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https://youtu.be/LxhF7TZqDyA

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Zaretta Hammond: Culturally Responsive Teaching 101 | #PLtogether

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https://artsintegration.com/2016/07/13/culturally-responsive-teaching-and-the-arts/

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The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM

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Deirdre Moore | July 2016

Recently I attended a workshop on Culturally Responsive Teaching. In a country with so many different cultures represented, this is a particularly pertinent pedagogy. Especially in our current environment of suspicion and fear being cast on various groups due to their race or religion.

Now, participating in a workshop for 2 hours does not make me an expert by any means. We participants just barely scratched the surface to be sure, but the experience did leave me with many thoughts and many questions.

After much reflection, I came to this conclusion - every person in a school needs to feel safe. In order for people to feel safe, they need to feel welcome, seen, heard and loved. They need to know they can trust the others in the community. And when I say "every person," I mean administrators, teachers, all staff members, families, and students.

What is Culturally Responsive Teaching?

The Education Alliance at Brown University shares that "Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-Billings,1994)."

Ultimately, Culturally Responsive Teaching requires us to actively listen, inquire and engage our students with an understanding of their cultural learning styles and tools. This is much more than one-off strategies like call-and-response or visual thinking. While these strategies are engaging and can be included, they alone do not act as culturally responsive teaching.

Instead, these strategies can be embedded within lessons that use students' own cultural references as a means to engage with instructional material. That's a much broader scope and requires for more intentional lesson design and delivery.

Connecting in and through the Arts

Given that the arts are inherently part of a culture, it seems to me that a school that teaches with, through and about the arts would be a place where culturally responsive teaching could flourish. There are definite crossovers between the two.

Culturally responsive teaching favors student-centered instruction. If a school is encouraging its students to make artistic choices and engage in art-making as an individual and as a group, the students should be at the center of that learning. Culturally responsive teaching also embraces the role of a teacher as facilitator. If arts education is done well, the teacher should be a facilitator allowing the students to direct the learning and receive guidance as needed from the teacher.

Because art is part of culture, if a school is mindful of the cultural richness of its student body and if it offers art that reflects the culture of those students then the students and their families will feel more welcome and seen. If students are given the opportunity to share their work and have it be received and honored by others, they feel heard.

Strategies for Culturally Responsive Arts Integration

Arts integration is a natural pathway into culturally responsive teaching. There are so many teaching strategies that we use in arts integration which can be applied in a culturally responsive classroom.

For example, many African, Asian and Pacific Islander communities have strong storytelling and oral traditions. Middle eastern cultures value the collective over the individual. And students from the Caribbean often use movement and dance as a way of communication. These can all be access points for learning in and through the arts.

1. Connect through Story

Each art form has an ability to be used as a way into narrative writing and reading comprehension. Students can create song lyrics, develop choreography to tell a sequence of events, and design collages which highlight the collective rather than the individual. Each of these examples serves as a process for students to connect your content in and through their own cultural fabric.

2. Highlight Artists and Artwork from Various Cultures

Students need to see artists and artwork from people who look like them. So while it's easy - and necessary - to show works of art by "old white guys" like Michelangelo and Beethoven, it's important to also offer examples from cultures outside of the European tradition.

This also needs to happen beyond just Black History Month. Students do not celebrate their heritage one month of year - they live it every day. In creating a culturally responsive classroom, it's our responsibility to provide inspiration and challenge assumptions of all students. We can do that through the rich fabric of artists and artistic works from all over the world.

3. Ask Questions

You can't make assumptions about the cultural backgrounds of your students. Want to know more about them - their likes, interests, and values? Ask! You can submit a student survey to get a baseline at the beginning of the year.

Or, try the "Ask Me, Ask You" strategy. Invite students to ask 1 thing about you and in return, you get to ask 1 thing about them. This piques their curiosity about you as their teacher and allows you an opportunity to get to know them better.

Remember: part of culturally responsive teaching is listening more deeply and with the intention of connecting with our students. Inquiry is something we model, not just teach.

Create to Learn

Students who are given the opportunity to create art will create something that in some way reflects their own culture. If students see their culture reflected in the environment, and are given the space to express themselves through their art making, that will help to create that safe environment. If teachers are skillful facilitators of art making and sharing, a safe and supportive environment can be a by-product.

So, in a society that desperately needs to be and supportive of the many diverse cultures that exist within it, education needs to be mindful of cultural responsiveness.

Schools need to be safe places of learning and self-expression where all are welcome, seen, heard and loved. Schools that embrace the arts and the culture of their students can do much to help create that inclusive and supportive society that will raise all of us up and allow us to move forward in a positive direction "with liberty and justice for all."

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Arts

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Deirdre Moore | July 2016 Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Arts Recently I attended a workshop on Culturally Responsive Teaching. In a country with so many different cultures represented, this is a particularly pertinent pedagogy. Especially in our current environment of suspicion

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Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

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Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

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https://crtandthebrain.com/book/

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Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

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Book - Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

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Helping Students be the Leaders of their Learning

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How to be a Culturally Responsive Art Teacher

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How to be a Culturally Responsive Art Teacher

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https://theartofeducation.edu/2020/06/06/how-to-be-a-culturally-responsive-art-teacher/

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Conversations of race and equity in education along with the achievement gap are a priority. Watch the news, observe any professional resource, or view a list of sessions at a conference, and you're sure to find someone addressing these topics. A common idea stemming from these discussions is to have culturally responsive classrooms or curriculum. Administrators are naming this concept more and more, but few can actually articulate what it means and looks like in your art room. Thankfully, Zaretta Hammond's book Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain can tell you all you need to know about culturally responsive teaching and how it can impact your classroom.

What is the purpose of the book?

Before the first chapter even begins, Hammond lays out what readers should (and should not) expect from the book. Being specific about her intentions lays the groundwork to make meaning from the content. She says, "This book isn't a how-to guide on developing culturally responsive lesson plans in every subject area...I want you to think of culturally responsive teaching as a mindset, a way of thinking about, and organizing instruction to allow for great flexibility in teaching." Continuing throughout the book, Hammond is clear and direct in her language and explanations.

Her voice in the book is accessible-it feels like she's in the room talking to you. Each chapter also ends with a helpful summary of bullet points, questions for further reflection and thought, and additional resources to seek out if interested. Finally, a helpful text for educators. Hammond's experience as a classroom teacher and with educators in professional development allows her to ask and answer the questions you have in your head, but might be socialized to not say out loud. She addresses topics of race, equity, and culture in a way that connects with common beliefs and understandings. So, if you're serious about supporting all of your students, here is what her text can offer you:

Why is understanding the brain so important?

One of the best takeaways from the book is understanding how the human brain can impact a student's ability to learn and create art in your room. This is information educators rarely consider in their classroom. As Hammond mentions, outside of a one-semester educational psychology course, brain research and development is largely missing from many teaching programs. Similarly, once teachers enter the field, professional development rarely covers brain science.
The book can help you understand how the brain is wired to:

Connect with others in a community like your studio or classroom

Detect threats of all kinds, including social and psychological, which can prevent a student from learning each day in your room

Grow and expand based on the types of challenges and problems you present in your art projects

Having a better understanding of how your students' brains are functioning can shape how you structure your classroom, lessons, and interactions with students.
What You Need to Know About Inclusive Education in the Art Room
How do you start on a journey to be a culturally responsive art teacher?

Hammond reminds readers throughout the book that being a culturally responsive teacher isn't about a strategy or bag of tricks, but rather, a mindset. She says, "The first step for teachers is to understand how their own cultural values shape their expectations in the classroom." Reflecting and analyzing your own culture can be very challenging because, to you, it's normal. Culture is commonly thought to be things like the food you eat, what you celebrate, traditions, and where you're from. Your cultural identity, however, is much deeper than those elements and more engrained into your daily life. Your culture has been shaped by your experiences and the people in your life from the first day you were born until now. One of the most meaningful experiences in reading the book is the opportunity to better understand your culture.
Hammond offers a number of questions for personal reflection, including:

"What family stories are regularly told or referenced? What message do they communicate about core values?"

"What earned you praise as a child?"

"Were you allowed to question, or talk back to, adults? Was it okay to call adults by their first name?"

"What's your family/community's relationship with time?"

How to Better Support Your Marginalized Students
As you start to understand your cultural reference points, Hammond guides you more specifically into your schooling experiences. You'll have the opportunity to reflect on what it meant to "do school," what success looked like and how it was achieved, and what messages you were given related to your own race and identity. As Hammond explains, the purpose of this whole process is to, "develop a great sense of your cultural self - what drives you, what shapes your worldview, and what influences your teaching."

How does this connect to feedback in the art room?

Art teachers spend more of their time giving feedback to their students than anything else. Whether it's through critique, answering questions, grading artwork, or all of the informal discussions you have with students as they're working individually. Spending time learning about giving better feedback is always a wise investment as it is a critical component in the art room and "an essential element in the culturally responsive teacher's arsenal."

Distinct characteristics of quality feedback

The intersectionality of feedback and trust, motivation, and learning.

Types of feedback like Instructive and Corrective, Advice not Actionable, Evaluative not Instructive

The book explores feedback through multiple lenses and provides you with concrete strategies. For example:
Most notably is the WISE feedback model that Hammond offers as an alternative to the common sandwich feedback model of starting with a positive, then a negative, and ending with a positive. Hammond's model complemented with her Asset-Based Feedback Protocol emphasize how you can provide accurate and honest feedback to students while demonstrating your belief in the student.

It might be counter-intuitive to suggest that Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain is one of the best books for art teachers today because it's not actually about art education. But, art is what you teach, and Hammond's text explores how you can teach and be more responsive to all of your students. By reading this book, you'll develop a better understanding of your own cultural identity and how it reveals itself in your teaching. You'll also learn about how brain science, feedback, and a sense of community can all have a direct impact on student learning in the art room. Maximizing your potential as a teacher requires a commitment to all facets of education. Spend some time with Zaretta Hammond and her book to be a more culturally responsive teacher for the betterment of all students in your studio.
Inclusivity for All Learners in the Art Room What other resources can support teachers in the areas of race and equity? What other models of feedback can be shared with art teachers?

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How to be a Culturally Responsive Art Teacher - The Art of Education University

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Conversations of race and equity in education along with the achievement gap are a priority. Watch the news, observe any professional resource, or view a list of sessions at a conference, and you're sure to find someone addressing these topics. A common idea stemming from these discussions is to have culturally responsive classrooms or curriculum.

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https://hunt-institute.org/resources/2021/02/culturally-responsive-pedagogy-and-the-arts/

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Our panel on culturally responsive pedagogy and the arts examined schools and districts across the country working to confront systemic racism in hiring, policy, and administration. While the need to confront racism in staffing and systems is necessary, education leaders cannot forget the importance of challenging racism in their schools via their main weapon: classroom curriculum and instruction. Often viewed as an add-on, the arts are critically important to the cognitive and emotional development of children. In this webinar, arts education experts discussed what is needed to create responsive curriculum across the arts. Dr. Amelia Kraehe, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Arizona moderated the webinar.
"When I first came here, I had to learn English in middle school, along with everything else. Breakdancing didn't require me to speak English perfectly."
-Edwin Sorto, Dance, PE, Art and Spanish Teacher of the KIPP DC Promise Academy

Edwin Sorto is an immigrant from El Salvador and a first-generation college graduate. He described how music was a gateway to the English language. The school where he teaches, KIPP DC Promise Academy, serves mostly African American students. Because Latin dances and rhythms were born in Africa, he uses these dances to craft a culturally responsive dance curriculum. Each rhythm and step have a history, and while the seeds of that history are African, the flower and fruit takes students to places like Columbia and Africa, Sorto said.

Shana Tucker talked about her work at Kidznotes, a music for social change organization. As a child she played the cello. She talked about attending a performance at Howard University, and for the first time, seeing performers who looked like her. Tucker described children when they first receive instruments and learn how to play. At that moment, she said, children realize there is no barrier to expressing themselves through music. She found that many of her students come to school mainly because they know they'll get to learn music with Kidznotes after school. Teaching music in school is not only exciting for children, but also provides a breeding ground for success.

Rosa Rodriguez-Williams was born in Puerto Rico and lived in a low-income, high-crime community. Because of this, she recognizes the "self" that she brings to her inclusion work within predominantly white spaces. She talked about the importance of identifying oneself when working to create an engaging experience for others. Presentation matters for students, she said. It is important to feel capable and part of a community. Art and art education can be beneficial for students who struggle with academics - it provides an outlet where they can show their talent and cultivate confidence. She noted that when white perspectives are emphasized, the BIPOC experience and cultural understanding are erased.

Rosa Rodriguez-Williams began her time as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston with a learning and listening tour. She discussed how all institutions are meeting a moment where they need to change their portrayals of history, especially as it centers around white narratives. She suggests that museums and cultural institution staff consider the artifacts, paintings, and other cultural items that are on display, and think through why they are being displayed - what's the importance? Experts in the arts should reflect on fine art that I being displayed.
"We are the front lines of belonging. We're creating and curating a space where everybody feels they belong."
-Rosa Rodriguez-Williams, Senior Director of Belonging and Inclusion at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Rosa Rodriguez-Williams emphasized that staff want to create narrative where diversity is a priority. However, in many institutions, one person is tasked with undertaking diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives. Edwin Sorto echoed the challenges and barriers to schools offering more arts education opportunities. For example, schools may want to include cultural responsiveness in the classroom, but are restricted by funding or teachers. Some schools look for the wrong qualifications in teachers, passing over candidates who may be great teachers, but didn't perform as well on their teaching exams.

However, it's the schools with limited resources that may benefit from arts education the most. In schools and districts with limited resources, children can learn to express and appreciate art deeply, and become resilient as they get older. Shana Tucker talked about how Kidznotes is a collaborative space where children can align their hearts, minds, and instruments. She described music as a joy machine that helps children see their world in a creative way, empowering them to make their own choices. She encourages students to bring their life experiences to Kidznotes, so that they may make music based on how they're feeling at that point in time.

Tucker recalled an experience from her own childhood, in which her stepfather gave her and her sibling a textbook on Black history. She said she didn't understand why he asked them to learn about Black history at the time, but now realizes that schools don't always teach students about Black history. She said schools should look at defining a "good curriculum" as one that includes accessible, diverse stories and truth.
"We have to start looking at it (the arts) as a first thought, not an afterthought that we jam into the schedule."
-Shana Tucker, Executive Director of Kidznotes

Shana Tucker shared that at her school, the arts are referred to as "Specials." Even though the arts help students lead happy, healthy lives and be more confident and creative, they're often an afterthought. Many studies have revealed that when music is taught to children at an early age and they are exposed consistently, their brains function better.

Tucker went on to discuss the fact that right now in education, students and teachers alike have a hunger and thirst for the arts. She feels that now is the perfect opportunity to start programs to offer those resources. She encourages anyone interested in introducing an art curriculum to a school to approach education leaders with a fully formed thought, one that allows the leaders to fully understand the benefits of the arts. She mentioned that STEAM is often an idea that school leaders can get behind, and also allows for greater incorporation of the arts throughout the curriculum.

Rosa Rodriguez-Williams described how the Museum's K-12 department is beginning to offer culturally responsive resources for students. As a whole, the museum is focusing de-centering whiteness and asking more questions about who is in the room. The museum wants to honor history and is also excited about pushing the vision forward.

Similar to Tucker, Edwin Sorto noted that usually the arts and dance are an afterthought pushed to the margins of traditional academics. There is an ongoing issue with access to the arts - Black and brown children are frequently denied participation. Engaging all students can improve academic performance across subjects. He also discussed the importance of making connections between students and content during lessons to make them more culturally responsive.

As the panel described, there are many possibilities and information for individuals to advance equity in the arts, and it is imperative to do so. There is power in an arts education, especially for students of color.

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Race & Education | Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and the Arts · The Hunt Institute

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﻿﻿ Our panel on culturally responsive pedagogy and the arts examined schools and districts across the country working to confront systemic racism in hiring, policy, and administration. While the need to confront racism in staffing and systems is necessary, education leaders cannot forget the importance of challenging racism in their schools via their main weapon: classroom [...]

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Culturally & Linguistically Responsive Arts Teaching & Learning in Action

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Culturally & Linguistically Responsive Arts Teaching & Learning in Action

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http://ccsesaarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CCSESA_CulturallyResp_18_Web_5_2_18.pdf

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A Brief Guide to Making Your Schools More Culturally Responsive

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A Brief Guide to Making Your Schools More Culturally Responsive

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https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bc5da7c3560c36b7dab1922/t/5e32fa7464c4842a2d764678/1580399221393/Brief+Guide+to+CRE+in+Schools.pdf

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https://decolonizingthemusicroom.com

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Helping music educators develop critical practices through research, training and discourse to build a more equitable future. Helping music educators develop critical practices through research, training and discourse to build a more equitable future.

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How to Use Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Classroom?

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How to Use Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Classroom?

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https://www.understood.org/articles/en/how-to-use-culturally-responsive-teaching-in-the-classroom

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Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is a research-based approach that leverages students' assets - their cultures, languages, and life experiences - to create rigorous, student-centered instruction.

To put CRT into practice, follow the ideas below. And remember, it's OK to start small as you figure out what works for you and your students.

Reflect on your students' strengths and whether you've considered them as strengths before. Ask yourself:

Finding out your students' interests is a great way to build relationships. Their interests can also help guide your instruction. You can collect this information through:

Questionnaires , surveys, and conversations with students and families

Conversations with other colleagues who know the students

Paying attention to the topics or activities that students find most engaging

All students bring funds of knowledge to the classroom. That includes their own background knowledge, experiences, and skills needed to navigate their day.

Take a look at this example of a funds of knowledge matrix to brainstorm similar examples from your students.

Learn about highlights from students' cultures, like historical figures, accomplishments, and awards.

Find out about local contributions in your students' communities. (Your students and families may have examples to share.)

Avoid asking too many direct questions about families' personal lives. Some families, especially immigrant families, may have concerns about sharing personal information with the school. As trust develops, they may be more willing to share.

Culture and cultural values

You don't need to become an expert on all cultural groups and languages. But you do need to understand your students' cultural identities to build a positive classroom culture and create relevant learning opportunities. Learn about your students' cultures, whether that's a country on the other side of the globe or a neighborhood down the street.

It's also important to think about how your own culture impacts your teaching practices. This reflection can help you develop a mindset that strengthens relationships with all students, including those whose backgrounds are different from yours.

All students bring language assets and skills to the classroom. They may also have different styles of interaction and communication.

Be mindful of the different communication styles, patterns, and norms your students may use.

Bring a diverse range of poetry, music, or other forms of expression into the classroom on a regular basis.

Learn about the language skills students bring to the classroom. For example, English language learners (ELLs) have bilingual skills that are often overlooked when they are evaluated only for their mastery of English.

Some African American students regularly switch between dialects, known as code-switching. This skill requires high levels of linguistic, social, cultural, and cognitive ability, but it often goes unnoticed. Talk about how this skill can help students navigate contexts in and out of school. Support them in using language that's appropriate to each context.

Develop authentic, caring relationships. Relationships establish trust and respect - crucial ingredients for learning.

Create a welcoming classroom. Think about whether your classroom sends a message that students are welcome and that great things are possible for their learning.

Look for ways to increase and support rigor. Raising expectations is an important part of increasing academic achievement.

Look at your curriculum. Ask where you can raise your expectations for students.

Identify the skills students need to complete higher-level work in your classroom. Use explicit instruction and strategy instruction to help students learn, practice, and apply new skills.

Keep in mind that for some students, this may be the first time they're challenged to master these skills. Create a culture that understands that mistakes are part of the learning process.

Explore resources to deepen your own understanding. CRT is a chance to reflect on your personal perspective. You can also use the CRT lens to learn about the broader forces that shape the lives of students.

Look for trustworthy, research-based examples of CRT across the curriculum that reflect the diverse student populations you serve. Start with this comprehensive list of resources from Colorín Colorado.

Consider finding a partner or mentor for shared discussion. You can also look for an online community of educators focused on this topic, like @equityinst.

Use online team-building activities where students share about themselves and their families. Give options so that students can decide what they're comfortable sharing.

Plan lessons and projects around topics that are relevant to your students' interests and cultures. Prepare for handling sensitive conversations about discrimination, racism, and oppression.

Provide visual or audio supports. Consider recording lessons so that ELLs can watch at their own pace.

Help students get access to technology or other services their family needs. Be prepared to provide materials like printouts and books that can be used when technology is unavailable.

Ask families when and how they prefer to communicate. Get to know what language resources are available for families of ELLs.

Watch this video clip from Edutopia. Think about these questions as you watch:

CRT is a shift in mindset that will not happen overnight. It requires a willingness to learn, be vulnerable, be flexible with instruction, and reflect. The path to CRT is a journey, but with practice and patience, it will benefit you and all of your students.

About the Author

About the Author

Educators Team at Understood is made up of passionate writers, editors, educators, and subject matter experts who have worked in classrooms and with students who learn and think differently.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

is the chief executive officer and co-founder of the Karla Vigil, MAT Equity Institute.

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How to use culturally responsive teaching in the classroom

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Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is a research-based approach that leverages students' assets - their cultures, languages, and life experiences - to create rigorous, student-centered instruction. To put CRT into practice, follow the ideas below. And remember, it's OK to start small as you figure out what works for you and your students.

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But That's Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

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But That's Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

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https://nationalequityproject.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/ladson-billings_1995.pdf

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https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bc5da7c3560c36b7dab1922/t/5e32fbecd36e1a6190532b0b/1580399598083/Scorecard+Toolkit+Formatted+for+PDF.pdf

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The Theory & Practice of Culturally Relevant Education: A Synthesis of Research Across Content Areas

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The Theory & Practice of Culturally Relevant Education: A Synthesis of Research Across Content Areas

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https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bc5da7c3560c36b7dab1922/t/5e31e055b3fca87ed6cb7f54/1580326998486/The+Theory+and+Practice+of+Culturally+Relevant+Education_+A+Synthesis+of+Research+Across++Content+Areas.pdf

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The Genealogy and History of Popular Music Genres

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The Genealogy and History of Popular Music Genres

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https://musicmap.info

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https://sites.google.com/view/antiracistartteachers/artists?authuser=0

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Engaging children with artists who look like them, have similar experiences, and come from similar backgrounds is a great source of inspiration and empowerment. By reflecting their own identities, experiences and motivations (mirrors) and also providing insight into the identities, experiences and

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Fostering a Culturally Responsive Music Classroom

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Fostering a Culturally Responsive Music Classroom

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https://jazzednet.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2020/07/JEN_Culturally-Responsive-Music-Classroom.pdf

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https://www.amazon.com/Culturally-Responsive-Teaching-Music-Education-ebook/dp/B01BP9S45C

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http://massmea.org/sites/default/files/public/mmn-online/MMJ_vol69_2_Jan2021.pdf

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Engaging Students with Culturally Responsive Arts Education

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Engaging Students with Culturally Responsive Arts Education

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https://medium.com/@jeankquam/engaging-students-with-culturally-responsive-arts-education-e264eb9ede04

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The University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD)is focused on improving the lives of children, families, and communities by forging research-driven solutions to complex problems. These solutions come from our brightest minds and from decades of real-world experience across eight departments and 25 research centers and institutes. James Bequette, assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and program coordinator of Arts in Education, brings us this post.
Too often, we think of arts ducation as a luxury in our schools. As someone who's studied arts education and student engagement for over two decades, I argue that's not the case. In fact, my research has shown that culturally responsive arts education that fosters relationships and respect between teachers and an increasingly diverse student body is one of the best tools our schools have in engaging and inspiring students.

The Power of Culture Based Arts Education in Communities of Color

I know just how powerful a place-specific, culturally responsive approach to arts education can be because I've seen it happen. I began my career as an arts educator in a remote district in northern California. I taught in a small unified school district that bordered one of the geographically largest American Indian reservations in the state. Most of the children from the reservation attended these public schools. I spent my mornings in the elementary school and my afternoons in the high school.

Like many reservations, it was very isolated and economically depressed. I quickly noticed that many of our students began slipping through the cracks, becoming increasingly disengaged with the educational process, starting around fourth or fifth grade. As a white teacher, I began to wonder: "What am I doing wrong and what can we teachers collectively do to improve Native kids' school success?"

I realized that I needed to embrace the cultures of the kids in my class - and get away from the "deficit model" that looks to blame outside forces like governmental policies or parenting practices for the failings of a school district. I knew we needed to get involved in the community our school served by learning more about how our Native students' heritage is not monolithic but a rich combination of different cultures with a common reservation experience and history.

Curriculum and Context

We lived and taught in a beautiful place with a troubled history. When the U.S. government in the mid-1850s forcibly moved five neighboring tribes to the ancestral land of perhaps the original Paleo-Indians of California, a unified reservation community of confederated tribes emerged after years of intermarriage. A shared land base and a common lifestyle belied the almost total loss of four heritage languages and amalgamation of six distinct tribal life ways, including artistic production. Many young people from the reservation saw themselves more as members of the broader community of Indigenous North Americans and to a lesser degree affiliates of one of these California tribes.

In time a group of like-minded teachers and I started to build relationships in the local Native community, inviting artists, dancers and musicians into the schools. Though curriculum materials pertaining to contemporary American Indian art and historical crafts were minimal - and most dealt with tribes from other regions of the country - I began to move away from the canon of Western art in my classes. Though the arts and crafts we studied weren't specifically from their tribal heritage, my students really identified with Indigenous work and became much more engaged. I tried to incorporate American Indian art not only as a vehicle for making and creating, but also as a place for discussion and looking at art and material culture in historical and contemporary Native contexts.

Measuring the Impact of Culturally Responsive Arts Education

Fifteen years into my career, I was ready for a new chapter - and I knew that culturally responsive arts education, particularly in Indigenous North American communities, was something I wanted to continue to explore. I took a sabbatical to pursue a master's degree at Stanford University in California. After living in such an isolated area, it was inspiring to be part of a thriving, multidisciplinary academic community - many of whom shared my belief in the power of culturally responsive education. I was able to engage in great conversation with Indigenous scholars and was exposed to a variety of new literature, all of which led me to think more deeply about social reconstruction, critical multiculturalism, and culturally relevant pedagogy.

After completing my year-long master's program, I stayed at Stanford for a Ph.D. program. I realized pretty quickly that I was really interested in American Indian education more broadly - and specifically my own observations about how Native kids responded to things I did in arts classrooms. Stanford was a place where I could reach out and find classes in ethnography, art history, sociology and psychology that were really focused on Indigenous peoples in contemporary and historical contexts.

My dissertation project sent me back to where it all began: studying a grant-funded project that had been conducted at my former school district in California shortly after I left for graduate school. It was a two-year arts initiative that was similar to much of what I'd done during my teaching there, and involved bringing in members of the local Native community to help inspire and build relationships between the teachers, artists and students. Though the program had ended, my project involved observation and research to determine whether it had any lasting effects on teachers in the district, Native and white students who participated, and the Indigenous artists who were involved in the schools.

My findings confirmed what I know now is just common sense: schools that embrace the cultures of the kids in their classrooms and try to invite elders, artists, crafters, dancers and musicians who embrace historical and/or contemporary cultural production into the school do a better job engaging students. These outside voices let kids build their own identity as Native people, identify with them as role models, activists, and understand how the arts contribute to cultural continuance. Arts programs such as this provide entry points for students to debunk stereotypes about Indigenous cultures and study how racism and ongoing oppression impact artists and often thwart Native students' access to equitable arts programing in American schools.

Fostering Conversation and Cultural Connections

After completing my doctorate, I accepted a position in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development. It was the perfect place to continue my work, given the state's large American Indian population and keen interest in education. After a short time at the University, I connected with an Institute on Community Integration (ICI) colleague, Dr. Jean Ness, who had extensive experience working with Ojibwe tribes in northern Minnesota. We applied for and were awarded two federal grants for successive projects that studied the effects of bringing Ojibwe artists, elders and academics into several schools and the cultural context of integrated arts learning in K-8 classrooms. We were able to partner with two districts in Northern Minnesota with sizeable Native populations that bordered on reservations and a Bureau of Indian Affairs school on one reservation.

The first grant gave us a planning year, in which to really listen to the local community, to see what they felt "culturally responsive arts education" should look like. Time and again, we heard Native parents and community member expressing the desire to have more of their language and culture shared in the schools their children attended. To help meet this need, we helped facilitate two four-year programs designed to increase the cultural competency of 50 mostly white teachers. With local partners we brought in Ojibwe speakers with expertise in a variety of disciplines, starting with two-week summer institutes that were followed up with in-service educational workshops during the year. The training was extremely challenging as teachers were expected to develop culture-based integrated arts opportunities in their classrooms, after working with Indigenous experts and learning firsthand about a cultural other than their own.

Arts Education and Student Engagement

We often hear the term "achievement gap" used in reference to our educational system, but I'd suggest that it's really an engagement gap. I believe that a dynamic, culturally responsive arts education program can be the single most powerful engine of engagement in our schools. While the programs I've worked on have revolved around culture-based arts learning in schools serving Native students, the methods we've used to engage students and the larger school community can be a model for teachers working with Minnesota's Hispanic, Hmong or Somali students as well.

The enthusiasm and creativity that arts education sparks make school a place where students want to be. The more we can incorporate art, music, dance and theatre education that's specific to the cultures of the students we are teaching, the more effective teaching becomes. The enthusiasm and cultural awareness that a strong arts program engenders in students can also carry over throughout the school day. Culture-based approaches that add an arts component to learning in STEM disciplines, or STEAM for example, can similarly encourage full and equal participation of all students while effectively countering underlying assumptions of power, legitimacy and ethnocentrism that often creep into multicultural lessons.

Because we at the University of Minnesota believe so strongly in equitable access to arts education for all youth across the state, we've developed new graduate PK-12 licensure programs for theater and dance teachers in CEHD. In doing so we hope to mitigate teacher shortages in these fields in the Twin Cities and statewide. Our proposals are now under review at the Minnesota Board of Teaching, and if approved will permit enrolling multidisciplinary cohorts of dance, theatre and visual arts teacher candidates in the reimagined Arts in Education program in Curriculum and Instruction. By preparing more qualified arts teachers - and giving them the tools to work together to create culturally responsive curriculums - our aim is to encourage culture-based teaching that leads to transformative thinking about race, power and injustice.

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Engaging Students with Culturally Responsive Arts Education

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The University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD)is focused on improving the lives of children, families, and communities by forging research-driven solutions to complex problems. These solutions come from our brightest minds and from decades of real-world experience across eight departments and 25 research centers and institutes.

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Helping Kids Celebrate Diversity Through Authentic Portraits

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Helping Kids Celebrate Diversity Through Authentic Portraits

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https://www.edutopia.org/video/helping-kids-celebrate-diversity-through-authentic-portraits

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Why do kids often draw self-portraits that don't look like them? Says art teacher Libya Doman, kids internalize messages early on "that thin bodies are to be celebrated... that straight hair is the norm" and that "white is right."

What can teachers do to help their students, especially BIPOC kids, draw themselves, and others, more authentically? Doman offers several practical strategies for helping kids "slow down the looking," so they can see and draw differences. She also stresses the importance of stocking inclusive art supplies.

For additional tips on supporting kids to see in "more color-expansive ways," download this comprehensive action guide from EmbraceRace, a nonprofit that provides resources for parents who want to raise their children to be more thoughtful and informed about race.

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Helping Kids Celebrate Diversity Through Authentic Portraits

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Why do kids often draw self-portraits that don't look like them? Says art teacher Libya Doman, kids internalize messages early on "that thin bodies are to be celebrated... that straight hair is the norm" and that "white is right." What can teachers do to help their students, especially BIPOC kids, draw themselves, and others, more authentically?

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https://www.edutopia.org/article/taking-small-steps-toward-equity

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Culturally Responsive Teaching

It can be difficult to know how to keep going with equity work, but starting with culturally responsive teaching is helpful.

In my equity journey as a White educator, I have often found myself asking (and heard my colleagues ask) "OK, I get it... what do I do?" The amount of resources on equity in education can be overwhelming, and it can be easy to feel stuck and not sure where to go next. Here are some concrete ideas that have helped me get unstuck and move from ideas to action.

A productive question I have asked myself when I feel stuck and unsure about what to do next is: "What do I need in order to deepen engagement in equity work?" This can be a great question for those at the beginning of equity work and also for those who are having trouble sorting through the vast number of resources that are out there. My answer to that question has changed as I have moved along in my equity journey, and that's the point. Really, what do I need? More information? Statistics? Stories? Allies? Organizations to work with? Accountability? This question can help you narrow your focus and also guide your conversations with colleagues and administration.

Diversifying Explicit Curriculum

Your curriculum is a good place to start. A staple of equity work is diversifying our teaching so that it doesn't overemphasize the White, male, heterosexual, cisgender perspective. We can do that by critically examining both our explicit and implicit curricula. Explicit curriculum is "what" we teach. It's the subjects and source material that we cover and what we submit for administrative and school board approval.

There have been major efforts at diversifying explicit curriculum by expanding the canon of books that students read in English class to include non-White, non-Western sources; ensuring that world history class truly focuses on world history and not just European history; and bringing Indigenous and non-Western understandings of the world into science, psychology, and even mathematics (see the field of ethnomathematics).

One important aspect of diversifying explicit curriculum is to consider the role that people from marginalized groups play and how their experience is depicted. I found that after I initially replaced some of my sources that emphasized the White, male, heterosexual, cisgender experience with more diverse sources, a pattern emerged that troubled me. Even when the characters and stories in my class reflected "diversity," they still followed stereotypical paths. Stories of slavery painted the enslaved only as victims. Modern-day Black characters always dealt with gangs and drugs. Brown characters were always immigrants and spoke Spanish. Gay male characters loved fashion. Characters with disabilities were defined by their disabilities. I made (and will continue to make) a concerted effort to break this pattern. The best resource for doing this was my students.

It started with a conversation about movies- Black Panther and Moana, particularly. My students helped me understand why the character of Black Panther was so empowering for them-that character's culture was a central part of his identity, but not in stereotypical ways. They noted something similar about the Disney movie Moana -not only did it center Indigenous culture, but also it had a female lead that had no romantic interest.

I am still in the process of finding stories that avoid stereotypical depictions of already marginalized folks, but as the search continues, I have found tremendous value in discussing this with students. Even if we can't find a better resource or story, our conversations about why a particular story's depiction of a "minority" character is problematic have always been profound. Author Nic Stone has addressed this issue with regard to Black characters in this article.

Diversifying Implicit Curriculum

I use the term implicit curriculum to refer to other aspects of what we teach, either within or outside of the explicit curriculum. This could refer to images, music, and quotations. An approachable, concrete step in equity work is to conduct an audit of these aspects of your curriculum. Consider the images, music, and quotations you use, not so much in the explicit curriculum (like sources in a document-based question), but for general encouragement and inspiration. Do these reflect the diversity of your student body and school community, and do they draw attention to underrepresented groups?

When I conducted this kind of audit on myself, I found that most of the pictures and memes I used as inspiration or bell ringers featured pictures of founding fathers (I am a history teacher, after all), with a few images and quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. and memes featuring male voices. Since then, I have tried to add more balance by including more memes and quotes from non-White, non-male people.

I invited my students into that process, asking them to find pictures, quotes, and memes that they found inspiring. This accomplished two purposes that are fundamental to equity work: diversifying class material and incorporating student voice.

I did the same for the music I play in class while students enter and during games or study time. My music reflected my background-classic rock with a few modern hits sprinkled in. The only non-English song in my playlist was "Macarena," and I'm not sure that should count! My students helped to diversify my playlist with music that they enjoyed that was school appropriate.

The Power of Small Changes

These efforts will bear fruit in making a more equitable curriculum and classroom experience. One resource that has been particularly helpful is Cornelius Minor's book . He champions the idea of bending the curriculum to the students, rather than bending the students to the curriculum, and offers small, concrete steps we can take in our curriculum and classroom that can help to chip away at systems that often stymie this work.

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It can be difficult to know how to keep going with equity work, but starting with culturally responsive teaching is helpful.