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This guide outlines practical strategies for honoring cultural backgrounds in the classroom. Teachers can start by learning about students through surveys or one-on-one interviews to understand their experiences, interests, and learning styles, then use this information to design lessons and activities that connect to students’ lives. Storytelling and narratives from diverse cultures can be used to build empathy and communication skills, allowing students to share personal experiences and learn from one another.

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University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education

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Educators today are working in an increasingly diverse world, which translates to an equally diverse classroom. Just look at the statistics: the 2020 U.S. Census found that the population of all minorities in the United States increased from 2010, and the multiracial population specifically grew 276% over a 10-year period. When you consider a previous Census Bureau report that forecasted that half of all U.S. students in public schools would be minority students by 2020, it becomes clear why culturally responsive teaching is becoming increasingly important.

However, knowing how to implement a culturally relevant pedagogy isn't inherently easy, and requires a balancing act on the part of you, the educator. To help you start to introduce these concepts and tactics into your classroom, here is a breakdown of culturally responsive teaching and 10 examples of CRT being implemented in schools.

What is Culturally Responsive Teaching?

According to Edutopia, culturally responsive teaching "attempts to bridge the gap between teacher and student by helping the teacher understand the cultural nuances that may cause a relationship to break down - which ultimately causes student achievement to break down as well."

When put into practice, teachers can develop culturally responsive pedagogies which are "student-centered approaches to teaching in which the students' unique cultural strengths are identified and nurtured to promote student achievement and a sense of well-being about the student's cultural place in the world."

Why Use Culturally Responsive Teaching?

There are numerous studies that point to the benefits of culturally responsive teaching (CRT). CRT has been shown to increase student engagement, cultivate critical thinking and problem solving skills, and ultimately improve a students' sense of belonging in the classroom. For educators, culturally responsive pedagogy has been critical for improving their ability to reach students, especially in the time of remote teaching and COVID-19. Reports show that teachers who use this teaching style are better able to respond to student needs, and is an effective way to combat educational inequities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From an overall educational perspective, the biggest benefits of culturally relevant teaching include:

Teachers and students are more actively contributing to the classroom environment and culture.

Students get to learn from more interactive, collaborative and culturally conscious activities.

This teaching style helps foster a sense of belonging for students of all backgrounds.

It has been proven to improve brain processing and student engagement.

10 Examples of Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Classroom

There is no one way to implement elements of culturally responsive teaching into your classroom. There are countless different tactics to try that align with your style - here are 10 of the most common:

1. Learn About Your Students: Kick the school year off with exercises that help you get to know your students. Distribute surveys or questionnaires that allow your students to share a bit more about their backgrounds, and their learning styles. With these responses you can go into the year with a complete picture of your classroom makeup.

2. Interview Students: This is a more personal approach to getting to know your students better. Face-to-face communication will help create an open dialogue between you and your pupils, and will encourage them to open up about things like their hobbies, favorite subjects and their preferred in-class exercises.

3. Integrate Relevant World Issues: There are many different ways to do this. Consider implementing a current events roundup into your morning meetings or classroom routine. You can also use culturally relevant terms in word problems that relate back to student interests and cultures.

4. Leverage the Power of Story: Many cultures have oral traditions, myths and stories that are passed down through the generations. These stories can be used as teaching tools about manners, morality and more. Use your students' diverse cultural stories to teach valuable lessons to your classroom, while also sharing some unique history of other groups.

5. Gamify Lessons: Gaming is hugely popular amongst school-aged children. Consider "gamifying" your lessons - popular tactics include offering reward badges or setting standards for new "levels" students can move up to for certain projects or proficiencies.

6. Use Media that Positively Depict a Range of Cultures: Find age-appropriate media outlets from different cultures and languages to use in your curriculum. These outlets can be used to teach a differing perspective on a current or historical event.

7. Encourage Students to Propose Ideas for Projects: Turning the tables and letting students propose ideas for projects is a great way to let students play to their strengths and get creative. Encourage them to use their cultural heritages or backgrounds as an inspiration, and support them in taking projects from concept to completion.

8. Experiment with Peer Teaching: It is suggested that teachers try allowing students to participate in peer-to-peer teaching. In this exercise, students are able to use their own vocabulary and cultural references to teach each other about a topic or subject.

9. Encourage Students to Leverage Cultural Capital: Empower your students that come from varying backgrounds to use their voices and speak about their diverse backgrounds. For example, if you teach an English class that includes ESL students, try to find ways to include them in lessons and allow them to share experiences they have had.

10. Involve Parents by Using Take-Home Letters: Open the door to parent participation at the start of the school year, when starting a new unit or trying an education tool for the first time. Parents can provide cultural context and support, and will appreciate being kept in the loop regarding their child's education.

How to Implement Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Classroom

There isn't a step-by-step process that every teacher must follow to introduce culturally relevant teaching into their classroom. Instead, here are some elements of a culturally inclusive classroom, and some choices you can make to begin this exciting process:

Gather demographic information on students such as background, languages spoken, etc.

Identify students' assets and their cultural capital.

Create a welcoming classroom environment and develop authentic, caring relationships with your students.

Examine the curriculum to identify where you can tie in cultural elements.

Explore CRT resources to deepen your own understanding of the concept.

Share your own background and experiences with students to open lines of communication.

Encourage students to talk in pairs or small groups before sharing their own experiences with the whole class.

Learn about your students' traditions, holidays and family or other cultural activities, and try incorporating some of these traditions or activities into classroom activities.

Choose media, like stories or poems or video, that reflects the culture of the students so they can relate to the topic or characters, and teach their classmates about their heritage.

How Does Culturally Responsive Teaching Apply to Parents & Families?

Students' parents and guardians can be one of your most valuable resources when it comes to building a culturally relevant pedagogy. Because they are your students' resource when it comes to learning about their own cultural backgrounds. As such, you should be sure to engage with families from the beginning, inviting parents and guardians into the classroom community. They can share books from their native cultures or country, or participate as a guest speaker to tell their own stories. This helps them actively participate in their child's learning and share a bit about what makes them unique.

Resources for Culturally Responsive Teaching

Some easily accessible CRT resources available to teachers include:
Mathematica Education Northwest ChangeKidsLives Inclusive Schools Network Culturally Responsive
Professional Development for Culturally Responsive Teaching

There are a number of introductory resources available online for educators interested in culturally responsive teaching. However, these articles and eBooks provide a surface-level overview of CRT. While this information is hugely valuable, for educators who seek to have a more comprehensive understanding of this practice, there are other options.

Consider the Teaching for Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity in the Classroom Series offered by the University of San Diego. This program is available through the school's Division of Professional and Continuing Education, meaning each course in this series is available completely online. Through the Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity program, learners will learn how to celebrate diversity, and also strategize how to promote inclusivity, equity and anti-racism in the classroom. To learn more about this program, please contact us.

FAQs

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University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education

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Culturally Responsive Teaching Guide (+10 Examples) - University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education

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Culturally Responsive Teaching Guide (+10 Examples). Advance your career with professional and continuing education from the University of San Diego.

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Hammond’s Culture Tree showcases 3 different levels; surface aspects like food and clothing, shallow culture such as traditions and social norms, and deeper roots like values, communication styles, and learning traditions. These shape how students learn and interact. Teachers can use this framework to help students explore their own cultural background that encourages reflection about each layer from the Culture Tree, then share their trees through storytelling, writing, or presentations. This activity allows teachers to adapt lessons to students’ cultural strengths, foster empathy, and create a classroom environment that values diverse perspectives while supporting all learners.

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Impactful pedagogy: 10 culturally responsive teaching examples

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Culturally responsive teaching is essential for all learners. Explore culturally responsive pedagogy examples for your classroom and school.

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Multilingual Supports and Language Acquisition

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Multilingual Supports and Language Acquisition

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Teachers can include a student's native language into the classroom to create a more inclusive and culturally relevant environment. Strategies that include bilingual resources, dual-language vocab words, and translation tools will help support English language learners or bilingual students during lessons. Additionally, asking the student to share and teach the class some key words from their native language will foster empathy and inclusion while encouraging connections among classmates.

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Incorporate a wide range of books that reflect different cultures, races, abilities, and experiences across subjects. For example, in ELA students could read Tap Dancing on the Roof by Linda Sue Park, a book about Korean poems called Sijo. After reading, students can practice answering questions about the story and write their own sijo poems reflecting their backgrounds or experiences.

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We need diverse books because we need books in which children can find themselves, see reflections of themselves. I wrote a piece maybe 1990 it was published which I called "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors." And I think that's really why we - children need to see themselves reflected.

But books can also be windows. And so you can look through and see other worlds and see how they match up or don't match up to your own. But the sliding glass door allows you to enter that world as well. And so that's the reason that the diversity needs to go both ways. I mean it's not just children who have been underrepresented and marginalized who need these books.

It's also the children who always find their mirrors in the books and, therefore, get an exaggerated sense of their own self-worth and a false sense of what the world is like because it's becoming more and more colorful and diverse as time goes on. So, I think that's why.

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Learn more about why diverse books matter for all kids and how to find high-quality fiction and nonfiction books that explore and celebrate our diverse and multicultural communities.

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Teachers can implement differentiated instruction that acknowledges students’ cultural backgrounds. For example, lessons can include multiple ways to access content, such as visual aids, storytelling, group work, or hands-on activities that reflect students’ experiences. Teachers can also allow students to demonstrate learning through various formats, like oral presentations, artistic projects, or written reflections. By intentionally adapting teaching methods to accommodate different cultural norms, communication styles, and learning traditions, educators create an inclusive environment where all students feel seen, respected, and able to succeed academically.

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Incorporate multicultural content into math lessons to connect concepts to students’ real-life experiences. For example, use recipes from different countries to teach fractions, explore architecture, or analyze data from diverse populations. This approach makes math lessons culturally relevant while reinforcing problem-solving and analytical skills.

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Students can learn about ecosystems from around the world, comparing them to local environments. For example, they may study the relationships between plants and animals in their state and from Mexico, examining the similarities and differences. Students can create a presentation to showcase their findings. This approach integrates multicultural perspectives into science and encourages critical thinking.

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When looking at historical events, incorporating perspectives from multiple viewpoints, including those of cultural relevance, will help students understand diverse perspectives and experiences. For example, when learning about the Civil Rights Movement, students can examine narratives from different groups of people, like African American, Native American, and immigrant communities, to see how they experienced an event. This will also help generate empathy and understanding, showcasing that many people can have different reactions and feelings about the same event.

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Fostering an Inclusive Classroom Culture

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Fostering an Inclusive Classroom Culture

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According to this article, teachers can create an inclusive classroom by establishing clear norms and expectations that promote respect, collaboration, and valuing diverse perspectives. For example, teachers and students can co-create rules and expectations, such as active listening, respectful communication, and supportive peer interactions to reinforce a positive classroom culture. Additionally, teachers can actively seek feedback from students through surveys, exit slips, or discussions about how classroom activities and materials reflect their cultural backgrounds. Combining these strategies ensures students feel heard, respected, and engaged while fostering a collaborative and culturally responsive learning environment.

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Fostering an Inclusive Classroom Culture

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Fostering an inclusive classroom culture is paramount in creating an environment where all students feel valued, respected, and empowered to learn.

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Invite students and their families to share about traditions and holidays that are important to them. Ask them to share a traditional meal or recipe, important stories from their culture, or their favorite cultural music. These can also be linked to lessons, such as recipes to math or traditional stories to ELA. This approach validates students' identities and honors their backgrounds and experiences that make each person unique.

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Purposefully pairing students of different backgrounds can strengthen connections and build a more empathetic and inclusive environment. For example, ELLs can be paired with a peer to help support them both academically and socially. This allows both students to learn from one another, share experiences, and develop empathy and understanding. Both students benefit from the peer relationship, while the collective classroom becomes more connected and supportive.

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Peer mentoring can strengthen connection between English learners and classroom community

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Understanding students’ backgrounds and cultures can make them feel respected and more engaged in learning.

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Teachers can ensure the classroom environment and materials reflect cultural diversity. This includes displaying posters, maps, artwork, and books that represent different cultures. By incorporating culturally diverse visuals and materials, students see their identities reflected in the classroom, feel a sense of belonging, and develop appreciation for others’ perspectives, creating a more inclusive and engaging learning environment.

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Teachers and schools can host events where families can share traditions, foods, music, and stories from their cultures. Students can present projects, perform cultural dances, or showcase artwork. This encourages community involvement, validates students’ cultural identities, and allows peers to learn from one another.

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Teachers should maintain regular communication with families with translated documents. Families should be informed of and involved in school activities, events, and student progress. For example, translating materials into home languages or hosting bilingual parent-teacher conferences ensures understanding, collaboration, and trust.

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According to this article, learning about families' backgrounds shows we value their identities and respect their lives. Teachers can achieve this by engaging with families, sending home surveys to understand their perspectives, spending time in student's communities, and ensuring school events are scheduled with religious holidays in mind. When parents feel supported, they are more likely to engage in their child's education, strengthening home and school collaboration and fostering a more inclusive environment.

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5 Culturally Responsive Family Engagement Strategies

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By creating ways for families to feel welcome and included, educators can strengthen the relationship between home and school.

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Teachers can collaborate with families to advocate for positive change within their school or community. For example, teachers might work with families to identify cultural issues, research solutions, and present proposals to school leaders or local organizations. This strategy strengthens home, school, and community partnerships, and teaches students how to use their voices to promote fairness and inclusion.