on the system, for global colonialization has traditionally wrapped itself in the mantles of religion and patriotism, and, as Luis Bunuel reminds us, " God and Country are an unbeatable team; they break all records for oppression " (170). What English teacher wants to take on God and country? And, really, what need is there to challenge the system, when one can still envision oneself as doing good without having to take the risk of being targeted for calling attention to the fact that the pain and suffering of marginalized groups are inherent to and necessary for the functioning of the system.

Florynce Kennedy notes, " When a system of oppression has become institutionalized it is unnecessary for individuals to be oppressive " (439). Thus, teachers are taught in their training to envision themselves as doing good, even as they reinforce and perpetuate the colonization and racism that damage students. Like missionaries, foreign aid, and global capitalism, we English teachers are part of the "[c] olonialism [that] subdues in many dulcet guises. It conquered under the pretext of spreading Christianity, civilization, law and order, to make the world safe for democracy" ( F. Sionil Jose ). Instead of seeing themselves as generous and helpful, politically conscious teachers must perpetually struggle with the problematic nature of their role. Leila Janah warns us of the dangers of helpfulness:

"[P]art of the problem with charity is that it tends to make us view people as helpless victims. I think in the future, we'll look back on charity in the same way that we look back on colonialism today: as a very paternalistic system that doesn't fully recognise the full spectrum of humanity. "

Instead of envisioning students as individuals in need of the tools required for self-improvement ( as the teacher, I am the one who, by providing you the benefits of the curriculum, helps you succeed ), politically conscious teachers understand that the suffering of marginalized students is a result of an inequitable system.

Politically conscious teachers shift the focus away from the individual as needing change to the system as needing change, a shift that is made very difficult within the American context with its cult of individualism.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali says, "The liberal psyche wants to protect minorities, to apologize for imperialism, colonialism, slavery, and the appalling treatment of black people during the civil rights movement. At the same time, they want to continue to defend the rights of individuals." By focusing our energies on individuals, we avoid dismantling systems of power that privilege some while damaging many others.

To e mpower students (or anyone) on the margins means much more than guiding individuals to a sanctioned academic success; individuals are empowered when systems are altered to shift power toward the groups to which they belong. To empower people from marginalized groups means to disrupt the current balance of power, something the powerful invariably resist. Politically conscious teachers prepare themselves and their students to confront, resist, and withstand such a backlash.

In addition to works by those quoted in this blog, interested educators might find works by the following authors helpful:

In addition to the above resources, interested educators may want to consider participating in the workshop that my colleague Kylowna Moton and I will lead at the 2019 NCTE Convention in Baltimore. "Decolonizing the English Classroom: Why and How?" will be held Thursday, 11/21, 11:30-3:30. We invite concerned educators to join us for a generative session and challenging conversation on decolonizing the classroom.

I'd like to close with the full quotation from Ariel Dorfman , which speaks to us directly as teachers of language: "You want to free the world, free humanity, from oppression? Look inside, look sideways, look at the hidden violence of language. Never forget that language is where the other, parallel violence, the cruelty exercised on the body, originates."
For over 30 years Michael Seward has been teaching a variety of subjects at various levels, from eighth grade to post-graduate. He has been involved in global education in a number of capacities (including two Fulbright teaching exchanges) and countries (including England, Germany, Slovakia, Costa Rica and Poland). Currently he teaches English and serves as an Assessment Coordinator at Minneapolis College.
"The Standing Committee on Global Citizenship works to identify and address issues of broad concern to NCTE members interested in promoting global citizenship and connections across global contexts within the Council and within members' teaching contexts."

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The prerequisite to decolonizing the classroom? A personal commitment to political change.

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Want to Engage Students_ Model Real-World Experiences (Opinion)

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Make Inquiry-Based Learning Work in Your Classroom

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Make Inquiry-Based Learning Work in Your Classroom

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How to Make Inquiry-Based Learning Work in Your Classroom (Opinion)

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Co-Creating an Equitable ELA Classroom – Tanesha B Forman

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As a teacher, how do you address the diverse needs of all students?

Equity in the classroom, or supporting the outcomes of students of all backgrounds and abilities, is essential to a productive learning environment.

However, promoting equity is complex. When teachers prioritize the needs of white students, boys/men, or the non-disabled, they create barriers for students of color, girls/women, and studies with disabilities. This presents yet another challenge for educators trying to help their students succeed.

So how do you create an equitable classroom where all students can thrive? Consider a Master of Arts in Teaching program, and check out these seven tips:
1. Reflect on your own beliefs
Before you can create a more equitable learning environment in the classroom, consider your own beliefs.

Teachers, like anyone else, may not be aware of the biases that exist in their training and upbringing. Data shows that girls receive less and lower-quality feedback than boys in class. Meanwhile, students of color report that they sometimes feel excluded from classroom interaction.

Even the most well-intentioned educators may have blindspots. White teachers may not understand the challenges of historically marginalized students due to a lack of preparation in their training. It's also possible that they attribute lack of success to deficiencies that they associate with students of color.

Understanding your own positionality, or the circumstances that create your identity in terms of race, gender and ability, can help you become more conscious of issues related to racial equity and gender equity, and help you support students in your class.
2. Reduce race and gender barriers to learning
While it might not be obvious, you may be unintentionally excluding students of color and female students in your classroom. Here's how you can avoid it:
Don't ask students of color to be "experts" on their race
Asking students of color for their point of view is important in class discussions, but don't assume that they are authorities on their race. Race is one part of their social identity. They may also feel pressure to discuss a topic that's perceived to be related to their race, when in fact they don't have an opinion.
Diversify your curriculum
To the extent that you can control your curriculum, expose students to a spectrum of multicultural and female experts, writers and artists. You'll more accurately represent the different contributors to your class' subject, and potentially establish a cultural connection for your students.
Hold every student to high expectations
Students of color report being held to lower expectations than white students. Meanwhile female students hear more comments about their appearance than their academic skills.

By setting a high bar for achievement for all students, you encourage them to engage with your class, and avoid any stereotypes of what they're capable of accomplishing.
Avoid assumptions about students' backgrounds
It may be tempting to assume that your students share similar life experiences. However, this can be problematic since everyone's circumstances are different. In particular, schools with large student populations may represent a greater variety of racial and economic backgrounds, as well as students with undefined gender identities.
3. Establish an inclusive environment early
Clarify early in the term (perhaps in your first class) that you want to create an inclusive space for students. Discussions should represent a variety of views, and students should feel comfortable expressing themselves.

It's also important to let them know that name-calling, personal attacks, and hostile interactions won't be tolerated. If students disagree, they must respond to each other with respect. Indeed, mutual respect yields more open and productive conversations.

By establishing rules early in the course, students should understand their role in creating an inclusive classroom.
4. Be dynamic with classroom space
You can foster inclusion in the classroom through how you engage your students, starting with your use of space.

Class formation can send signals about authority and equitable engagement. Do you always stand in front of the classroom to address rows of students? Consider classroom set-ups that emphasize interaction, such as group seating. Also, consider where you position yourself. Moving among students may de-emphasize the teacher-student hierarchy, and stimulate more discussion.

Similarly, try varying your activities. Whether it's group, paired or individual work, when you arrange students in different formations, you may increase their engagement with each other, and the class material.
5. Accommodate learning styles and disabilities
Learning styles vary from student to student, differ between males and females, and vary for people with disabilities. To create equity in the classroom for everyone, here are a few methods to try:

Variance - Present the same information in different ways for visual, aural and verbal learners

Use a variety of media (e.g., audiobooks, movies)

Include transcripts for multimedia materials

Provide supplemental materials to the lesson plan (e.g., glossaries, illustrations)

Make technology accessible (e.g., give students the ability to increase text size or adjust brightness)

For presentations, use dyslexia-friendly fonts

Read test instructions aloud, even if they appear in print

6. Be mindful of how you use technology
Many teachers use technology as an integral part of the classroom. While it can be a useful way to engage students and appeal to a variety of learning styles, consider its impact on those with physical disabilities.

Screen readers can assist students by opening resources, but other digital tools may actually hinder their ability to perform actions such as clicking, dragging and dropping that are not compliant with accessibility standards.

Review Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to ensure that your technology tools are in compliance, and are accessible to physically disabled students.
7. Be aware of religious holidays
When planning your course, remember to account for religious holidays and observances. Students may need to miss class on certain days and make up assignments, quizzes or exams.

At the beginning of the term, it's a good idea to announce that you have tried to avoid conflicts with major religious holidays when planning the course. However, if students have a conflict, they should let you know as soon as possible.
USC Rossier resources
For more information on improving equity in the classroom, visit our Tools for Inclusive Teaching page.

Ready to elevate your teaching career? Check out our Master of Arts in Teaching program.

If you're a teacher who wants to advance your career in education, see the Leading Instructional Change concentration of our Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EDL) program.

Want to connect with someone about your options?

Connect With Admission Staff
Sources: https://kappanonline.org/andrus-jacobs-kuriloff-gender-equity-classroom/ http://crlt.umich.edu/sites/default/files/resource_files/CRLT_no7.pdf https://equity.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CreatingaPositiveClassroomClimateWeb-2.pdf http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov04/vol62/num03/With-Boys-and-Girls-in-Mind.aspx https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/edblogs.columbia.edu/dist/8/1109/files/2020/02/Guide-for-Inclusive-Teaching-at-Columbia_Accessibility-Revisions_15-January-2020_FINAL.pdf

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Seven effective ways to promote equity in the classroom

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As a teacher, how do you address the diverse needs of all students? Equity in the classroom, or supporting the outcomes of students of all backgrounds and abilities, is essential to a productive learning environment. However, promoting equity is complex.

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As many educators are teaching under extraordinarily challenging circumstances, we know that a central issue for educators is how to center equity and justice in their classrooms and schools. The long history of racism in education is still with us, and as the world continues to face acts of identity-based violence and emerges from a global pandemic that has disproportionately impacted people of color, issues of equity and justice remain urgent and pressing.

If you are new to this work or if you are looking to recommit yourself to equity and justice, here are five ways to ground your teaching:

Start with yourself

When striving to teach for equity and justice, there can be a tendency to jump to action planning, figuring out which students need the most support, and trying to problem solve. However, the work of equity and justice requires deep critical reflection and introspection on the part of educators.

It is important to begin with yourself, reflect on your own values, and examine how your identity and biases influence how you interact with and build relationships with your students. This self-examination will be different for white educators than it will be for educators of color. Regardless of one's identity, this self-analysis is an important first step in understanding how you can be a co-conspirator for your most vulnerable students.

Center students on the margins

After critically reflecting on your own identity, it is important to shift your focus to students who are most experiencing inequity and injustice in your classroom or school. Educators must ask themselves: In my context, who is most in need of more equity and justice? This might look like working to disrupt deficit narratives about vulnerable students, asking these students what they most need, or questioning whose voices are currently being amplified in your school context and whose voices are being silenced. It is also crucial to attend to the social-emotional needs of your most vulnerable students with the ultimate goal of creating a sense of belonging and honoring each student's humanity. And while it is important to teach from a trauma-informed perspective, as Dr. Dena Simmons reminds us, if schools are not addressing racism, then they are not fully addressing trauma.

Identify and examine your sphere of influence

Teaching for equity and justice is based on educators having a systemic and structural understanding of the inequities that exist in our society, a personal commitment to challenging these injustices, and a local response. Dr. Zachary Casey describes this tripartite approach through his work with white educators striving to be anti-racist. When focusing on the local framework, educators must ask: When are there moments when I am in a position of relative power over the life chances of others? How might I use my relative power to work on the side of justice? Who are my allies, or better yet, my co-conspirators? Even though confronting structural inequities and the history of racism and oppression in the US can feel overwhelming, Dr. Deborah Lowenberg Ball points to the many "discretionary spaces" in which educators do have significant power in shaping and creating more positive experiences for their students.

Examine your curriculum

No matter what content area educators teach, it is important to examine your curriculum through an equity and justice lens. Historically, standard textbooks have failed to confront difficult histories and have reinforced dominant narratives that hurt students of color.

To counter these false dominant narratives, educators must create more affirming and culturally responsive curricular experiences, without relying on stereotypes. They must ask:

All students, especially historically marginalized students, need to see examples of people throughout history who stood up in the face of racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression.

In addition to thinking critically about your curricular content, it is also important to probe your own approach to pedagogy in your classroom:

Do you engage in co-constructing knowledge with your students?

Do you have a classroom environment where students can demonstrate their learning in diverse ways?

Does your curriculum affirm the diverse identities of all of the students in your classroom?

This type of reflective and equitable learning space is crucial when trying to create a community that is grounded in equity and justice.

Commit to a lifelong journey of critical consciousness and action

Finally, teaching for equity and justice cannot be contained in a checklist, a single curriculum, or one way of approaching school discipline. Rather, it is a way of being, thinking, and doing that centers historically marginalized students and asks educators and students to develop a critical consciousness about the world around them. Educators must be willing to make mistakes, view constructive feedback as a learning opportunity, and commit to continuing the work in the face of resistance. It also requires that educators move beyond the reflective phase, and instead put their new ideas, learnings, and understandings into practice.

As a white woman, my perspective on what it means to teach for equity and justice is shaped by my own identity and experience. What questions does this framework spark for you about how to show up as an educator grounded in equity and justice? What would you add to this? How does your own identity influence how you think about what it means to teach for equity and justice?

--

Facing History invites educators to access our free, on-demand webinars:

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5 Ways to Ground Your Teaching in Equity and Justice

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Consider these ideas to incorporate or expand your approach to equity and justice curriculum.

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19 Essential Books to Understand Race and Equity in School - The Core Collaborative

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Job-embedded, learner-centered, professional learning for schools and systems

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The design of curricula deeply affects how a student experiences school, giving teachers a way to put equity into action.

The Promise of Curriculum

Integrating Equity-Focused Social-Emotional Learning into Curriculum

Designing Curriculum with Mirrors, Windows, and Doors

Making High-Quality Curriculum Scalable and Accessible

A pervasive and powerful part of our American democracy is the belief that though we may be born into unequal and unjust circumstances, these factors should not predict our ability to fail or succeed. Education has the potential to be a powerful engine for disrupting structural inequities and fulfilling our nation's promise of equal opportunity for all, but in reality, the system was built to maintain a status quo that perpetuates economic and racial inequality .

Many educators committed to working for equity have similar goals, but we often have different ideas about how to reach those goals. Because educational inequity is such an enormous beast, we grasp at it and do our best to get hold of the problem. Some of us may be working to address the ways in which school discipline policies negatively affect Black and Brown students. Others may be working to improve family engagement or address opportunity gaps that emerge in test score data. These efforts are worthy, but for lasting change, we need to get our arms around the entire animal. The way to get a grip on inequity, in our eyes, is with a high-quality curriculum and accompanying professional learning for teachers.

The Promise of Curriculum

Curriculum is the heart of the solution to educational inequities because it is a container for so much that happens during each school day. Curriculum is much more than the content students learn in a given unit, semester, or grade. The design of curriculum, which also includes students' texts and tasks, shapes pedagogy, and pedagogy affects how a student experiences school-whether they believe it is engaging or boring, challenging or easy, and even if it feels fair and just. A high-quality curriculum includes lessons that empower students and develop their critical thinking and communication skills. A high-quality curriculum creates a classroom culture that nurtures students' leadership, agency, and ownership of their learning and encourages critical analysis of the world. Such curriculum gives us a way to put equity into action day in and day out.

There are three primary ways in which our teaching and learning nonprofit, EL Education, is meeting the urgency of the current moment: integrating equity-focused social-emotional learning into curriculum; designing curriculum with "windows, mirrors, and doors"; and ensuring that curriculum is scalable and accessible as an open educational resource.

Integrating Equity-Focused Social-Emotional Learning into Curriculum

Students learn best in classroom environments where they have an opportunity to build connections with their teachers and peers (Darling-Hammond, Flook, Cook-Harvey, Barron, and Osher, 2020). A holistic education that integrates strong relationships, social-emotional learning, rigorous and engaging content, and precise pedagogy is most supportive of young people's developing brains.

Designing curriculum with integrated equity-focused social-emotional learning (SEL)-versus a skills-based SEL "program" that is not explicitly focused on equity-builds on students' existing assets, lifts voices, promotes empowerment, and nurtures a sense of belonging among students from historically marginalized groups. Further, it supports all students-including those in dominant groups-to analyze systems of oppression and understand avenues for their own civic action.

Educator bias is a significant barrier to Black and Brown students' achievement and sense of belonging in the academic environment of the classroom (Ford and Grantham, 2003, Riddle and Sinclair, 2019, Steele, 2011, The Education Trust, n.d.). Often this bias is unconscious, but its impact is felt by students in big and small ways every day. The benefit of a high-quality curriculum is in its curation of diverse texts and topics that affirm students' varied identities, and in its integration of equity-focused SEL, which helps teachers ensure that each student is a valued part of the learning community. A high-quality curriculum with equity-focused SEL integrated into daily lessons can mitigate some of the unconscious bias that prevents teachers from fully embracing the genius in every child. In this way, curriculum can be its own form of professional learning for teachers as it walks them and their students deep into content and toward a greater sense of ownership and agency.

Take for example, three of the main pillars of any literacy curriculum: texts, topics, and tasks.

Texts give students opportunities to learn social-emotional skills as they build knowledge of historical or contemporary events or analyze fictional characters' actions and reactions throughout a story. Curriculum that offers students collaborative and engaging ways to reflect on what motivation drives events and characters, such as racism or homophobia, allows students to think about how a text may be affecting their peers and analyze the systems around them that are catalysts for events. In the process, they practice empathy, compassion, and critical thinking skills.

Tasks throughout lessons and units can help students to practice essential social-emotional skills like collaboration, respect, and responsibility. Discussion protocols, for example, promote equity of voice and support students to listen to one another with compassion, empathy, and respect. Tasks also can encourage students to reflect on their own lives and society. For example, analyzing texts through the lens of how oppressive systems and structures impact the people in the texts and the people in students' communities develops critical consciousness. Long-term, culminating tasks may highlight assets within students' communities, bringing in community members as experts or engaging students in creating products for the community. Writing and recording PSAs can encourage other students and members of the community to make difference.

Topicsof any curriculum are the driving force behind the tasks and texts and present many opportunities to not only affirm students' identities and build their knowledge of a diverse and varied world, but also to build their social-emotional skills, so that they feel the confidence, responsibility, and ownership over their learning to understand how to take action on that topic. This is healing and empowering for students, and especially important for those who have experienced trauma. For example, the topic of the ratification of the 19 t h Amendment provides students with the opportunity to understand that period in history through the lens of the oppressive systems and structures for women and people of color, and to make connections to current events and persisting inequities.

In the accompanying video , you can see how designers of the EL Education K-5 Language Arts Curriculum (first edition) brought text, task, and topic together with equity-focused SEL into one 5th grade lesson. As they discuss the text Esperanza Rising and the topic of human rights, students practice collaboration, empathy, and respect for one another. Notably, the lesson is heavily weighted toward students talking with each other in small groups using a discussion protocol, rather than simply responding to the teacher. This is one example of high-quality curriculum as a form of professional learning for teachers as these key instructional moves that integrate equity-focused SEL with academics are intentionally built into the lesson. The curriculum itself is an opportunity for teachers-new and veteran alike-to learn instructional techniques.

Designing Curriculum with Mirrors, Windows, and Doors

A high-quality curriculum offers students texts and topics that contain mirrors, windows, and doors: mirrors that affirm and celebrate their own identities and cultures, windows that help them learn about and understand others, and doorways that present them with opportunities to be agents of change. Choosing the texts and topics that will reflect students' lives and help them see into others' lives is an enormous responsibility because it affects students' sense of belonging in their learning community.

A curriculum with mirrors will allow students to see themselves, or an element of themselves, in its texts and topics. Such a curriculum has the potential to appeal to students' interests and also reflect their lives along various axes of identity so that they feel connected to and invested in the books they read and the topics they study. It is equally important for students to see new worlds-these are the windows they look through, and they are important in developing social-emotional skills like empathy and respect for others. Critical to equity work in a high-quality curriculum is helping students look through those windows, particularly at events in the past, with a critical eye for how they are connected to life today.

When working for equity, perhaps the most impactful part of the mirrors, windows, and doors trifecta is ensuring that curriculum offers students doors to walk through. Scholar Shawn Ginwright argues that when students can meaningfully engage with the very problems in their communities that have caused them trauma, they become "agents in restoring their own well-being (2018)." They can think critically about the complexities of such issues as environmental racism, the Holocaust, or human rights. Analyzing systems of oppression and how these systems impact students as well as their peers, their families, or their communities-inspires students to work for change. And when lessons are integrated with equity-focused SEL, which builds upon and further develops students' existing social-emotional assets, they are equipped with the skills they need to feel empowered as engaged citizens and young activists. Ginwright calls this " Healing Centered Engagement ."

In the accompanying video , see how students in Detroit extended their learning from the same topic referenced previously- Esperanza Rising and human rights-to solve a real problem in their community. Eight schools teamed up to support literacy as a civil right, choosing to design, build, and stock little free libraries to reduce the number of "book deserts" in their community.

Making High-Quality Curriculum Scalable and Accessible

If a high-quality curriculum with equity at its heart is our goal, then we can't stop once the curriculum is written. We must think beyond who the curriculum is written for-students and teachers-to the school and district level, where issues of access and equity play out on much larger scale. We must ask: Who will have access to the curriculum, what resources are required to use it, and how will it be distributed? After the painstaking work of creating a high-quality curriculum is done, we should not rest. Instead, our work is only just beginning.

We must do two things to ensure that a curriculum continues to advance educational equity on a large scale: 1) disseminate it in a way that ensures that schools in historically underserved communities can access it, and 2) support teachers with professional learning opportunities so that they can maximize the potential of the curriculum to build agency and belonging in their students.

High-quality curriculum that is available as an open educational resource levels the playing field by offering free material that teachers can use and customize. Choosing texts that are affordable for schools to purchase as classroom sets-with no expensive textbooks or anthologies-increases access. And integrating social-emotional learning into academic curricula, in addition to the benefits for students' developing brains, may have real financial benefits for schools and districts if it can obviate the need for other, additional social-emotional learning resources. The costs that schools and districts save can be repurposed to provide cohesive professional learning opportunities and coaching for teachers, which is critical to ensuring that teacher and student learning is deep and purposeful.

In the end, what we want most is for all students to have a sense of agency and an equal chance in a world that has historically had extensive resources and support for some students while consistently creating barriers for others.

Our educational system has reached an inflection point. If we truly want it to be the engine that drives changes to deeply embedded structural inequities, we must focus closely on the details of the daily instructional experience for our students. Over 27 years pursuing this goal, we have found no stronger entry point than a high-quality curriculum, especially when it is combined with accompanying professional learning and coaching for teachers. Such a curriculum, with equity at its heart, will challenge, engage, and empower our students in just the way the world most needs.

References

Darling-Hammond, L., Flook, L., Cook-Harvey, C., Barron, B., & Osher, D. (2020). Implications for educational practice of the science of learning and development, Applied Developmental Science, 24(2), 97-140. DOI 10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791.

Ford, D. Y., & Grantham, T. C. (2003). Providing access for gifted culturally diverse students: From deficit thinking to dynamic thinking. Theory into Practice, 42, 217-225.

Riddle, T., & Sinclair, S. (2019). Racial disparities in school-based disciplinary actions are associated with county-level rates of racial bias. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 116(17), 8255-8260.

Sims Bishop, R. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 1(3), ix-xi.

Steele, C. M. (2011). Whistling Vivaldi: How stereotypes affect us and what we can do. New York City: W. W. Norton &amp; Company.

The Education Trust. (n.d.). Social, emotional, and academic development through an equity lens. Washington, D.C.: The Education Trust.

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

Let us help you put your vision into action.

We empower educators to reimagine and redesign learning through impactful pedagogy and meaningful technology use. We achieve this by offering transformative professional learning, fostering vibrant communities, and ensuring that digital tools and experiences are accessible and effective.

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High-Quality Curriculum Is a Transformation Tool for Equity

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The design of curricula deeply affects how a student experiences school, giving teachers a way to put equity into action.

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Every student in my classroom deserves an equal chance despite their differences, what can I do to ensure that?...

Simple; equity in education.

Now you're thinking, "How is equity possible when all too often, our education systems reinforce the same inequalities they were designed to overcome?"

It's possible because you exist. Because you can make a positive impact at a student-level where it matters most.

Truth is, actively creating opportunities for equity in education helps remove barriers so every boy and girl can succeed.

Let's dig deeper into what educational equity is and what educators can do to improve equity in the classrooms.

"What I love most about Positive Action is the way it pertains to the real issues students face in today's world!" - Lori Kessinge, 5th Grade Teacher, Critzer Elementary School, Virginia

What Does Equity Mean in Education?

Equity in education is the process of reforming practices, policies, and procedures at the school and district levels to support academic fairness and inclusion.

This ensures every child has everything they need to be successful, like resources, teachers, and interventions.

Equity and Equality

Equality is providing the same opportunities to all students

Equity is giving specific resources and support to disadvantaged students to bring them up to the same opportunity level as their peers

Equity calls for understanding the unique challenges faced by individual students and providing additional structures that help them overcome those barriers.

For instance, think of administering a math test. Since every student has their pen, paper, and a calculator, they're all equal, right?

Yes. But not equitable.

Here's how you solve this challenge by providing targeted support:

Help ESL (English as a Second Language) students understand instructions in an unfamiliar language

Provide text-to-speech technology for visually impaired students

Allocate a quiet space for students with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to complete the assignment

When you cater to these physical abilities, language skills, and other needs, your challenged students can compete with their peers at the same level.

Why Is Equity in Education Important?

Equity in education goes beyond the idea that equity is morally right because it:

Betters Our Society

The primary goal of public schools in the U.S. isn't only to prepare students for college and lucrative careers but to instill values that make them better citizens.

Additionally, students who attend economically and racially diverse schools express fewer discriminatory attitudes because they learn to see students from various backgrounds as their peers.

These tolerant environments promote:

Creativity

Motivation

Deeper learning

Critical thinking

Problem-solving skills

Integrated Schools Aid in the Reduction of Racial and Economic Achievement Gaps

In the 1970s and 80s, the height of school desegregation, the racial achievement gap in K-12 education closed more rapidly than it has overall in the decades that followed.

This is because many desegregation policies were dismantled.

More recently, something major happened when black and Latino students became less likely to be stuck in high-poverty school environments:

They had smaller achievement gaps with white students on the 2007 National Centre for Education Statistics 2007 Report Card.

In fact, one study showed that switching to complete integration in a district can reduce the current SAT score disparity by as much as one-quarter.

Encouraging, right?

Now let's take a look at what equity in education looks like in the classroom.

What Does Equity in Education Look Like?

Equity in school occurs in two steps:

1. Start by acknowledging some students arrive at school in need of more academic and socio-emotional support than others

2. Ensure students have access to high-quality education

Here are two ways you can start creating more equity as an educator:

Create an Equitable Classroom Environment

Seemingly small classroom changes have the potential to impact you and your students massively .

Equity isn't just a one-time thing but an ongoing process that should be integrated into your classroom expectations and procedures.

Here are simple-to-implement ways you can achieve the goal of equity in the classroom:

Welcome students by name as they enter the classroom, asking them for correct spelling and pronunciation of their names.

Use random response strategies like Numbered Heads Together, color-coded cards, and calling sticks.

Seek multiple perspectives during Q/A sessions using a response like, "That's one idea. Does anyone else have another?". This serves to validate all perspectives presented in the classroom.

Use body language, gestures, and expressions to show the students you value their questions and opinions-smile, nod head in affirmation, and lean toward students.

Identify students' level of knowledge before instruction begins so that you can develop inclusive lesson plans moving forward. To gauge their capacity of knowledge, use tools like:

Word Splash

K-W-L (Know, What, Learn)

Anticipation Guide

Brainstorming

Webbing

Ensure bulletin boards, displays, and instructional materials in the classroom reflect the racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds represented by students.

Keep all religious holidays in mind when creating the classroom schedule aside from the usual school holidays. You can even create a cultural lesson where you guide students as they share the significance of the different holidays in their respective cultures and/or religions.

Use a variety of visual aids and props to support student learning, like multiethnic photos, pictures, and props, and appropriate technology to illustrate concepts.

Give students effective and specific oral and written feedback that prompts improved performance. Go a step further and provide opportunities for students to vet each other through peer reviews.

Explain and model positive self-talk going ahead to share the role of positive self-talk in performing positive actions.

Address Inappropriate Remarks

Truth be told, every student comes to the classroom with their own set of biases and assumptions.

Sometimes, they voice them in inappropriate ways that are informed by stereotypes and misinformation.

Open conversation is important for successful classroom equity, but part of building equity is shutting down insensitive remarks, so students show up as their authentic selves in class.

When a student uses language that defies classroom guidelines, follow these steps:

1. Pause -Stop the lesson at once to focus on the problem so that the important discussion doesn't lose its impact.

2. Address -Draw everyone's attention to the remark without shaming the student. :

a. Identify why the statement is harmful

b. Explain why it doesn't promote equity

3. Discuss -Initiate a respectful class discussion around the biases and background knowledge that may have triggered the student to make the harmful comment.

Doing this can be quite uncomfortable at first, but discussing inappropriate remarks immediately is a powerful way of promoting equity.
How so?
It shifts focus from blaming the student to empowering all the students in the classroom with new healthier perspectives about their peers.

"Positive Action gives children strategies to change negative attitudes to positive ones. The children are actually taught how to help themselves, and others, to be positive when negative thoughts/actions are present. I am able to see what an impact the program can have on children, even as young as kindergarten." - Suzee Fujihara, Teacher at Lihikai Elementary (Lihikai, Hawaii)

How Do You Provide Equity in Education?

Equity education ensures children of every race and gender are set up to succeed.

The best way to provide equity in education is highly contingent on the ability of educators to create an ideal classroom environment.

This is where our adaptable, easy-to-use curriculum comes in. Positive Action can be adapted for a wide range of uses that you can take a look at here.

Some of the uses include:

Special education

Mental health

Multiple intelligences

Gifted and talented education

Multicultural education

Contact us today, and we'll walk you through our curriculum, showing you how it can meet your specific goals as an institution. Take it from one of our satisfied educators:

"Positive Action is a good curriculum and we tied it in with our PBIS. It really helped in making this a safe school where academics and behavior work together so that everybody can learn." - From a Principal in Robeson County, North Carolina

Click the banner below to schedule a webinar with us.

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A Practical Guide to Equity in Education

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Every student in my classroom deserves an equal chance despite their differences, what can I do to ensure that?... Simple; equity in education. Now you're thinking, "How is equity possible when all too often, our education systems reinforce the same inequalities they were designed to overcome?" It's possible because you exist.

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10 Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity | Cult of Pedagogy

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Awareness of educational inequity is important, but we also need to take action. Pedro Noguera shares ten ways educators can do just that.

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources for Classrooms | Common Sense Education

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources for Classrooms is a list of 36 apps, games, and websites curated by Common Sense Education editors.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching: 7 Strategies and Instruction Practices

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Implement these culturally responsive teaching strategies in the classroom to improve learning outcomes and help students feel included, validated, valued, and safe.

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Ground Lesson Plans in Equity and Acceleration to Address Unfinished Learning

By Sonya Murray and Gwendolyn Y. Turner

As educators gather the shattered pieces from a broken, unprecedented time in education, research suggests more students are experiencing unfinished learning. According to NAEP reading and mathematics data, scores have declined in grades 4 and 8 compared to data in 2019 (Education Week, 2022). Educators should ground lesson plans in equity and acceleration to address unfinished learning. First, we as educators should examine our mindsets, perceptions, and biases about students. Next, we maintain high expectations for all students regardless of their ability level or background in our planning. Moreover, we scaffold student learning and build relevant experiential learning experiences by incorporating active student learning. We must respect our students' vast needs, voices, and agency in planning.

Educators planning for equitable learning should consider the following strategies:

Start with YOU: Assess mindset and disrupt deficit thinking in planning.

The most crucial phase in equitable lesson planning is examining your own bias and deficit thinking about students' capabilities before initiating the lesson planning. This action requires exploring mental models, which are the images, assumptions, and stories we carry in our minds of ourselves, other people, institutions, and every aspect of our world. Educators should constantly ask themselves in planning, "Do I hold preconceived ideas about my students' abilities that prevent giving all students access to "the good stuff"- rigorous mathematics problems, complex text, and challenging tasks?"
Maintain High Expectations and a Grade Level of Focus
High expectations have a positive effect on students' learning and grade-level performance.

Lowering expectations and rigor do not promote student learning acceleration, even for those students who need more support.

Educators should instead plan tasks that promote critical thinking and problem-solving at grade level. A study of more than 2 million students in more than 100,000 classrooms found that students are more successful when they can work at their grade level (TNTP, 2021; ZEARN, 2021).

Scaffold Instruction Through Relevant Learning Opportunities

Moreover, as we plan, we scaffold student learning and build relevant experiential learning experiences by incorporating active student learning.

1. Plan for Small or Individual Grouping that elevates students' needs, voice, and agency.

2. Utilize rich curricular activities, resources, and technology to enhance student motivation and engagement.

3. Provide students with multiple attempts on formative assessments and assignments.

4. Use scoring guides and personalized lessons for experiential learning opportunities.

5. Foster peer collaboration and shared responsibility for learning.

Scaffolding Ensures Equity for Multilingual Learners

By Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh

As part of my (Tan) 10th grade social studies curriculum, I had to teach students business concepts. I designed a culturally responsive unit where students strategically applied the business concepts to a food truck that highlighted the food from students' respective countries. I purposefully planned for students to draw on their rich backgrounds to make the business concepts more comprehensible.

For learning to be equitable for my multilingual learners, my instructions and the writing assignments had to have a variety of scaffolds. In one particular lesson, the students had to produce a description of their signature dish. I provided sensory, interactive, and linguistic scaffolds to make the lesson more equitable for all learners. I first presented some visual examples of dishes (sensory scaffold) from each of the team's different food truck concepts and invited the students to use sensory adjectives to describe the taste, smell, and texture of their signature dish. First, students brainstormed some adjectives they could use to describe the dishes. I wrote these on the board and then modeled how I would describe a dish for my own hypothetical food truck using some of the adjectives (linguistic scaffold). Then, students orally shared their description to a classmate (interactive scaffold) to receive feedback. Finally, I annotated an example description from an actual food truck, clearly labeling each part of the description and noting the structure students could use for their own descriptive writing (linguistic scaffold). At this point, students were ready to write their signature dish descriptions successfully.

All students now had a clear understanding of the need to use adjectives effectively to talk about the ingredients of their signature dish.

When instruction is designed to be comprehensible, lessons become equitable.

In addition, students had a clear model of how to organize their descriptive writing, which scaffolded their use of business language. They also had the chance to orally rehearse their descriptions with a team member before writing. These last two scaffolds structured their academic output, adding another level of equity. With this intentional use of sensory, interactive, and linguistic scaffolds, the instructions for writing a signature dish, all students, especially the multilingual students, stand a better chance at reaching the highest level.

In our book called Long-Term Success for Experienced Multilinguals , designing lessons that are comprehensible and ones that structure output for secondary students are just two parts of our instructional framework. With this framework, Beth and I hope to provide a practical, systematic way for secondary teachers to create the conditions for their multilinguals to be highly successful. We believe that equity is not an illusive dream, especially for multilinguals, but alive and thriving by the way we design our instruction.

Build Access and Opportunity For All Through High Expectations

By Colleen Urlik & Rebecca McKinney

Addressing equity concerns in education requires a multi-faceted approach. Current practices result in students' lack of access and opportunity to high expectations in curriculum and instruction throughout their education career which is an on-going equity issue.

To change these practices, the goal must be authentic engagement, embedded critical thinking, and autonomy for all students. You can build these practices through creating lesson plans that weave together first best instruction along with strategies typically reserved for advanced learners, including:

Integration of students' voices, experiences, interests, passions, and goals

Construction of conceptual understandings across content areas

Responsive instructional strategies selected based on pre assessment, not presumption

Rigorous questioning and learning tasks integrating and layering multiple frameworks together over existing curriculum

High expectations for students is the foundational practice of this approach to developing lesson plans.

High expectations allow you to recognize and eliminate the false ceilings, unnecessary barriers, and assumptions that limit the students' opportunities to grow and reach their potential. Your expectations become your students' realities.

To ensure high expectations for all, we encourage the use of guiding questions when selecting and planning for the implementation of strategies to use with students. Some questions we include are:

What does our data tell me about which students are thriving with current instructional strategies and who is not?

Am I using data to confirm my assumptions or broaden my understanding of my students?

What data am I missing to ensure I have a full picture of my students? What qualitative data have I gathered or do I have to support the quantitative data?

What does success look like for my students, and how will I monitor student progress?

What cultural values are present in the classroom/ school? How do the students' cultural values align to this strategy?

What assumptions might I hold about students? How do these assumptions affect my instructional practices and expectations? How might these assumptions be affecting my students' performance?

What implicit biases and personal experiences might I have that I need to be mindful of as I implement this strategy?

Once you learn to lesson plan from a place of high expectations for all students, equitable learning becomes the cultural norm within your classroom and school.

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author: Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Almarode

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Three Strategies to Ensure Your Lesson Plans Are Grounded in Equity - Corwin Connect

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Ground Lesson Plans in Equity and Acceleration to Address Unfinished Learning By Sonya Murray and Gwendolyn Y. Turner As educators gather the shattered pieces from a broken, unprecedented time in education, research suggests more students are experiencing unfinished learning.

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The new question-of-the-week is:
What is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom?
Part One's guests were Dara Laws Savage, Patrick Brown, Meg Riordan, Ph.D., and Dr. PJ Caposey. Dara, Patrick, and Meg were also guests on my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show. You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

Today, Dr. Kulvarn Atwal, Elena Quagliarello, Dr. Donna Wilson, and Diane Dahl share their recommendations.

'Learning Conversations'
Dr. Kulvarn Atwal is currently the executive head teacher of two large primary schools in the London borough of Redbridge. Dr. Atwal is the author of The Thinking School: Developing a Dynamic Learning Community, published by John Catt Educational. Follow him on Twitter @Thinkingschool2:
In many classrooms I visit, students' primary focus is on what they are expected to do and how it will be measured. It seems that we are becoming successful at producing students who are able to jump through hoops and pass tests. But are we producing children that are positive about teaching and learning and can think critically and creatively? Consider your classroom environment and the extent to which you employ strategies that develop students' critical-thinking skills and their self-esteem as learners.
Development of self-esteem
One of the most significant factors that impacts students' engagement and achievement in learning in your classroom is their self-esteem. In this context, self-esteem can be viewed to be the difference between how they perceive themselves as a learner (perceived self) and what they consider to be the ideal learner (ideal self). This ideal self may reflect the child that is associated or seen to be the smartest in the class. Your aim must be to raise students' self-esteem. To do this, you have to demonstrate that effort, not ability, leads to success. Your language and interactions in the classroom, therefore, have to be aspirational-that if children persist with something, they will achieve.
Use of evaluative praise
Ensure that when you are praising students, you are making explicit links to a child's critical thinking and/or development. This will enable them to build their understanding of what factors are supporting them in their learning. For example, often when we give feedback to students, we may simply say, "Well done" or "Good answer." However, are the students actually aware of what they did well or what was good about their answer? Make sure you make explicit what the student has done well and where that links to prior learning. How do you value students' critical thinking-do you praise their thinking and demonstrate how it helps them improve their learning?
Learning conversations to encourage deeper thinking
We often feel as teachers that we have to provide feedback to every students' response, but this can limit children's thinking. Encourage students in your class to engage in learning conversations with each other. Give as many opportunities as possible to students to build on the responses of others. Facilitate chains of dialogue by inviting students to give feedback to each other. The teacher's role is, therefore, to facilitate this dialogue and select each individual student to give feedback to others. It may also mean that you do not always need to respond at all to a student's answer.
Teacher modelling own thinking
We cannot expect students to develop critical-thinking skills if we aren't modeling those thinking skills for them. Share your creativity, imagination, and thinking skills with the students and you will nurture creative, imaginative critical thinkers. Model the language you want students to learn and think about. Share what you feel about the learning activities your students are participating in as well as the thinking you are engaging in. Your own thinking and learning will add to the discussions in the classroom and encourage students to share their own thinking.
Metacognitive questioning
Consider the extent to which your questioning encourages students to think about their thinking, and therefore, learn about learning! Through asking metacognitive questions, you will enable your students to have a better understanding of the learning process, as well as their own self-reflections as learners. Example questions may include:

Why did you choose to do it that way?

When you find something tricky, what helps you?

How do you know when you have really learned something?

'Adventures of Discovery'
Elena Quagliarello is the senior editor of education for Scholastic News A Layered Learning Approach , a current events magazine for students in grades 3-6. She graduated from Rutgers University, where she studied English and earned her master's degree in elementary education. She is a certified K-12 teacher and previously taught middle school English/language arts for five years: Ask the Tough Questions
Critical thinking blasts through the surface level of a topic. It reaches beyond the who and the what and launches students on a learning journey that ultimately unlocks a deeper level of understanding. Teaching students how to think critically helps them turn information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. In the classroom, critical thinking teaches students how to ask and answer the questions needed to read the world. Whether it's a story, news article, photo, video, advertisement, or another form of media, students can use the following critical-thinking strategies to dig beyond the surface and uncover a wealth of knowledge.
Strike Gold
Begin by having students read a story, article, or analyze a piece of media. Then have them excavate and explore its various layers of meaning. First, ask students to think about the literal meaning of what they just read. For example, if students read an article about the desegregation of public schools during the 1950s, they should be able to answer questions such as: Who was involved? What happened? Where did it happen? Which details are important? This is the first layer of critical thinking: reading comprehension. Do students understand the passage at its most basic level?
Adventures of Discovery
The next layer delves deeper and starts to uncover the author's purpose and craft. Teach students to ask the tough questions: What information is included? What or who is left out? How does word choice influence the reader? What perspective is represented? What values or people are marginalized? These questions force students to critically analyze the choices behind the final product. In today's age of fast-paced, easily accessible information, it is essential to teach students how to critically examine the information they consume. The goal is to equip students with the mindset to ask these questions on their own.

Critical Expressionism: In this expanded response to reading from a critical stance, students are encouraged to respond through forms of artistic interpretations, dramatizations, singing, sketching, designing projects, or other multimodal responses. For example, students might read an article and then create a podcast about it or read a story and then act it out.

Transmediations: This activity requires students to take an article or story and transform it into something new. For example, they might turn a news article into a cartoon or turn a story into a poem. Alternatively, students may rewrite a story by changing some of its elements, such as the setting or time period.

Words Into Action: In this type of activity, students are encouraged to take action and bring about change. Students might read an article about endangered orangutans and the effects of habitat loss caused by deforestation and be inspired to check the labels on products for palm oil. They might then write a letter asking companies how they make sure the palm oil they use doesn't hurt rain forests.

Socratic Seminars: In this student-led discussion strategy, students pose thought-provoking questions to each other about a topic. They listen closely to each other's comments and think critically about different perspectives.

Classroom Debates: Aside from sparking a lively conversation, classroom debates naturally embed critical-thinking skills by asking students to formulate and support their own opinions and consider and respond to opposing viewpoints.

The deepest layer of critical thinking comes from having students take a step back to think about the big picture. This level of thinking is no longer focused on the text itself but rather its real-world implications. Students explore questions such as: Why does this matter? What lesson have I learned? How can this lesson be applied to other situations? Students truly engage in critical thinking when they are able to reflect on their thinking and apply their knowledge to a new situation. This step has the power to transform knowledge into wisdom.

There are vast ways to spark critical thinking in the classroom. Here are a few other ideas:

Critical thinking has the power to launch students on unforgettable learning experiences while helping them develop new habits of thought, reflection, and inquiry. Developing these skills prepares students to examine issues of power and promote transformative change in the world around them.

Diane Dahl has been a teacher for 13 years, having taught grades 2-4 throughout her career. Mrs. Dahl currently teaches 3rd and 4th grade GT-ELAR/SS in Lovejoy ISD in Fairview, Texas. Follow her on Twitter at @DahlD, and visit her website at www.fortheloveofteaching.net:
'Quote Analysis'

Facilitate conversation about why it is important to think critically at school and in other contexts of life. Ideally, every student will have a contribution to make to the discussion over time.

Begin teaching thinking skills early in the school year and as a daily part of class.

As this instruction begins, introduce students to the concept of brain plasticity and how their brilliant brains change during thinking and learning. This can be highly motivational for students who do not yet believe they are good thinkers!

Explicitly teach students how to use the thinking skills.

Facilitate student understanding of how the thinking skills they are learning relate to their lives at school and in other contexts.

Dr. Donna Wilson is a psychologist and the author of 20 books, including Developing Growth Mindsets, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains, and Five Big Ideas for Effective Teaching (2nd Edition). She is an international speaker who has worked in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Europe, Jamaica, and throughout the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Wilson can be reached at donna@brainsmart.org; visit her website at www.brainsmart.org.

A growing body of research over the past several decades indicates that teaching students how to be better thinkers is a great way to support them to be more successful at school and beyond. In the book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains, Dr. Wilson shares research and many motivational strategies, activities, and lesson ideas that assist students to think at higher levels. Five key strategies from the book are as follows:

Below are two lessons that support critical thinking, which can be defined as the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.

What ethical connections can you make to the quote?

... from the point of view of the Native Americans?

... from the point of view of the settlers?

How can you apply this quote to your life?

How do you think your life might change over time as a result?

Can you relate this quote to anything else in history?

Student 1 critical-thinking skill: Point of View

When U.S.A. invaded Mexico for land and won, Mexico ended up losing income from the settlements of Jose de Escandon. The U.S.A. thought that they were gaining possible tradable land, while Mexico thought that they were losing precious land and resources.

Student 2 skill: Changing Over Time

Whenever Texas joined the states, their GDP skyrocketed. Then they went to war and spent money on supplies. When the war was resolving, Texas sold some of their land to New Mexico for $10 million. This allowed Texas to pay off their debt to the U.S., improving their relationship.

Student 3 skill: Converging Details

A detail that converged into the Mexican-American War was that Mexico and the U.S. disagreed on the Texas border. With the resulting treaty, Texas ended up gaining more land and economic resources.

Student 4 skill: Trend

Texas gained land from Mexico since both countries disagreed on borders. Texas sold land to New Mexico, which made Texas more economically structured and allowed them to pay off their debt.

Mrs. Dahl prepares her 3rd and 4th grade classes for a year of critical thinking using quote analysis.

During Native American studies, her 4 th grade analyzes a Tuscarora quote: "Man has responsibility, not power." Since students already know how the Native Americans' land had been stolen, it doesn't take much for them to make the logical leaps. Critical-thought prompts take their thinking even deeper, especially at the beginning of the year when many need scaffolding. Some prompts include:

Analyzing a topic from occupational points of view is an incredibly powerful critical-thinking tool. After learning about the Mexican-American War, Mrs. Dahl's students worked in groups to choose an occupation with which to analyze the war. The chosen occupations were: anthropologist, mathematician, historian, archaeologist, cartographer, and economist. Then each individual within each group chose a different critical-thinking skill to focus on. Finally, they worked together to decide how their occupation would view the war using each skill.

For example, here is what each student in the economist group wrote:

This was the first time that students had ever used the occupations technique. Mrs. Dahl was astonished at how many times the kids used these critical skills in other areas moving forward.

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all Ed Week articles, has been changed by the new redesign-new ones won't be available until February). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first nine years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column.
Thanks to Dr. Auwal, Elena, Dr. Wilson, and Diane for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It's titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.

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Integrating Critical Thinking Into the Classroom (Opinion)

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Four educators offer suggestions on helping students develop critical-thinking skills, including through the use of "evaluative praise."

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100 Project-Based Learning Ideas | Unrulr

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100 Project-Based Learning ideas to try in your classroom.

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I would spend hours cruising through Pinterest boards, looking for ideas and inspiration for different projects to perfect my teaching practice.

Project based learning is about getting rid of the old, and bringing in the new. That's the approach it takes to transition your teaching style from one that focuses on "doing projects" to project based learning.

Project based learning isn't something that you can perfect in a matter of days or weeks. It's a journey of learning and teaching that will take years to master

It's an experience that allows you to learn and grow with your students as you put it into practice-the earlier you begin, the easier it'll get.

In this guide, we'll look at project based learning examples to help you inspire and excite your students.

Table of Contents

1. What is project based learning?

2. Building bridges with list infographics

3. Writing to a Congressman with a letterhead template

4. Starting a business with a business plan template

5. Writing a blog post to display your learning

6. Comparing a movie and book with a presentation

7. Creating a fundraising campaign for an issue you care about

8. Creating a family tree with a tree diagram

9. Planning a community event with an event poster template

10. Helping local businesses increase environmental impact with flyers

11. Using a tracking calendar to monitors your plant growth

1. What is project based learning?

Simply put, project based learning is a teaching method that allows students to gain knowledge by requiring them to work for an extended period of time to investigate a complex problem or question.

Students are given the freedom and opportunity to explore real world problems and develop a deeper and more enriched understanding.

At Venngage, we're committed to providing educators with the project based learning templates to supplement their teaching, to make education more fun and accessible.

We understand the amount of work it takes to plan a simple lesson, let alone an entire project. That's why we've gathered together some great ideas to make your teaching experience easier.

In this blog, you will not only get a comprehensive understanding of what project learning is, but you will be able to begin implementing it in your classroom immediately - using many of our templates and examples.

In this guide, we'll look at project based learning examples to help you inspire and excite your students.

What are the important elements of project based learning?

1. Significant content

This is where you outline learning goals. Looking at your standards and referring to them frequently is helpful. You don't need to stress yourself and fit every learning standard, but enough to ensure you're meeting some of them.

2. A need to know

Creating a "hook" for the introduction of a project is important to get your students interested and engaged. Its purpose is to generate the curiosity of the classroom. It could be in the form of a video, a guest speaker, or a lively discussion. The driving questions should be abstract enough to get your students wanting more.

3. Driving question

This is the question that your students will be working towards answering with in-depth inquiry. It should have a sense of challenge and purpose. Every activity will work towards the answers to this question. The question should be complex enough that it cannot be answered with one google search.

4. Voice and choice by students

This is the fun part of the planning for students. Ownership comes into play in this stage of their project based learning because they get to set their own learning paths. Below we outline many project based learning examples such as brochures, infographics , tree diagrams and more that allow students to choose what medium they would like to display their information in.

To spark your curiosity, here are some project based learning examples your students can use to display their learning:

5. 21st century skills

Use of technology, collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking are all 21st century skills that authentic tasks should require.

6. In depth inquiry and innovation

Students will be spending the most of their time working on this stage. This is where they will be finding answers to the many questions that will evolve as they conduct their research. They will be using websites, books, articles, and videos to dive deep into the subject they're exploring. All this gathered information will be used to create their product.

7. Reflection and revision

At this stage, students will use rubrics, exemplars, peer editing, and feedback from their teacher to create high quality work. It's an ongoing process that is a great way to self reflect on the process and drives students to continue improving.

8. Public presentation

Time to show off all the hard work that students put into their projects in a public setting! It doesn't have to be just to classmates, it can be to larger audiences including parents, experts, or a larger community. Public also doesn't have to be in front of a live audience, it could be online as well. Students can brainstorm what they see best fit in terms of how they would like to present their own projects.

Other important elements to consider in project based learning:

What are the benefits of project based learning?

1. Engagement: Students are more likely to be engaged in their schooling when they feel autonomy over their own learning. Project based learning allows students to be drivers of their own learning.

2. Teach and assess multiple skills: Teachers have multiple assessment opportunities to test different skills.

3. Differentiation: Students with various learning styles and differences are accommodated since PBL showcases a broad range of capabilities.

4. Accountability: Students take greater responsibility for their own learning.

Is project based learning effective?

Project based learning has been proven to be effective in the classroom. Many reports globally have been published encouraging educators to use the project based learning approach to deepen and enrich their student learning.

"One of the major advantages of project work is that it makes school more like real life. It's an in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy of children's attention and effort."- Education researcher Sylvia Chard

The benefits of project based learning are endless. It allows for authentic assessment, promotes lifelong learning, and prepares students to develop skills for a highly technological society. Project based learning allows students to learn by doing-from language, to data science, to history.

What are some examples of project based learning?

We know that teaching is a skill that requires a lot of planning and that people underestimate the amount of time it takes to create a thorough lesson plan, let alone an entire in depth project.
Read More: 27+ Lesson Plan Examples for Effective Teaching
The project based learning examples below will help to bring creativity in the way that your students present their information. Your students can use the templates for their projects, or you can use the templates for your teaching.

2. Building bridges with list infographics

Building bridges is a great project that allows teachers to implement all aspects of S.T.E.M. It requires a lot of problem solving skills and builds on competitive learning skills as well. Using a lesson plan template to create your criteria helps to keep your work organized:

List infographics are a great way to make things easy to remember in a creative way. Certain projects may require a long list of materials from your students, such as this bridge project. In order to keep track of their materials and keep students organized, a list is integral.

Below are 2 great example of list infographics:

3. Writing to a Congressman with a letterhead template

A good project based learning example is one that can incorporate many different aspects of learning. Not only does this project based example develop writing skills, it takes learners beyond that.

By writing to a congressman students are moving beyond just writing a letter about their research and moving them towards taking action about it by expressing their opinions about an issue they care about. It encourages students to be agents of change by using their civic voice with elected officials.

Below are great letterhead examples that can be customized to incorporate colour, a border, and a header. Your students will feel like professionals as they're creating their letters. It could be powerful enough to get their letters noticed and read, with a possible response!

Below are a couple of great examples to get you started:

Professional blue letterhead template

Creative letterhead template

4. Develop a business plan

This project based learning example allows students to work in groups to develop a business plan.

Beginning with developing a concept, then doing market research and competitor analysis and ending off with a financial plan. These templates have outlines and examples prepared so that students don't feel so overwhelmed and can pitch their ideas with ease and confidence.
Related reading: An in-depth guide to creating a business plan that you can share with your students.
The business plan templates below will ensure that any business plan created by students looks professional and inspiring. It may even lead to coming to life!

Here's a business plan template your students can use:

5. Write a blog post to share your learning

Blog posts are great creative ideas for students to take ownership of their own learning in an expressive way. Instead of writing a traditional essay, a blog post will display the same information but with a kick. Blog posts are also a good asset to include for their portfolios, to help improve their personal brand.

You don't need to worry about having to do all the research on how to write a blog post and what to avoid. Sharing an infographic with your students that outlines the steps of how to create a blog post will help them understand the success criteria of their projects.

When you visualize information, it's harder to miss important information. Everything is in front of you and is easy to read.

Below are two infographics that explain how to write a blog and what mistakes to avoid that can be easily share with your students:

6. Compare a movie and book with a presentation

Comparing a book to its movie adaptation is a fun project that incorporates a lot of learning skills. Reading, writing, analysis, with a touch of entertainment as well. The ideas are endless in the different tasks that could be done, what makes it easy is to display all the information by creating a presentation.
The examples below include important elements to creating a great presentation design. Some of these include:
Creative presentation template

Whimsical presentation template

7. Create a fundraising campaign for an issue you care about

Another great project based learning example is creating a fundraising campaign. Students again have an opportunity to be agents of change for an issue that they genuinely care about.
Important elements of a poster include: Fundraising poster template
Here is an example of how students can use a timeline infographic template to plan a fundraiser:

Once students have completed their planning, they can use a poster design to create an event which outlines all the details of their campaign.

8. Create a family tree with a tree diagram

A good real world question is: how does your family ancestry make you a unique person? Students will have to dive deep into their family history to answer that question. One of the outcomes may be that they create a family tree to trace back who was a part of their lineage.

Using a family tree template helps eliminate disorganization and helps students stay focused. After designing their family tree, students can easily share it with their family members online!

Below are examples of family tree diagram templates students can use:

9. Plan a community event
Some poster design tips:
Planning a community event takes a lot of work. Students have an opportunity to create change in their communities and take action. After doing the research in terms of food, theme, and decorations - students can create a proposal demonstrating how the event may look and cost.

The end result of the planning would be creating the actual event poster . Students can make their planning into reality and be the change makers in their community.

To get started, here are some event poster templates:

10. Help businesses decrease environmental impact with flyers

The best projects are those that include multiple subjects in one.

Students can create digital flyers to inform businesses about ways to decrease their environmental impact by "going green". They can share it with companies that are known to not be environmentally conscious. This is a great way of culminating their research.

Below are some great examples of flyer templates that students can customize into their own by changing colors, fonts, and the text.

11. Use a tracking calendar to monitor your plant growth

Students can learn all about plant by observing their growth patterns. They could learn about parts of the plant, what plants need to grow, and the functions of the plant.

Students can track the progress of their plant growth by inputting their observations into each day of the week:

Outcomes of PBL

A well designed project based learning experience will have great outcomes .

Here is a great visual outlining all the different positive outcomes of project based learning:

Get started with project based learning in your classroom so that you can develop critical skills for your students. If you've already started and are just looking for more ideas and tools, this guide is also great for you. Whatever your teaching needs may be, your students will appreciate accessing so many of the template examples.

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10+ Project Based Learning Examples for Educators - Venngage

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I would spend hours cruising through Pinterest boards, looking for ideas and inspiration for different projects to perfect my teaching practice. Project based learning is about getting rid of the old, and bringing in the new. That's the approach it takes to transition your teaching style from one that focuses on "doing projects" to project based learning.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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8/3/2021

Equity in education means that each student receives the specific resources they need to succeed. Educators are essential to making equity a reality, and they need support and resources to deliver equitable literacy education for all students.

New Jersey has been making strides in delivering equity by supporting struggling readers with recent legislation designed to identify early readers with reading difficulties and to provide evidence-based interventions. A proposed bill would establish and fund the New Jersey Equity in Education Initiative ( NJ A5601). You can learn more about the bill here.

New Jersey school administrators and teachers don't have to wait on legislation to address equity in their classrooms. Lexia recommends these four daily practices:
Practice 1: Don't assume
One important element of equity is meeting the needs of the individual. It's all too easy to make assumptions about students based on perceived socioeconomic status or behavior. There is tremendous diversity among struggling readers, and even among students from a similar background.

That's why it is so important to check your assumptions about any student at the door. Nonprofit Learning for Justice writes, "it is impossible to predict anybody's preferred learning style based on a single dimension of her identity and ... nobody, regardless of identity, learns the same way regardless of what he is learning."
Practice 2: Check the data
Once you've left assumptions behind, hard data can be your guide to understanding a student's needs and formulating an instructional strategy. Real-time insights from a literacy tool can give you answers to questions like: Where are my students in their learning? What is the evidence? How will I use this information?

Data used in this way is empowering for both the teacher and the student. Teachers can design personalized learning for students, and students are able to understand where they stand in their own progress and take ownership in their learning

If your literacy tool doesn't allow for this option (although it should), focus on any evidence you do have and what actions you will take to meet those goals. Data is agnostic and can inform your approach without bias.
Practice 3: Scaffold your response
Make sure you are providing explicit instruction for students who need intervention. The scaffold term is apt because students perform better when they have a reliable structure to follow to get to the next level of proficiency.

Your literacy tool may not be equipped to provide an explicit and targeted instruction. Whatever lessons you use, review the content to be sure it focuses on the instructional area where the student is struggling.
Practice 4: Engage your colleagues
Google "educational equity" and you'll get more than 300 million results; this is clearly a hot topic from classrooms to kitchen tables to legislatures. Taking equity in education from discussion to reality is everyone's responsibility, but it is educators who are on the front line.

Teachers shouldn't feel they need to tackle such a major effort alone. Talk with colleagues. Share what you learn and ask your peers how they are supporting equity in their classrooms. Find out how they intervene and what techniques or tools have proven effective. Are they taking a data-driven approach? Are students working at their own pace? Teachers want to know what works.

This white paper is one place to start: Educational Equity: The Transformative Impact of Effective Instruction & Professional Learning. This research-packed resource is a helpful starting place for an educator in New Jersey or any state who is diving into the task of ensuring equity in education.

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4 Daily Practices for a More Equitable Classroom | Lexia

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Equity in education means that each student receives the specific resources they need to succeed. Educators are essential to making equity a reality, and they need support and resources to deliver equitable literacy education for all students.

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Abstract

Resisting the Pedagogy of Poverty

Teaching Up-A Way Forward

Teaching Up in Action

An Ethic of Excellence

For marginalized students especially, we need to move from a "pedagogy of poverty" to a "pedagogy of plenty."

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Abstract

Resisting the Pedagogy of Poverty

Teaching Up-A Way Forward

Teaching Up in Action

An Ethic of Excellence

Differentiated instruction has always been about providing every learner full opportunity to grow as much as possible academically, intellectually, and socially. Our students' lives are complex in so many ways-learning needs and strengths, interests, culture, race, language, social skills, emotional development, economic background, adult support, prior school experiences, and a host of other variables-and each of these factors impacts learning. Striving to see, understand, and respond to that complexity is at the core of quality differentiation. It is non-negotiable for teachers who seek to make a significant, positive difference in the trajectories of the young lives in their care.

A key principle of differentiation is "teaching up" (Tomlinson, 2021, 2022; Tomlinson & Javius, 2012). When we teach up, we provide equitable access to excellent learning opportunities for all students. This idea reflects and elaborates a position voiced by Grant Wiggins two decades ago:

We will not successfully restructure schools to be effective until we stop seeing diversity in students as a problem. ... They have the right to thought-provoking and enabling schoolwork, so they might use their minds well and discover the joy therein to willingly push themselves farther. They have the right to instruction that obligates the teacher, like the doctor, to change tactics when progress fails to occur. They have the right to assessment that provides students and teachers with insights into real-world standards, useable feedback, the opportunity to self-assess, and the chance to have dialogue with or even challenge, the assessor-a right in a democratic culture. Until such a time, we will have no insight into human potential. Until the challenge is met, schools will continue to reward the lucky or the already-equipped and weed out poor performers. (Wiggins, 1992, pp. xv-xvi)

Teaching up is of particular importance at this moment in education because it offers a path forward on two related, lingering, and defining concerns. The first is our enduring negligence to provide equity of opportunity to students from persistently marginalized groups. The second concern is a decades-long blindness to the test-driven, impoverishing nature of curriculum and instruction that pervades today's classrooms. The two concerns are tightly bonded. It is impossible to claim a quality system of public education without placing both concerns in the foreground of educational policy and practice.

Resisting the Pedagogy of Poverty

Just over three decades ago, Martin Haberman (1991) reflected on his experience of observing classrooms where teaching and learning were characterized by teachers giving information, asking right-answer questions, giving directions, assigning low-level tasks, monitoring seat work, reviewing, giving tests, going over tests, assigning homework, going over homework, settling disputes that were common among disenchanted students, punishing noncompliance, grading papers, and giving grades. Haberman called what he observed in these classrooms "a pedagogy of poverty." The label seemed apt to him because, he said, students in those classes came largely from backgrounds in which poverty was pervasive and because students who spent much or most of their school years in those classrooms were virtually guaranteed a life of poverty after their school days ended.

A decade later, Helene Hodges (2001) wrote about an alternative approach to teaching and learning characterized by authentic tasks, meaning-driven curriculum, a literacy-rich environment, quality resources, and strong connections between classroom and home. This approach centered on problem-focused learning and cognition and metacognition in the context of purposeful activities. Students worked collaboratively (in various social configurations) on issues of deep concern to them and engaged in discussion and debate about the substance of content and meaning-making. Hodges, referencing Haberman's work, called this approach to teaching and learning "a pedagogy of plenty" because students in classrooms using it came largely from economically sound backgrounds and because students who spent much or most of their time in such classrooms were virtually guaranteed a life of plenty after their school days ended.

Unfortunately, a "pedagogy of poverty" has been synonymous with the experiences of most students of color in public schools since the years of mandated integration. These experiences continue to convey the unambiguous and debilitating message that the people in charge of these students' education view most students of color as capable of handling only remedial, mind-and-soul-numbing academic fare-and often not even that. In the end, for too many of these young people, school becomes irrelevant, and just one more barrier standing in the way of full membership in the broader world.

While the damage done to already marginalized learners by a pedagogy of poverty is broad in duration and scope, that degenerative approach to teaching and learning stunts the growth of many other learners as well. Students of many races and economic backgrounds whose adult support systems are unable to zero in on academic achievement, or who have learning, social, or emotional challenges, rarely find themselves in classrooms that provide a pedagogy of plenty, engage them in dynamic work, and mentor them to reach for excellence. Students we deem to be "just average" are taught in ways that lead them to establish limiting ceilings of expectation for themselves. Even learners identified as "advanced" or "gifted" are seldom consistently challenged adequately in general education classrooms or pullout programs.

The all-consuming drive to raise standardized test scores has led us in some cases to embrace, or at least accept, a pedagogy of poverty for most students.

Teaching Up-A Way Forward

Despite the prevailing winds of contemporary schooling that encourage us to "teach down" to many students, there are teachers who swim against the tide-who "teach up." These teachers work from two foundational principles. First, the job of the teacher is to prepare young people for life, not for a test. Second, every student is worthy of the most compelling and energizing learning opportunities that are available to any student.

Unfortunately, a 'pedagogy of poverty' has been synonymous with the experiences of most students of color in public schools since the years of mandated integration.

To teach up, educators must plan curriculum and instruction for students with "high ceilings" of learning and then provide scaffolding that enables a very wide range of learners to access and succeed with that work. But, of course, the fabric of teaching up is sturdier and more tightly woven than any single strand would suggest. Excellence and equity in teaching and learning require high-quality practice in all classroom elements that work interdependently to maximize student opportunity and growth.

Toward that end, for example, teachers who teach up work from a vision for equity and excellence in the classroom and invite students to contribute to that vision and help enact it. They model empathy, respect, and appreciation for the diversity of students' cultures, languages, talents, experiences, and learning needs. These teachers work persistently to establish a learning environment that is invitational for each learner, building bonds of trust with their students and supporting them in building bonds of trust with their peers. Through the curriculum these teachers use, students become curious, because their learning connects with their lives and experiences and motivates them to commit to the hard work of learning.

Such teachers consistently use formative assessment practices to gain insights into each student's learning trajectories. They plan learning opportunities that make room for student variance and that are also responsive to learners' strengths and interests-opportunities that are active, collaborative, and authentic. They have no superpowers but rather aspire to grow as vigorously as they ask their students to grow, learn from mistakes as they ask their students to learn, and persist as they ask their students to persist.

Teaching Up in Action

To show how teaching up looks in practice, let me tell you about three teachers who do this well. These are teachers who I've worked with, observed, or taught throughout the years who all exemplify the characteristics of "teaching up." It is interesting to note that one of them has taught largely in public schools in small, rural communities, one primarily in a public school in a large urban district, and one in private schools. Teaching up belongs everywhere there are young learners.

Letting Curiosity Guide Learning

Cris Lozon's preschoolers, in a private school in California, commonly investigate questions that arise from their daily lives. They engage in play with materials of their own choosing and share work that helps them become good thinkers and problem solvers. Ms. Lozon and her colleagues observe the students and engage the students in purposeful talk designed to help them develop conceptual understandings of how things work. Recently, while the students used blocks and other materials to design roadways for a town, conversations centered on form and function, patterns, and systems. When the children created scientific drawings of spiders, they considered scale and proportion. In music class, they counted beats and talked about the rhythms they heard. Fundamental concepts like these recur throughout their learning all year, and students begin to incorporate the concepts and their meanings into their thinking and expression.

At a recent end-of-year "Works of Wonder (WOW) Night," students presented to their parents some questions that had guided their projects as well as some answers they found in their investigations. Among the questions the students posed and considered were:

How do we keep ourselves and our friends safe? How do rules keep us safe?

How do light and shadow affect the life of plants, insects, and baby chicks? How does light make shadows grow and shrink?

How do we make bridges that can connect two countries together? How do bridges bring people together?

How do the stories we tell bring together the past and the present? Why are stories important? (Lozon, 2021)

While play remains central to the children's days, their teachers guide them to think about durable concepts, develop complex academic vocabulary, pose and seek answers to questions, and collaborate consistently as thinkers, problem solvers, knowledge generators, and effective communicators. At a young age, these children are building the habits of mind and work that are foundational to success in school and in the world.

Making Real Change in the World

During the many years Ron Berger taught elementary students in rural Massachusetts, they had hands-on experiences to guide them through learning. His students tested the water quality of all the local streams and lakes. They tested the private wells in town to see if the water was safe to drink. They cleaned up the playground and built playground equipment, a recycling shed, and a playhouse for kindergarteners. The teachers guided the learners in doing sophisticated scientific and demographic research. The students learned how to use computers and Excel for their work, and they prepared reports for their town and state.

These types of community service projects not only show students they have the power to make a difference in their local environments, but they also help students develop an ethic of excellence and the skills and hard work necessary to achieve excellence. Berger says:

Once a student sees that he or she is capable of excellence, that student is never quite the same. There is a new self-image, a new notion of possibility. There is an appetite for excellence. After students have had a taste of excellence, they're never quite satisfied with less; they're always hungry. (Gosner, 2021)

Redefining Success

Chad Prather's high school students bring to school with them the deep anger and resentment felt by many students of color whose families bear the weight of poverty and marginalization. They come with the predictable hallmarks of a pedagogy of poverty. There is little in their experiences to commend the study of world history.

To bring the subject alive, Prather created a year-long simulation, called CIVGAME, for his students studying world history. The game requires students to form teams and build a civilization and to try to make it successful. Students must consider leadership, ethics, competition, collaboration, stability, natural disasters, and more. The game reflects the struggles that many of the students face regularly. It also makes history make sense to students who have seldom seen their lives reflected in it.

At the end of the year, a panel of judges studies all of the nation-states developed by the 26 student teams to determine which team has created the most successful state. When students ask Prather how they will know what the judges are going to think is success, he tells them:

You won't. You'll need to determine that for yourself. What makes a state successful? Is it size and power, the accumulation of land and wealth, the growth of a far-reaching empire? Is it military might, wins in war, perhaps the conquest of enemies? Is it a set of systems that meet the needs of small populations? Or perhaps a record of humanitarianism and service to other states? You decide.

At the heart of CIVGAME are essential questions familiar in student experiences: What does it take to get ahead? Where do good ideas come from? How do you keep from crumbling? What matters more, where you end up or how you get there? Is there anything worth the sacrifice of everything? What drives people forward? What holds people back? Students explore these questions over time, sometimes directly but often in the background of the work they do as they explore world history and the context of their life experiences.

I owe my students an experience that will sharpen their lenses and equip them to be the designers of a changing world. Instead of positioning them to be textbook readers observing the history-makers inside our curriculum, they become the subjects of our curriculum-the heads of state, the generals, the artists, the innovators, the diplomats, the activists, and the empire-builders. They will study history, of course, but more than that they will do history. (Prather, 2021)

Opportunities for academic excellence and engagement are often denied to students who live in poverty, students of color, and students who've been discouraged by previous school experiences. But through CIVGAME and other projects like it, students who have most often experienced a pedagogy of poverty can find themselves immersed in a pedagogy of plenty.

An Ethic of Excellence

These examples come from three educators who, through their classroom work, have shaped my understanding of the transformational power of teachers to elevate students' prospects through what they teach and how they teach. They welcome students from broadly diverse backgrounds to be full participants in ambitious, distinguished work and deep learning. They embrace what Berger (2003) calls an ethic of excellence for all learners, establishing high ceilings of expectation and high support to help each student achieve excellence.

The educators described here ensure dedicated time for the whole class to encounter, explore, and discuss compelling ideas; connect their own experiences with what they learn; plan for expressions of learning; and become skilled collaborators. They allow students to work alone, with peers, and with the teacher to pursue their interests, plan for and take their own next steps in the learning process, and give and receive feedback on their work. They differentiate in response to their students' strengths and needs in both contexts.

We must be dedicated believers, learners, and plodders toward leading classrooms that recognize and fuel each student's capacities-and our own.

Teachers who teach up work simultaneously for equity and excellence. But they are not a supernatural breed, not magicians. This work is within the realm of all teachers. We must be dedicated believers, learners, and plodders toward leading classrooms that recognize and fuel each student's capacities-and our own.

We clearly know-have known for a long time-what teaching for equity and excellence looks like. The pull to persist in familiar teaching patterns is powerful even as the evidence of need for change surrounds us daily. The opportunity we have to strengthen the lives of the young people we serve, re-shape the profession we represent, and extend our own reach is, I believe, far more compelling.

Reflect & Discuss

➛ Does the concept of "teaching up" resonate with you? Why or why not?

➛ What characteristics are most important for a teacher to have when "teaching up"?

➛ How can we capitalize on children's curiosity to enhance their learning?

Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom

The second edition of this foundational guide from Carol Ann Tomlinson provides practical strategies for creating effective student-centered instruction that recognizes and respects each student as a successful learner.

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

Let us help you put your vision into action.

We empower educators to reimagine and redesign learning through impactful pedagogy and meaningful technology use. We achieve this by offering transformative professional learning, fostering vibrant communities, and ensuring that digital tools and experiences are accessible and effective.

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For marginalized students especially, we need to move from a "pedagogy of poverty" to a "pedagogy of plenty."