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Study Guide

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Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain | Helping Students be the Leaders of their Learning

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students
by Zaretta Hammond, 192 pages, Corwin, November 2014

This article contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you click these and make a purchase from Amazon, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

For eight years, I taught students who would likely be labeled "at risk." Not all of my kids fit that description, but at least half belonged to the groups we talk about when we talk about the opportunity* gap: Students whose race, culture, home language, or socioeconomic status are not necessarily a match with what many schools teach and value. I did my best to meet their needs, to challenge them and set them up for success in life, but when I look back with the knowledge I have gained over the last few years, I know I did a crappy job.

I think about Dion, one of my seventh graders, who sat listlessly through most of my classes, whose assignments were always half-finished, who always scored low on tests, who used his cute, slow smile as a cover any time I tried to push him to get his work done. I'd keep him in at lunch and after school, let him do piles of make-up work to try to bring his grade from an F to a D, and talk to him about how he needed to change his habits. But none of it worked. All of us, his other teachers and myself, met with Dion and his mom more than once to try and figure out how to get Dion to improve.

The discussion often went like this:

"What do you think is the problem here?" from one of my colleagues.

Dion shrugged. "I'm not doing my work."

From another teacher: "And what do you need to do differently?"

Another shrug. "Start doing my work, I guess."

Nothing changed. Dion managed to keep his grades up just enough to move on to eighth grade. His skills never improved, his habits stayed about the same, and he went on with his life, like hundreds of others moving through that same school system every year.

If we had read Zaretta Hammond's book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain , things could have been completely different for us, for Dion, and for so many other students in our school. This practical, insightful, and absolutely necessary book will help teachers do a better job of teaching a more diverse group of students.

A Brain-based Blueprint for Reaching Diverse Students

Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain is not just a "bag of tricks" teachers can pull from to help students from more diverse backgrounds do better. It is a thoughtful, holistic, brain-based approach to teaching the whole child.

By looking through the lens of neuroscience, Hammond shows us how the brain responds to various teaching approaches and learning environments, and helps us understand why, despite our best efforts, many students simply haven't responded to the kinds of interventions many schools put in place for them. "The problem of the achievement gap won't be solved by simply trying to motivate students of color to become more engaged learners," she writes. "We have to create school environments that welcome their natural ways of learning and shape content so that they see its connection to their lives and funds of knowledge."

The book is built around the Ready for Rigor Framework, four separate practice areas that, if used together, give us the tools for culturally responsive teaching. The practice areas are:

Awareness. Before teachers can truly meet the needs of diverse learners, we must develop the right mindset. This requires us to understand what "culture" really means, fully explore our own cultural beliefs and biases, and study how the brain learns.

Learning Partnerships. To succeed in school, diverse learners need to feel as if they are in partnership with their teachers. To create these relationships, we need to build trust with students, help them develop positive mindsets, and give them the language to talk about their learning.

Information Processing. Teachers need to understand how to expand students' intellective capacity so they can engage in deeper, more complex learning. This requires teachers to learn brain-based information processing strategies common to oral cultures like metaphors, rhythmic mnemonics, and "story-ifying" the content.

Community Building. Culturally responsive teachers work to create supportive, welcoming environments, places that feel socially and emotionally safe, so that students are comfortable enough taking the risks required to stretch their brains.

Apart from being incredibly useful and clear, what's great about this book is that it won't make teachers defensive. Rather than attacking teachers for taking the wrong approach, Hammond simply shows us why some methods are ineffective, then explains why a different approach works better. This lack of judgment is likely to give her message a bigger reach, and to help far more teachers develop the skills they need for this important work.

We Can Do Better

Maya Angelou said, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." I believe most teachers are doing the best they can to serve all of their students. They just don't have enough tools. This book is without question a way to know better. I urge anyone who works with culturally diverse students, second-language students, or students who have grown up in poverty to read Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain . There's no way for me to reach Dion now, but there are millions of others just like him. Now we have the tools to really change their academic paths.

Now we know better. We just have to do it. ♦

Zaretta Hammond is a former English teacher who has been doing instructional design, school coaching, and professional development around the issues of equity, literacy, and culturally responsive teaching for the past 18 years. To read more of her work, visit her blog, Ready for Rigor, or follow her on Twitter at @Ready4Rigor.
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*Author's note, June 2018: This post has been revised slightly since its original publication in 2015, when I used the term "achievement gap" throughout. At the time, I was not aware of the way this term perpetuates deficit thinking about some of our students. My revisions are an attempt to use language that better represents our need to reach all children in a way that works for them.

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A Must-Have Guide to Culturally Responsive Teaching

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This practical, insightful, and absolutely necessary book is a guide for teachers who want to help culturally and linguistically diverse students not just survive, but thrive.

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Culturally Responsive Instruction

Culturally responsive teaching is a research-based approach that "invites students to bring their expertise to the table" (Fleming, 2019) by identifying and harnessing the assets of students who have historically been underserved in schools. Here are some resources providing an overview to CRT.

Overviews: Research & Resource Guides

Overviews: Articles, Blogs, and Tools

Resources from Zaretta Hammond

Books

Videos and Podcasts

Key Concepts

Funds of Knowledge

Cultural Orientation: Collective vs. Individual

Classroom Resources

Culturally Responsive Books

Academic Language & Literacy

Inquiry and Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Making Local Connections

Student Populations: Resource Collections

American Indian/Alaska Native Students

English Language Learners (ELLs)

Students with Special Needs

Equity Issues

Bias

Race

Culturally Responsive Family Engagement

References

Fleming, J. Personal communication. October 15, 2019.

Fleming, J., et al. (2015). More Mirrors in the Classroom: Using Urban Children's Literature to Increase Literacy. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Hamayan, E., et al. (2013.) Special Education Considerations for English Language Learners. Delivering a Continuum of Services. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.

Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Rothstein-Fisch, C. and Trumbull, E. (2008). Managing Diverse Classrooms: How to Build on Students' Cultural Strengths. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Vigil, Karla. Personal communication. November 1, 2019.

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Culturally Responsive Instruction: Resource List

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Culturally responsive teaching is a research-based approach that "invites students to bring their expertise to the table" (Fleming, 2019) by identifying and harnessing the assets of students who have historically been underserved in schools. Here are some resources providing an overview to CRT. Resources from Zaretta Hammond Equity Issues Bias Race Fleming, J.

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5 Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies

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5 Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies

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Interesting Read

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Over the past few decades, students, their experiences, upbringings, and backgrounds have changed. Classrooms now reflect families of varying races, cultures, and socioeconomic statuses. As a result, the way teachers educate these students must change, too, says Cherese Childers-McKee, assistant teaching professor in Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies. One of these shifting approaches to education is known as culturally responsive teaching.

Below, we explore the concept of culturally responsive teaching, compare it against traditional teaching models, and offer a number of strategies that you can use to incorporate the approach into your own methods.

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Learn how an EdD can give you the skills to enact organizational change in any industry.

What is culturally responsive teaching?

Culturally responsive teaching, also called culturally relevant teaching, is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning. Traditional teaching strategies emphasize the teacher-student dynamic: The teacher is the expert and adheres strictly to the curriculum that supports standardized tests while the student receives the knowledge. This teaching method is outdated, Childers-McKee says.

"Teachers have more diverse classrooms today. We don't have students sitting in front of us with the same background or experience, so instruction has to be different," she says. "It needs to build on individual and cultural experiences and their prior knowledge. It needs to be justice-oriented and reflect the social context we're in now. That's what we mean when we talk about culturally responsive teaching."

Culturally Responsive vs. Traditional Teaching Methods

Culturally responsive teaching can manifest in a number of ways. Using traditional teaching methods, educators may default to teaching literature by widely accepted classic authors: William Shakespeare, J.D. Salinger, and Charles Dickens, for example, adhering to widely accepted interpretations of the text.

Culturally responsive teaching, on the other hand, acknowledges that there's nothing wrong with traditional texts, Childers-McKee says, but strives to include literature from other cultures, parts of the world, and by diverse authors. It also focuses on finding a "hook and anchor" to help draw students into the content using their past experiences.

"This way, students can see themselves in some of what they're reading and not just the white, western world. The learning is more experimental, more hands-on," she says. "Instead, you're showing them a worldwide, multicultural community and looking for different interpretations while relating it to what it means for society today."

Why is culturally responsive teaching important?

Culturally responsive teaching is especially pertinent today because the traditional education path from school to college to a career and life in the suburbs isn't a reality-or desire-for everyone, Childers-McKee says. Educators' approaches to teaching need to reflect these differences.

"That typical, mainstream education is not addressing the realities of today's students. Culturally responsive teaching isn't just for those students who don't come from white, middle-class, English-speaking families-it's an important teaching strategy for everyone. When done the right way, it can be transformative."

When integrated into classroom instruction, culturally responsive strategies can have important benefits such as:

Strengthening students' sense of identity

Promoting equity and inclusivity in the classroom

Engaging students in the course material

Supporting critical thinking

Here's a look at five culturally responsive teaching strategies all educators can employ in their classrooms.

5 Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies for Educators

1. Activate students' prior knowledge.

Students are not blank slates, Childers-McKee says; they enter the classroom with diverse experiences. Teachers should encourage students to draw on their prior knowledge in order to contribute to group discussions, which provides an anchor to learning. Taking a different approach to the literature that's taught in classrooms is one example of this.

2. Make learning contextual.

Tie lessons from the curriculum to the students' social communities to make it more contextual and relevant, Childers-McKee advises. "If you're reading a chapter in history class, for example, discuss why it matters today, in your school, or in your community," she says. "Take the concept you're learning about and create a project that enables them to draw parallels."

3. Encourage students to leverage their cultural capital.

Because not all students come from the same background, it's important to encourage those who don't to have a voice. Say, for example, you teach an English class that contains ESL students. It's important to find ways to activate the experiences they do have-their cultural capital, Childers-McKee says.

The teacher may choose a book for the class to read in which the ESL students could relate and feel like they could be the expert, for instance. As a teacher, Childers-Mckee's once chose a book that told the story of a child of migrant workers because some of her students came from an agricultural background.

"When you have a mixed classroom, you want those in the minority to feel like they are an expert. You want to draw from their experiences," she says. "I do caution that you don't want to cross a line and make 'Johnny' feel like he needs to speak for all Mexican people by putting them on the spot, for example. That's a line you need to walk."

4. Reconsider your classroom setup.

Take inventory of the books in your classroom library: Do they include authors of diverse races? Is the LGBTQ community represented? Do the books include urban families or only suburban families? Beyond your classroom library, consider the posters you display on your walls and your bulletin boards, too. "These are all small changes you can make to your classroom more culturally responsive," Childers-McKee says.

5. Build relationships.

Not all students want to learn from all teachers because the teachers may not make them feel like they're valued, Childers-McKee says. Teachers need to work to build relationships with their students to ensure they feel respected, valued, and seen for who they are. Building those relationships helps them build community within the classroom and with each other, which is extremely important, she says.

"When we think about culture and diversity, people often automatically think about black students, but people need to think broader than that, now," Childers-McKee says. "Some teachers whose students are all white and middle-class struggle with how culturally responsive teaching strategies apply to them. It's equally important for them to teach students about diversity. These aren't just teaching strategies for minorities, they're good teaching strategies for everyone."

Educating for the Future

Educators have the unique power to impact the lives of their learners. Making use of thoughtful, inclusive instruction can have positive effects on students that last far beyond their time in the classroom.

Employing culturally responsive teaching strategies is a small step toward enacting meaningful change in education. If you're interested in leading your organization toward positive change on a larger scale, earning an advanced degree is one way to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to do so.

Pursuing a degree, such as a Doctor of Education , will empower you to address the challenges currently facing education and improve the learning experience. Students of the program work with industry-aligned faculty on real-world organizational issues, allowing them to have an immediate impact on their professional environments.
To learn more about how an EdD can further your career while improving students' educational experiences, explore Northeastern's Doctor of Education program page, or download our free guide below.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching: 5 Strategies for Educators

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Culturally responsive teaching values students' cultural references in all aspects of learning. Here are five strategies to bring to the classroom.

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Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to Improve Student Achievement Slide Deck

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Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to Improve Student Achievement Slide Deck

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MKMt1OBiCZFjiCtl8SiMk7W462fsOLOwNN0ReQnLmXI/edit#slide=id.p

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Podcast: Misconceptions about Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Podcast: Misconceptions about Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Interview with Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, to identify and correct four common misconceptions teachers have about how to best help our diverse students thrive in school.

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Teaching strategies, classroom management, education reform, educational technology--if it has something to do with teaching, we're talking about it. Jennifer Gonzalez interviews educators, students, administrators and parents about the psychological and social dynamics of school, trade secrets, academic research, and other juicy things you'll never learn in a textbook.

This podcast is just the tip of the iceberg: To experience all the resources Cult of Pedagogy has to offer, head straight over to cultofpedagogy.com.

1. All Episodes

2. 78: Four Misconceptions About Culturally Responsive Teaching

Some teachers think they're practicing culturally responsive teaching, when in fact, they're kind of not. In this episode, I interview Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, to identify and correct four common misconceptions teachers have about how to best help our diverse students thrive in school.

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78: Four Misconceptions About Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Some teachers think they're practicing culturally responsive teaching, when in fact, they're kind of not. In this episode, I interview Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, to identify and correct four common misconceptions teachers have about how to best help our diverse students thrive in school.

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

Find and share resources and explore strategies to engage students by connecting to and honoring their cultures, experiences, and backgrounds.

Sort by:

Understanding students' lives can help teachers foster a sense of belonging and ensure that all students feel respected and challenged.

A primer on the impact of implicit biases in schools and how they can be expressed by students and faculty.

Five ways teachers can celebrate and extend the linguistic expertise of young students who speak two or more languages.

Influenced by the pandemic and social unrest, two teachers recommend books to read this summer on topics like wrestling with loss, addressing inequity, and recharging for the school year ahead.

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Find and share resources and explore strategies to engage students by connecting to and honoring their cultures, experiences, and backgrounds.

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14 Resources on Culturally Responsive Teaching

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14 Resources on Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Culture is central to learning for both students and teachers. Acknowledging, responding to, and celebrating cultures offers equitable access to education for all students. Learn more about using common language to relate to students, how cultural backgrounds affect students' learning behaviors, and how equitable practices inspire greater student engagement in all classrooms with this selection of resources just released on ASCD myTeachSource®.
For more resources on adding culturally responsive practices to your teaching, go to ASCD myTeachSource and sign up for a free two-week trial.
Free

Use Cognitive Apprenticeship for Culturally Responsive, Effective Feedback ( ASCD Express)

Read this ASCD Express article to learn how using cognitive apprenticeship as a framework for teaching and providing feedback can reveal the invisible thought processes inherent in many academic activities and allow students from diverse backgrounds to articulate their thought processes to their teachers.

Culturally Responsive Instruction (Book Chapter)

Read this chapter from Create Success!: Unlocking the Potential of Urban Students, which describes culturally responsive instruction in terms of relationships, curriculum, and delivery.

Making a Strong Home-School Connection by Being Culturally Responsive ( ASCD Express)

When new families enroll in our schools, it is the office staff that makes the first impression. They play a vital role in establishing a positive working relationship between the home and school. This relationship is especially important when working with immigrant families who are not familiar with the culture. Whether you are a teacher or an administrative assistant, read this article for tips to ensure that you are culturally responsive.

Where Do Educators Fit in the Battle for Educational Equity? (BAM! Podcast)

Listen to this BAM! Radio podcast from education expert Alan M. Blankstein and ASCD Emerging Leader Robert Pennington about the roles educators play in creating educational equity.

Cultural Congruence in Instruction (Book Chapter)

In this chapter from Raising Black Students' Achievement Through Culturally Responsive Teaching, you'll learn about specific strategies teachers can use to create and scaffold meaningful and complex instruction, plus how to vary instruction to meet individual student needs.

ASCD Members Only

The Culturally Responsive Teacher ( Educational Leadership)

Read this Educational Leadership article on how to engage students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds by first seeing them as capable learners.

Unconscious Bias: When Good Intentions Aren't Enough ( Educational Leadership)

In this Educational Leadership article, author Sarah Fiarman argues that implicit biases about race, gender, sexual orientation, and other aspects of identity can overshadow even the best of intentions. Citing examples from her own practice as a teacher and school leader, she outlines concrete steps that educators can take to tackle unconscious bias: increase awareness of bias and recognize its negative effects, develop systems among school staff to reduce biased decisions, build empathy for multiple perspectives, and use data for accountability.

Equity Literacy for All ( Educational Leadership)

The authors of this Educational Leadership article suggest that schools use an equity literacy approach-that is, an approach to diversity or multiculturalism that relies more on teachers' understandings of equity and inequity and of justice and injustice than on their understanding of this or that culture. The idea is to place equity rather than culture at the center of the diversity conversation. The authors share five principles for developing curriculums that are meaningfully multicultural.

Cross-Cultural Inquiry in Science ( Educational Leadership)

This compilation of Educational Leadership articles describes three projects aimed at offering students authentic opportunities to develop global competencies including: Out of Eden Learn, an initiative from Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a global project-based learning unit that connects students in North Carolina and China, and a cultural learning exchange between classrooms in Colorado and Belize.

Marketplace Resources

Raising Black Students' Achievement Through Culturally Responsive Teaching (Book)

Drawing from her work with teachers and school leaders who have narrowed achievement gaps in their schools, Johnnie McKinley lays out the instructional, management, and assessment strategies that make you far more effective at educating black students. This book gives you theories about how to close the achievement gap between black students and their white peers, ideas from frontline educators who know what really works, and a whole-school plan for raising the achievement of these chronically underserved students.

What It Takes for English Learners to Succeed ( Educational Leadership Issue)

This Educational Leadership article by Jana Echevarria, Nancy Frey, and Doug Fisher details important ways schools can help long-term English learners master the basics of English and increase their fluency.

Culturally Diverse Classrooms ( Educational Leadership Issue)

This issue of Educational Leadership is devoted to examining how educators can help students from different cultures acquire an education, communicate with one another, and lead productive lives. Classrooms are now addressing cultural conflicts about race, religion, and gender differences and tackling such divisive issues as immigration and economic disparity. Although educators cannot save the world, they see the world reflected in their classrooms, and they are often the ones who open the minds of their students to new perspectives. The authors in this issue share their insights and strategies for teaching respect in a divided world.

Embracing Diversity: Effective Teaching, 2nd Edition (PDO Course)

In this course, you'll consider the importance of building respect for racial and multicultural diversity as well as combating gender and sexual bias through curriculum. You will also explore the role of conflict resolution and character education in helping build learning environments that embrace diversity. Through video examples and in-depth readings, you will learn practical tools for building respect for all students.

Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life (Book)

If you've ever been uncertain about what to do about the chronic achievement gap between black males and other student populations, here's a book that will forever change your approach to these students and equip you with a whole new plan for motivating black males. Award-winning educator and author Baruti K. Kafele draws from his 20 years of experience in teaching black males and turning around troubled urban schools to explain the different challenges facing this special student population. He'll also provide solutions that you can put into practice right away to improve the performance of black male students.

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14 Resources on Culturally Responsive Teaching - ASCD Inservice

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Culture is central to learning for both students and teachers. Acknowledging, responding to, and celebrating cultures offers equitable access to education for all students. Learn more about using common language to relate to students, how cultural backgrounds affect students' learning behaviors, and how equitable practices inspire greater student engagement in all classrooms with this selection [...]

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Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

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I will never forget my first experience with implicit bias as an undergraduate at University of California, Berkeley. I had turned in my first in-class writing assignment in Medieval Literature. I loved the topic of courtly love and whatnot. The professor was an older White man and nice enough. There were no other people of color in the class, but I shined that on. I was excited to be reading these literary classics. I got my assignment back and his comment at the bottom was, "actually this is quite good." I was stunned. Actually? Clearly he had a different expectation of my knowledge and skill, a lower expectation. I couldn't believe that he put that thought in writing. That's implicit bias in action.

While on Spring break this past week, I thought a lot about implicit bias. That's when I remembered my professor's micro-aggression. The topic of implicit bias is so complex and emotionally messy that it's tempting to just want to gloss right over it jump to culturally responsive lesson planning and instructional strategies. But an important part of being culturally responsive is the ability to build trusting relationships with diverse students and to validate their experiences. If you are genuinely validating them then that means you don't trivialize bias. That means as culturally responsive educators we educate ourselves about implicit bias - how it operates and what we can do to interrupt it.

In Part I, we looked at how the Department of Justice's findings on the culture and climate in Ferguson city government. It exposed a pattern of explicit racism and implicit bias. Naming and exposing these patterns is part of recognizing the effects of structural racialization. This is the first step in interrupting unconscious bias.

In Part II, I explained what's going on in our brains when our amygdala gets triggered. We learned that the amygdala has been unconsciously programmed with subtle messages aimed at dehumanizing the "other" - be it people of color, women and girls, or immigrants. Because it's passed off as "joking," we let these messages into our subconscious. That why they are so hard to get rid of.

The $64,000 question we are trying to answer now is - how do we stop implicit biases if they are unconscious? It's a good question because it turns out that even if we call ourselves social justice educators, implicit bias gets triggered because of our hidden beliefs. Interesting three-year study done by Dr. Stephanie Jones at the University of Georgia documented the experiences of student teachers who self-identified as social justice or anti-racist educators but when actually in physical proximity of a diverse group (especially when they were in the minority) they experienced classic signs of implicit bias - irrational nervousness, anxiety, and fear - when they were in no immediate danger.

The Good News! - Implicit biases are not permanent.

According to folks studying implicit bias change or "de-biasing" as they call it, our biases are not permanent; they are malleable and can be changed by re-programming our brains and creating new "cognitive habits." The catch is using the right strategies.

What doesn't work?

I know over the past two decades, in education there have been a lot of equity focused trainings and workshops to address issues of racism and implicit bias. Some are helpful; some are really harmful. So, before sharing what seems to work, I want to say a few words about what doesn't work and why.

There are three common approaches I've seen schools try in an effort to address implicit bias in the classroom. Research backs up their ineffectiveness.

Whole staff "diversity training". Most diversity training focuses on having white people look at their white privilege or explore the painful racial history of the United States through a rational lens. While this approach makes people more knowledgeable about past history and injustices, it doesn't do much to educate people about structural racialization or to change deep-rooted, unconscious biased beliefs.

The race talk (aka cross-racial dialogue). Another approach has been to have cross-racial dialogues. Sometimes it's bringing together Black or Latino parents to talk with a mostly White teaching staff. The belief behind this strategy is that ending bias will happen when there is more racial harmony. While cross-racial dialogue is important in building strong communities, this alone does little to actually shift deep-rooted unconscious beliefs. Without skilled facilitation, these conversations can become very harmful. People of color can carry a great deal of hurt and anger over everyday micro-aggressions that others often trivialize or invalid as "being too sensitive." White teachers often come to these discussions concerned about being personally blamed for racial inequality or accused of being racist.

This only triggers the brain's amygdala, reinforcing unconscious biases around people of color being "out of control" or "violent". The presence of stress, anger, and negative emotions without proper processing leads people to shut down.

Data-driven equity conversations. By far the most popular approach since we began disaggregating data under No Child Left Behind is the data-driven equity conversation. The idea is that every teacher disaggregates his student achievement data and gets a clear picture of who is achieving and who isn't, which usually creates a color line with culturally and linguistically diverse students regularly at the bottom. The belief is that seeing this predictable pattern will shift beliefs or at the very least spark some call to action to change this.

Neuroscience tells us why this strategy hasn't been successful. The brain has what they call confirmation bias. Without new beliefs, data simply leads to a person interpreting information in a way that confirms his preconception. So when students of color end up at the bottom of the achievement scale, many teachers say, "See...their parents don't value education," or "they don't apply any effort." The data simply confirms implicit bias rather than interrupts it.

What does work?

One of the nation's leading implicit bias scholars, Patricia Devine of the University of Wisconsin, compares implicit bias to habits that, with intention and practice, can be broken. Her research has found that three conditions need to be in place for individuals to successfully "de-bias":

1. Intention: You have to acknowledge that you harbor unconscious biases and are motivated to change.

2. Attention: You have pay attention to your triggers and know when stereotypical responses or assumptions are activated.

3. Time: You have to make time to practice new strategies designed to "break" your automatic associations that link a negative judgment to behavior that is culturally different from yours.

De-biasing requires a level of metacognition. In this case, you are not thinking about your thinking, but thinking about your unconscious reacting.

Devine and her colleagues developed a "multi-faceted prejudice habit-breaking" intervention that lasted eight weeks. Participants were given a "toolkit" of five strategies, and asked to practice at least three (3) of them consistently on a weekly basis.

Here are four of them:

Re-Association (Stereotype Replacement): An individual recognizes that he or she is responding to a situation or person in a stereotypical fashion. (S)he considers the reasons and actively replaces this biased response with an unbiased one. Another way to use this strategy is to reframe negative associations such as, "Black students are loud and disruptive. A reframe would be, "African American students are enthusiastic and energetic."

Refuting (Counter-stereotypic Imagining): Once a person recognizes she's stereotyped a student of color, she thinks of examples that prove the stereotype to be inaccurate.

Perspective-taking involves stepping into the shoes of a stereotyped person. What does it feel like to have your intelligence automatically questioned, or to be trailed by detectives each time you walk into a store? Perspective-taking can be very useful in assessing the emotional impact on individuals who are constantly being stereotyped in negative ways. It is also a way to checking one's self if you begin to judge a person of color for reacting a particular way in a stressful situation.

Increasing Opportunity for Positive Contact: Another strategy for reducing implicit bias is to actively seek out situations where one is likely to be exposed to positive examples of African Americans, Latinos or others people of color. This can involve either being in a very diverse social setting such as going to a farmer's market in a more diverse part of town or seeking out personal contact through shared group activities with a diverse community.

It's important to point out that interrupting implicit bias requires self-motivation. That's why it's nearly impossible to "make" someone confront his biases. As coaches, parents, or teachers, we may see a teacher behaving in ways that are biased, but we can't make him change. He has to want to change. Or, we have to help that person experience a shift in consciousness by helping him entertain different interpretations of students' behavior or learning moves.

Interrupting implicit biases is a complex work. I've only scratched the surface here. More in the future.
What's been your experience with interrupting implicit biases - yours or another's?

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Four Tools for Interrupting Implicit Bias - Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

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I will never forget my first experience with implicit bias as an undergraduate at University of California, Berkeley. I had turned in my first in-class

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Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to Improve Student Achievement

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Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to Improve Student Achievement

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_yf1dUgdY3By7wslQLkaHiDo9WN5zwNG/view?usp=sharing

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Addressing the unique needs of students from diverse backgrounds is one of the major challenges facing public education today because many teachers are inadequately prepared with the relevant content knowledge, experience, and training. Inadequate preparation can create a cultural gap between teachers and students that limits the ability of educators to choose effective instructional practices and curricular materials.

This guide provides a wide range of practices-supported by research-that can help prepare educators become more culturally responsive in their approach to teaching.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Guide to Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching All Students Equitably

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Addressing the unique needs of students from diverse backgrounds is one of the major challenges facing public education today because many teachers are inadequately prepared with the relevant content knowledge, experience, and training. Inadequate preparation can create a cultural gap between teachers and students that limits the ability of educators to choose effective instructional practices and curricular materials.

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Universal Design and Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Universal Design and Culturally Responsive Teaching

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At a glance

Culturally responsive teaching is a rich, intentional approach woven into every aspect of student learning.

It focuses on the assets students bring to the classroom rather than what students can't do.

It raises expectations and makes learning relevant for all students.

Culturally responsive teaching is a research-based approach to teaching. It connects students' cultures, languages, and life experiences with what they learn in school. These connections help students access rigorous curriculum and develop higher-level academic skills.

Our brains are wired to make connections. It's easier for our brains to learn and store information when we have a hook to hang it on. That hook is background knowledge. Students bring this knowledge to the classroom every day.

But for students of color, English language learners (ELLs), and other underserved student populations, those assets are often overlooked. When that happens, educators miss the chance to use them to support learning. (See recent work by Zaretta Hammond for the neuroscience behind this.)

Culturally responsive teaching values and reflects the assets of all students. By doing that, it raises academic expectations for all learners. It also sends the message that multiculturalism is an asset.

Dive deeper

The benefits of culturally responsive teaching

How culturally responsive teaching, UDL, and SEL work together

For educators: Culturally responsive teaching in the classroom

For educators: How to partner with families

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

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

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Culturally responsive teaching is a rich, intentional approach woven into every aspect of student learning. It focuses on the assets students bring to the classroom rather than what students can't do. It raises expectations and makes learning relevant for all students. Culturally responsive teaching is a research-based approach to teaching.

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When students have limited social-emotional skills, they're more likely to struggle when they face a new challenge or conflict. A lack of social-emotional skills can even cause kids to drop out.

Teaching SEL is not a solution for all of the challenges our students face. But there's a lot we can do as educators to make a significant positive impact. It starts with our own social-emotional skills.

Why your social-emotional skills matter

To teach SEL, we need to be aware of and continue to develop our own social-emotional skills as educators. Only then can we model and teach those skills to our students.

Learn more about the five core competencies, why they're important to our practice as teachers, and how you can model them in the classroom.

Identifying and expressing your emotions

Recognizing your strengths and challenges

Having an accurate self-perception and self-confidence

Practicing a growth mindset

Why self-awareness is important to your teaching

Have you ever been upset about a student's behavior, but paused to ask yourself, "Why am I feeling so angry?" You might have run through a quick series of responses in your mind before deciding what to say or do. That is self-awareness.

This response may have been instinctual. Or maybe someone taught you self-awareness skills: how to self-reflect, accurately perceive your feelings, and express those feelings to others.

It can be hard to maintain that level of self-awareness in a busy classroom. We're all human. We won't always be our best selves at every moment of the day. Embracing that reality helps us authentically engage with students, check our biases, question our own motivations, and pause to take stock of our decisions.

Ways to practice self-awareness in the classroom

Acknowledge your own emotions and how they may play into your reactions.

Name the skills you're using (or "think aloud") for your students as you model them. (It's important for students to recognize that you're still learning and practicing these skills, too.)

View students as partners in developing social-emotional skills.

Understand that it may take a little longer for some students to learn social-emotional skills as they develop self-confidence.

After you're aware of your emotions, then you can work on managing them. Self-management is the ability to regulate your emotions, thoughts, and behavior in varying situations. Self-management skills include:

Why self-management is important to your teaching

As educators, we're constantly using self-management skills to meet the demands of a high-stress job and manage life outside of school. So it's not surprising that we all struggle from time to time.

Using these same skills can be hard for students too, especially when you think about the barriers they face in and out of the classroom. Some students might have trouble managing the stress of "not getting it" when the curriculum isn't flexible for their learning and thinking differences.

The same curriculum may also not be historically and culturally diverse enough for them to see themselves represented in it. You might see students who appear to lack motivation or interest.

The barriers that students face can affect not only their readiness to learn, but also your own self-management. It's normal to feel challenged or stressed when you try to grow your classroom practice. It feels new and requires attention when time is short. Consider it an opportunity to build your self-management skills.

Ways to practice self-management in the classroom

What is social awareness?

Social awareness is the ability to understand other points of view, show empathy, respect diversity, and understand social norms. In many ways, social awareness is what helps relationships to thrive. It includes:

Why social awareness is important for your teaching

To maintain and build healthy relationships with students, we need to be aware of and respect other perspectives, values, cultures, and differences. Equity and empathy are both at the heart of this work.

One of the best ways to use social awareness with your students is to get to know them and their families. It helps you decide how to approach lessons, present content, react to student behavior, and more. It also allows you to create opportunities for students to bring their whole selves into your classroom. That is one of the best ways to show your respect for differing perspectives and life experiences.

Ways to practice social awareness in the classroom

Build a classroom community that values the collective good and concern for other people.

Create space and norms for you and your students to talk about how hearing a new perspective changed your point of view.

Ask for your students' feelings and perspectives on the classroom environment.

What is responsible decision-making?

Responsible decision-making is the ability to think about how what you do impacts yourself and others. You make choices about how to behave and interact, based on ethical and social standards and safety. Responsible decision-making includes:

Identifying and analyzing problems and situations

Solving problems as they arise

Evaluating and reflecting on the consequences of your actions

Taking ethical responsibility for your decisions and their outcomes

Why responsible decision-making is important for your teaching

As educators, we juggle decisions every day about workload, time management, and self-care. We all have different values, priorities, and experiences that impact our decision-making.

Because of the different factors that influence our decisions, it can be helpful to draw on colleagues' knowledge and experiences to make choices, like how to best support students who learn and think differently.

Decision-making is a big part of how we interact with students, too. We make choices each day about instruction and classroom management. We also make choices about how to help our students become decision-makers.

Remember that schools have their own set of values that influence decision-making. Many schools value higher education and may focus on sending graduates to college. Think about the decision-making process this requires of students. Imagine how difficult that process may be for students who would be the first in their families to go to college.

Your role in supporting students may be to acknowledge that their process may be very different from your own. Help them identify people with similar experiences who can serve as models.

Ways to practice responsible decision-making in the classroom

Recognize that students need your help to learn to become responsible decision-makers in developmentally appropriate ways.

Share with students your own process as you make decisions and explain the "why" behind them.

Seek out and provide access to diverse role models who have similar experiences as the students in your class.

What are relationship skills?

Relationship skills are the ability to build and maintain healthy and fulfilling relationships with others. Humans are wired for relationships, connection, and community. But these skills need to be developed. Relationship skills include:

Why responsible relationship skills are important for your teaching

Relationship skills help us connect with others. Listening skills, conflict resolution, and communication are important tools we use to navigate relationships.

Like the other social-emotional competencies, building relationships skills is hard work. You need to use the skills of self-awareness and self-management, and to engage with others in a meaningful way. Relationships also require a certain level of trust, vulnerability, and practice. Without practice, we often default to the emotions we are more comfortable expressing.

In the classroom, it can be a challenge for both teachers and students to build trusting relationships. But when it comes to modeling social-emotional skills, there's an added layer: You need to partner with students on building their emotional vocabulary so they can become agents of their emotions.

Students might struggle with expressing themselves, so they need your support. Being able to give and receive help is an important way to build and maintain relationships. It means not just seeking help in a time of need, but also being able to offer help to others. Many of us are better at offering help than we are at asking for it when we need it.

Ways to practice relationship skills in the classroom

Search for the "why" behind a student's behavior before responding.

Identify when an action wasn't appropriate. Provide an appropriate alternative action or response.

Acknowledge that these skills can be difficult to practice.

Find ways to practice problem-solving without actual conflicts, like role-playing.

Build in ways for students to reflect on their own thinking, patterns, and relationships.

Be an active listener and show students you are listening and responding to their feedback.

Plan classroom activities that focus on building trust and a sense of belonging.

As educators, we may not be able to control some aspects of our jobs. We may not be able to directly help with the many challenges our students face outside of school. But we can use our own social-emotional skills to make our classes a safe place where students know we value them, their families, and the experiences they bring to school.

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How Social-Emotional Learning Helps Teachers

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Social-emotional learning help students learn to manage emotions, make decisions, and solve problems. But social-emotional skills help teachers, too. Learn why SEL is important to your teaching and how it shapes your classroom.

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Tips for making lessons more Culturally Responsive

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Tips for making lessons more Culturally Responsive

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Last month, I reviewed Zaretta Hammond's fantastic book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. Now I'm proud to have Zaretta here as a guest writer to share some specific strategies with us.

Culturally responsive teaching. Everybody is talking about it. The big question is: How do you actually make lessons culturally responsive? That comes up regularly when I am working with groups of teachers to improve outcomes for diverse students who are struggling. I remember working with a group of sixth grade teachers on improving learning for their at-risk students. These teachers were frustrated that their students, 95 percent of them students of color and English language learners, were not applying themselves to learning.

I suggested that we explore making lessons more culturally relevant in order to accelerate student learning. I remember the reaction of Janice, the science teacher. "I am not going to be rappin' about the periodic table," she said defiantly as she crossed her arms and sat back in her chair.

I couldn't blame her. Google "culturally responsive teaching" and you can find a dozen videos of well-meaning teachers leading some call-and-response chant about exponents or rapping about the Boston Tea Party while students sit back and giggle. That's because we usually talk about culturally responsive teaching only as an engagement strategy designed to motivate at-risk students to take learning seriously. Or we try to find a race-based connection to the content to make it "relevant" to minority students.

One of the biggest misconceptions about culturally responsive teaching is thinking you have to tie the lesson's content to African American or Latino students' racial background. The common belief is if you mention Africa, Mexico, or famous black and brown high achievers, it will spark students' attention. Then they will be motivated to participate.

In reality, culturally responsive teaching is less about using racial pride as a motivator and more about mimicking students' cultural learning styles and tools. These are the strategies their moms, dads, grandmas, and other community folks use to teach them life skills and basic concepts long before they come to school and during out-of-school time.

Culturally responsive teaching leverages the brain's memory systems and information processing structures. Why? Many diverse students come from oral cultural traditions. This means their primary ways of knowledge transfer and meaning-making are oral and active. It's a common cultural tradition that cuts across racial groups: African American, Latino, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander communities all have strong oral cultures. Each of these cultural groups uses the brain's memory systems for turning inert information into useable knowledge. They use memory strategies to make learning sticky, like connecting what needs to be remembered to a rhythm or music (that's why we still know the ABC song) or by reciting it in fun ways like a poem, riddle, or limerick.

I asked Janice what area of learning she wanted to help her kids improve. She said science vocabulary; they weren't learning the weekly words and it was getting in the way of their understanding of key concepts. She was frustrated and at the end of her rope. I asked how she was teaching it. She used the typical approach: On Monday, she listed the words on the board. Students copied them down and were required to look each word up and use it in a sentence. On Wednesday, there was a vocabulary test.

I suggested that we design word study to be more culturally responsive by making it more like the students' own cultural learning process. She was open for trying something different.

I offered her these three tips for transforming any lesson into something that looked and felt more culturally responsive to diverse students, something that would allow them to engage more and process the content effectively.

Games are the power strategy for culturally-grounded learning because they get the brain's attention and require active processing. Attention is the first step in learning. We cannot learn, remember, or understand what we don't first pay attention to. Call and response is just a way to get the brain's attention. Most games employ a lot of the cultural tools you'd find in oral traditions - repetition, solving a puzzle, making connections between things that don't seem to be related (Ever play Taboo or Apples to Apples?).

Organizing learning so that students rely on each other will build on diverse students' communal orientation. This communal orientation can be summed up in the African proverb, "I am because we are." Even making learning slightly competitive in a good-natured way increases students' level of attention and engagement. It's why the T.V. show Survivor has been around for so many years; it's a social-based game.

The brain is wired to remember stories and to use the story structure to make sense of the world. That's why every culture has creation stories. In oral traditions, stories play a bigger role in teaching lessons about manners, morality, or simply what plants to eat or not eat in the wilderness because it's the way content is remembered. Diverse students (and all students, really) learn content more effectively if they can create a coherent narrative about the topic or process presented. That's the brain's way of weaving it all together. (Bonus: It also offers a great way to check for understanding and correct misconceptions.)

So Janice took her weekly list of science vocabulary and created a variety of sorting and matching games for students. She built a set of simple card games based on Go Fish or Old Maid. In addition she created some team games. Each week students had different active ways to learn the vocabulary. For 10-15 minutes a couple of times during the week, students got to play these learning games rather than look up words in a dictionary. She gave them instructions for making the games at home if they wanted to.

Instead of the traditional weekly vocab test, she asked them to "storify" their understanding of key concept words like metamorphosis, using vocabulary from past weeks.

When I checked in with the group a few weeks later, she was the first one to share. She said student engagement was like night and day. Now all students were participating. She said she knew they were learning the vocabulary at a deeper level because they were actually using the new science terms during discussions and in their writing with no prompting from her.

The big A-ha's for the group that day were that (1) Culturally responsive teaching doesn't have to be some performance the teacher does to entertain students and (2) It doesn't have to mention race or reference culture at all. Instead, what makes a practice culturally responsive is that it mimics students' own cultural learning tools. They all realized that these practices are helpful for all students, not targeted at minority students.

The real trick is to use these strategies regularly as part of your instructional routine rather than doing them randomly every now and then. Consistency is the key. ♦

Learn more about how to improve diverse students' information processing skills and actually grow their brains in Zaretta Hammond's book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students .

Stick around.
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3 Tips to Make Any Lesson More Culturally Responsive

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Google "culturally responsive teaching" and you can find a dozen videos of well-meaning teachers leading some call-and-response chant about exponents or rapping about the Boston Tea Party while students sit back and giggle.

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There's a growing awareness of the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools. In fact, you may already incorporate SEL in your classroom.

Get along better with others

Have an increased ability to manage stress

Are more likely to graduate from high school

Have key social skills that employers are looking for

Are less likely to be involved in the criminal system

Despite the research and increased presence in schools, there are still misconceptions about SEL. Here are five of the most common myths-with the facts to debunk them.

Myth #1: Social-emotional learning only teaches students about feelings.

Self-awareness: Know your own emotions, strengths, and challenges and how they impact your actions. Have a growth mindset about your skills.

Self-management: Self-regulate and use executive functioning skills, like planning and organization, impulse control, and setting goals.

Social awareness: Understand other perspectives, show empathy, respect diversity, and understand social norms.

Relationship skills: Build and maintain relationships, communicate clearly, cooperate, and resolve conflict.

Responsible decision-making: Make positive choices about how to behave and interact with others. Think about how your actions affect yourself and others.

Watch this video from Edutopia to learn more about the five dimensions of social-emotional learning and how they help students become engaged learners.

Myth #2: Social-emotional skills aren't as important as "hard skills."

Fact: Social-emotional skills are often referred to as "soft skills," but they're just as important as "hard skills." So-calledsoft skills (sometimes called people skills) allow us to get along and work well with other people, communicate effectively, be empathetic, and solve problems. These skills can be difficult to measure, but they're essential. Hard skills are the skills required for completing a task. For instance, knowing multiplication facts or being able to read are hard skills. These skills are easily measured and demonstrated.

Watch this video to learn more about why SEL skills are "essential skills."

Myth #3: Students learn social-emotional skills automatically.

Fact: Knowing how to manage emotions, get along with others, and solve problems aren't skills people are born with.They're learned, developed, and honed over time.

Myth #4: There is one way or one curriculum to teach SEL.

Fact: There is no one right way to teach SEL to all students. You know that you walk into your classroom each day to diverse students with equally diverse needs. You also bring your own background and biases. You can use what you know about your students to design SEL lessons in which all students can fully access and apply these skills.

Sometimes these cultural norms and expectations can lead to difficult but important conversations. For older students, this may result in conversations about how students' race, gender, class, or other forms of identity affect how they are expected to act. Talk about how students may already draw on social-emotional skills like self-regulation based on societal expectations.

Myth #5: SEL is only for students with behavioral issues.

Fact: SEL is for all students. Social-emotional skills aren't only about how students outwardly express themselves. They're also about how they react inwardly.

For example, one student might show frustration over a math assignment by shouting or crumpling up the paper. That student needs help with self-regulation. Another student might quietly work through a challenging math problem but feel like a failure inside. The quiet student needs help with social-emotional skills, too.

SEL makes sure all students have a safer, more positive learning environment. It gives students access to the skills they need to thrive in school, at home, and in the community.

About the Author

About the Author

worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Shivohn N. García, PhD is an experienced educator and the senior director of the Impact team at Understood.

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There's a growing awareness of the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools. In fact, you may already incorporate SEL in your classroom. Get along better with others Have an increased ability to manage stress Are more likely to graduate from high school Have key social skills that employers are looking for Are less likely to be involved in the criminal system Despite the research and increased presence in schools, there are still misconceptions about SEL.

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A teacher’s guide

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UDL stands for Universal Design for Learning. When you teach using UDL, your lessons are designed in flexible ways to meet the needs of individual learners. Read more about UDL.

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Do either of these statements sound like something your child would say? Which one? How your child takes on challenges isn't just about being or . It may be the result of having what's known as a growth mindset.

Learn more about growth mindset and what it can mean for your child.

Take kids who struggle with writing, for example. They've gotten low grades on a bunch of papers. If they're convinced they're "just bad at writing," and that no amount of work will change that, that's a fixed mindset. They'll probably stop trying. But if kids say they have trouble with writing but keep working at it, that's a growth mindset.

Whether or not we have a growth mindset isn't set in stone, according to Dweck. It's a myth that either you have it or you don't. In fact, we all have a mix of fixed and growth mindsets that change based on our experiences and the feedback we get.

Having a growth mindset means more than just accepting feedback and being open-minded. It's about taking feedback, learning from experience, and coming up with strategies for improving. It's believing that even if you fail at something, you can still succeed.

Growth Mindset Is More Than Just Effort

Another misconception about growth mindset is that it's the same thing as effort. Knowing the difference can help you give your child the best kind of praise.

Praising your child's talent or "smarts"-"You're really good at math"-can actually promote a fixed mindset. It's like saying that the ability to do math is just something your child "has."

But that's still not enough to promote a growth mindset. If kids don't use the right strategies, they might try hard but still not improve.

The most important thing to praise is how they approached the challenge, not how hard they tried or how well they did.

By focusing on process, it shows that getting stuck, asking for help, and trying new strategies are important, too. For instance, you could say to your child:

"I'm impressed by how hard you worked to complete that science project. I know you had trouble getting started, but it made a lot of sense to ask your teacher to help you figure out how to break down the assignment. It seems like working with a partner really helped keep you accountable for getting all your work done. Your grade reflects all that hard work!"

In this video about growth mindset, watch expert Ellen Galinsky explain how to encourage your child to take on challenges.

Growth Mindset and Kids Who Learn and Think Differently

We all have times when we feel like we'll never get better at something, or that we're destined to fail. Some kids face more challenges and setbacks than other kids. That may lead them to have more of a fixed mindset about their difficulties.

Kids who learn and think differently can feel judged and criticized. They know they're not doing as well as their peers, and they may feel "stupid." That can make them insecure or defensive, which can get in the way of growth.

The mindsets of the adults around them can also get in the way. They may tell kids to just "try harder" to use the same strategies or ways of learning that haven't worked before. Doing that isn't going to make kids feel good about the effort they're putting in.

How to Help Your Child Develop a Growth Mindset

A big part of having a growth mindset is not letting failing at something stop you from working to improve. It's important for kids to know that setbacks can actually provide a way forward. Tell your child it's OK to speak up when something isn't working. Encourage self-advocacy and asking for help.

Kids also need to know that the people around them believe they can find ways to fix mistakes. It's natural to want to say something like "Don't worry about it. Maybe science just isn't your subject." That reaction can promote a fixed mindset, though. It teaches that science is something your child can't improve at.

Instead, it's better to have a conversation about next steps. Talk about what your child learned from the experience: "How would you study differently next time? Would it help to talk to your teacher? Would a study guide help?"

Developing a growth mindset is an ongoing process. Getting and taking feedback from others, learning from mistakes, and finding new ways to approach tasks isn't easy. But it's a valuable way to help kids learn that talents can be developed.

Kids with a growth mindset believe their abilities can improve over time.

Praise the way your child approached a challenge-not just the effort.

Talking about learning from failure can help kids develop a growth mindset.

About the Author

About the Author

worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Ellen Galinsky, MS is president of Families and Work Institute (FWI). She is a child development expert and work-family researcher.

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Do either of these statements sound like something your child would say? Which one? How your child takes on challenges isn't just about being or . It may be the result of having what's known as a growth mindset. Learn more about growth mindset and what it can mean for your child.

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USF Culturally Responsive Coaching Questions

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USF Culturally Responsive Coaching Questions

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https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/my-drive

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The Principal’s Guide to Building Culturally Responsive Schools

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The Principal’s Guide to Building Culturally Responsive Schools

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Culturally Responsive SchoolsIt's imperative that our nation's schools not only welcome diversity in the classroom, but also teach students...

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How Teachers Can Partner With Families of ELLs

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Learn strategies to build relationships with immigrant families and caregivers of English language learners.

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As teachers, we know that some of our most powerful allies are students' families. This is especially true of English language learners (ELLs) who learn and think differently. Establishing a strong partnership is a win for students, families, and teachers alike. We can all benefit from the rich cultural and linguistic experiences these families bring to the school community.

Sometimes barriers can get in the way of family engagement. That can leave families' expertise and contributions unrecognized and untapped by schools.

So how can you tap into this rich resource, especially when it comes to conversations about special education? Here are some things to keep in mind about culture, language, and immigration - plus some strategies to help you get started.

In Understood's resources, we use the term "English language learners" (or "ELLs") to talk about students who are learning English. You may use this term or others in your school. Many educators are beginning to use "emerging bilinguals" (EBs) to acknowledge students' bilingual skills.

Factor 1: Expectations of schools

How a family participates in a child's education, including special education services, can depend on what the family understands their role in their child's education to be. It can also have to do with how the family feels at the school.

For example, in many Latin American countries, public education calls for a family's participation in terms of providing school uniforms and materials. Families are also expected to prepare children for school by teaching social, behavioral, and emotional life skills. Often, public schools in Latin America do not invite families to teach academics, partner with the teacher, or provide information on the child's learning like they do in the United States, according to research.

As educators, it's our job to communicate to all families that we want to draw on their valuable assets. Those assets can greatly contribute to their child's development and learning, especially if a child is struggling in school.

Take, for instance, first-generation immigrants who may not have had access to education past primary school or who may not yet speak fluent or academic English. Those family members may assume they can't contribute to their child's academic development. Here again, schools can help them understand the important contributions they are already making and can continue making as experts of their children.

Start with these general strategies for partnering with families of English language learners (both in and outside of special education settings).

If your school is holding parent-teacher conferences, send home a letter explaining what conferences are. That way, you can clarify the purpose of the conferences (as some families may think that they or their child did something wrong). Encourage families to prepare questions to ask at the conferences. This can be particularly helpful if they're concerned about their child's progress.

Consider activities that allow families to participate regardless of language, like painting a mural or helping in the school garden.

Find ways for families to share their perspective on what matters most to them about their child's education. You might use this questionnaire (available in English and Spanish).

For Spanish-speaking families, share a resource in Spanish about the importance of family involvement in U.S. schooling.

Engage students in creating an artifact (like a drawing or a letter) for their family members using their home language or cultural depictions, telling what they want to share about school.

Factor 2: Cultural perspectives about disability

Different cultures may have different perceptions, definitions, and expectations about disabilities. Those cultural associations or stigmas can impact how families view their child's disability.

Some families may blame themselves for their children's disabilities. Others may believe a curse is to blame for the disability, rather than a medical cause. Of course, be careful not to make assumptions about families' preferences or perspectives based on their culture or language.

As one example of a cultural view, people in many Latin American countries use the term "disabilities" to mean a visible or medical disability. Learning disabilities that are not immediately obvious may not be considered disabilities.

Also, many Latinx families think of kindness, good behavior, a strong work ethic, and collective responsibility to family as "being educated." So the idea that a child may have a learning disability may conflict with the family's perception that their child is an active and able part of their community. They may disagree with or feel discouraged by the news of their child's disability.

On the other hand, some of the Native American families I've collaborated with have viewed disabilities more holistically. They have shared that their communities tend to focus on supporting the strengths of people with disabilities.

Clearly, different cultures respond differently to the concept of "disabilities." But no matter the culture, families may also have questions about whether a disability is something the child will "grow out of" or whether the struggle is actually related to learning English. It's important to be prepared for these questions with updated information about the child's evaluation and about instruction and progress in English.

Talk with families to frame the term "disability" by focusing on the child's strengths and needs. Here are three important messages to communicate:

A child's learning or thinking difference is not a deficit.

The child has many strengths from which to build.

There are specific supports the child can receive to build on those strengths.

Most families want to make sure their child has access to the supports they need to learn and thrive. When we frame special education supports this way, the conversation shifts from focusing on deficits to finding opportunities for better learning experiences.

To learn more about cultural perspectives on disability, talk with colleagues, like ESL teachers, family liaisons, or interpreters. Other families with experience in special education can also provide insights.

Share with the family your insights about the student's strengths and interests, as well as examples of personal interactions with the student. This will help families understand that you care and that you see the child's strengths - not just the disability.

Allow the family to share information about the child's strengths at home and in the community, especially non-academic strengths. Include the family members' strengths, too.

Ensure that families understand the services that their child is receiving or is eligible to receive.

Families of English language learners have a legal right to access school documents and meetings in their home language. That includes special education paperwork and communication. Both oral and written translation of special education information requires expertise in the services and terminology.

Ideally, the translation and interpretation will also take cultural factors and nuances into account, especially given the different cultural perspectives on disability. It also should be provided in a format that is accessible and user-friendly.

After the information is translated, it's critical that families understand the terms - and the implications of those terms. For example, a translator may use the Spanish term "problema de aprendizaje," which translates to "learning problem." This term may not convey to families that this "problem" is a disability that needs to be addressed by special services. Watch the video below from Colorín Colorado to learn more.

Explain to families that they have a right to access information in their home language. Be clear that you value their language and see it as an asset for their child.

Learn more about your school's or district's translation services to make sure families have full access to information they need to participate meaningfully in this process. For example, the school district may provide a translation hotline. In addition, community members or other parents can be trained as volunteer interpreters. (Students should not serve as interpreters in these situations.)

If you are working with an interpreter, sit down before family meetings to talk through any areas of concern. Ask about particular issues, cultural factors, or perspectives you should understand.

If adequate language support is not being provided to families, raise your concern with colleagues or administrators. Look for additional information and resources from ESL/bilingual colleagues, family liaisons, district departments, or your state ELL department.

Factor 4: Immigration concerns

Some immigrant families may have mixed immigration status, meaning that not all family members are documented U.S. residents or citizens. Family members may feel uneasy about participating in formal school meetings, filling out paperwork, or sharing personal information with the school. Perhaps families are unsure of their rights or those of their children. They could also be concerned about immigration enforcement.

You should approach families with empathy when talking about the complexities that immigrant families face. Take the time to understand a family's concerns that might come up when discussing services available and legal paperwork. Educators like you can put practices into place that help build a culture of caring and safety at your school.

Communicate clearly with families and colleagues that all students in the United States have a right to a free, appropriate education, regardless of immigration status. The immigration status of a child or family member has no impact on eligibility for special education services.

Keep in mind that families may be wary of signing documents (related to the special education process or otherwise), especially if they have experience with detention or deportation. ( Read more about my experience with one of my students' families.) By building trust, you should be able to partner with families to obtain services that make a significant difference.

For similar reasons, families may also be worried about coming to school or sharing personal information. Schools are still considered "sensitive locations" where immigration enforcement should not take place. Students also have certain legal protections regarding personal information and privacy, regardless of immigration status. If families have questions about these topics, direct them to accurate, updated information from administrators or school district personnel.

Draw on strategies to work around barriers to communication with families. Know that family members who are working and do not have work visas may be more vulnerable at work. This could mean that they are unable to answer their phones during work hours or take time off of work for school meetings.

Partnerships that promote growth

For English language learners who learn and think differently - and their families - navigating school can be complex. As an educator, you can draw on a student's and family's assets to lay the foundation for genuine, solid partnership. By doing so with an open mind and empathy, you will begin building a trusting relationship that will benefit your students, often in life-changing ways.

About the Author

About the Author

Juliana Urtubey, MA is an Understood Mentor Fellow, as well as a special education teacher and instructional strategist working in inclusion and resource settings in Las Vegas.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Claudia Rinaldi, PhD is the Joan Weiler Arnow '49 Professor at Lasell University, where she serves as chair of the education program.

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English language learners in special education: 4 things to know about partnering with families

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As teachers, we know that some of our most powerful allies are students' families. This is especially true of English language learners (ELLs) who learn and think differently. Establishing a strong partnership is a win for students, families, and teachers alike. We can all benefit from the rich cultural and linguistic experiences these families bring to the school community.

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Although some families proactively engage in their child's education, research shows that teachers can initiate and encourage engagement from all families with positive results.

In addition to these mandates, it has been shown that meaningful interactions between teachers and families of students who learn and think differently can build trust, inform instruction, and improve student outcomes.

Who Do Your Students Call Family?

Before we talk about families, let's consider who makes up a child's family. No two families are the same: Some have more than one primary caregiver. Some don't. In two-adult households, sometimes the adults are married and sometimes they're not. Other factors also influence home life, like multigenerational households and those that provide foster care.

In our resources, we use the term caregiver to refer to the primary adult or adults who are responsible for raising a child, such as parents, grandparents, and foster parents. When we talk about families, we mean the larger support system around a child, including siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or anyone with a consistent presence in a child's life.

The Benefits of Partnering With Families

There are plenty of benefits to establishing relationships with a student's family. Research and classroom experience support these five benefits, especially for students who learn and think differently:

Benefit 1: You can connect your lessons to a student's background knowledge, interests, and culture.

You've seen it happen in your classroom before: When you tie a lesson to students' experiences, their interest skyrockets and they connect more deeply with the material.

Benefit 2: You'll be able to identify appropriate accommodations or supports.

Connecting with students' families can help you identify the best ways to differentiate or personalize instruction for students who learn and think differently. Families can provide insight about supports that have worked well at home and in prior years at school-and those that have not. Conversations about these effective supports can help build consistency between home and school.

One easy way to get information about where a student needs support is to talk with families about how their child does during homework time. Based on their response, you can decide if you need to make changes to a student's instruction or modify homework assignments.

Benefit 3: You can empower families to support academic goals at home.

Most families believe that school is important and want their child to do well. But they might not know how to effectively support their child's education. Regular communication can help bridge that gap.

Some of the most effective communication you can share is advice about how families can reinforce skills at home. Whether by emails, phone calls, newsletters, or a class website, share with families the math skill you taught this week. Then provide just one or two ways they can practice that skill at home.

So what can teachers do when it comes to homework?

Establish open lines of communication so that families can talk with you about any homework concerns.

Provide general homework tips in a class newsletter or website. For instance, you can provide information like this step-by-step guide and video for breaking down projects into manageable chunks.

Communicate with families about homework to help their children keep track of assignments and due dates. This is key for students with ADHD or executive functioning issues, who typically take longer to develop skills such as organization and time management.

Remind families that even if they are unable to help with homework, they are already doing the most important thing by loving and encouraging their child.

Benefit 4: You can develop effective and consistent methods for addressing behavior.

Equally as important, families can share ideas for behavior strategies that work at home for you to try at school. Consensus and consistency between home and school can help the student know what to expect and to practice more positive behaviors.

Benefit 5: You can set the stage for high expectations.

Highlighting the importance of expectations can be especially powerful for families who aren't sure how to help with academic goals. Reassure them that they can make a big impact by talking with their child about the importance of school and by providing encouragement.

The research is clear: Partnering with families can help you and your students find success. Use the resources below to help build an effective relationship with students' families.

Getting Started in Your Classroom

Follow these eight tips to build positive relationships with your students' families.

Send home questionnaires to learn more about your students and their families.

Ask your students to fill out a 3×3 card to help to learn more about their strengths, challenges, and effective strategies.

About the Author

About the Author

Trynia Kaufman, MS is the senior manager of editorial research at Understood. She is a former educator and presents nationwide at education conferences.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Bob Cunningham, EdM serves as executive director of learning development at Understood.

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Family Engagement and Student Success: What the Research Says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Although some families proactively engage in their child's education, research shows that teachers can initiate and encourage engagement from all families with positive results. In addition to these mandates, it has been shown that meaningful interactions between teachers and families of students who learn and think differently can build trust, inform instruction, and improve student outcomes.

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View your work thorough a trauma informed lens

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View your work thorough a trauma informed lens

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Viewing Your Work Through a Trauma-Informed Lens | Relias

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Imagine sitting in a parking lot, drumming up all your courage just to walk into a behavioral health center. You have never seen a counselor before, and you are very nervous. You haven't had a good night's sleep for weeks. You have nightmares, seem to always be 'on edge' and anger easily.

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Teachers’ perceptions of  culturally responsive teaching in technology-supported learning environments

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Teachers’ perceptions of  culturally responsive teaching in technology-supported learning environments