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"A culturally inclusive classroom is one where students and staff alike recognize, appreciate and capitalize on diversity so as to enrich the overall learning experience. Fostering a culturally inclusive learning environment encourages all individuals - regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation or political beliefs - to develop personal contacts and effective intercultural skills." -- Barker et al.

"Teachers are cultural translators, cultural Bridge makers."
--Jacqueline Jordan Irvine

It's only the tip of the iceberg...

I like to think of the visible and invisible aspects of culture as an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg barely reveals a fraction of its enormous size that lies beneath the water. This is analogous to culture, the things we see (visible culture) barely scratch the surface of the essence of what culture is (invisible culture).

Getting to know a student and his or her culture can be difficult for the teacher, because of the underlying or invisible aspects, not visible to someone who is not a member of that specific community; the only way a teacher would be able to understand an invisible cultural characteristic, such as religious beliefs, is if they conducted research or asked students/parents about to explain it to them.

"We have to remember that students approach learning, not as cultural blank slates, in that they bring into the classroom, all those cultural experiences."

To truly understand what culturally responsive or relevant, I believe teacher must first possess a solid understanding of what culture is and how it can be broken down.

ilters that help us as human beings make sense out of the most ordinary things." Culture , defined by Jacqueline Jordan Irvine and Geneva Gay, is a combination of a person's "...world views, beliefs, language, and values...culture are those f

Culture can be grouped into two different categories:

Visible/Tangible Culture - crafts, music, art, and technology
Invisible/Intangible Culture - values, beliefs, feelings, opinions, assumptions, and perspectives.
When interacting with students that identify themselves as being from the same culture, it is imperative for the teacher to realize that students are not mirror representatives of a cultural or ethnic group they belong to. One student's family may celebrate different holidays or belong to a different religion or sect of a religion (Irvine and Gay).

SOLVING THE problem

As Geneva Gay stated, the problem lies in the miscommunication caused by "the incompatibility between the cultural filters, that have been used to send instructional messages to students (this coming from the school), and when kids from different ethnic backgrounds are trying to learn that. They are trying to receive what we send from school, through another set of cultural filters (Gay)".

When these messages do not match up, then students, parents, educators and administrators all get nowhere.

Culturally Responsive teaching steps in and advocates for students, in that instead of students always having to adapt and learn the culture of the school. The school, instead needs to adapt and modify its messages or mechanisms (Gay).

Two definitions, given to us by Gary R. Howard in the video below, that I find relevant when discussing culturally inclusive pedagogy include:

Cultural competence - "The will and the ability to form: authentic and effective relationships across differences."

Culturally responsive teaching - "Teaching and leading in such a way that more of your students, across more of their differencing, achieve at a high level and engage at a deeper level, more of the time, WITHOUT giving up who they are."

The 7 principles of Culturally Responsive Teaching - Model by Gary R. Howard:

1. 1) Students are affirmed in their cultural connections

2. 2) Teachers are personally inviting

3. 3) The classroom is physically and culturally inviting

4. 4) Students are reinforced for academic development

5. 5) Instructional changes are made to accommodate differences

6. 6) The classroom is managed with a firm, consistent, loving control

7. 7) Interactions stress collectivity as well as individuality

I discovered this TED Talk, titled, "Confessions: New Teacher of Newcomers" delivered by veteran teacher, Michelle Benegas, while conducting a search on culturally inclusive teaching,. In this TED Talk, Benegas recounts her time as a new teacher in an extremely diverse school setting and not having the proper pedagogical tools and cultural knowledge to best serve her students. I truly believe that the specific examples she provides her audience, re-tell the story of pain she feels now, about being unable to help her students when they were younger. It is an inspiring video that will help teachers alike understand why getting to know your students and their respective cultures will make all the difference. It also shows the value of teaching cultural inclusive pedagogy in today's teacher education programs.

With that being said, teachers need to help students realize that they are unique, valued, and bring different skill sets that they can offer to the class, school, and communities they are a part of. I believe it is valuable for teachers to understand the different capitals that exist at school. These four different types of capital, As Zwiers explains in chapter one, "Understanding How Students Use Language", are unequally distributed, just as money is (7). He goes on to explain that the four types of capital overlap one another and their levels or potency vary from student to student. These four capitals are, social, cultural, knowledge, and linguistic capitals.

As Dr. Zisselsberger explained in class, these capitals, should be viewed as notions of continuums, that are not static and change from environment to environment. She explained that students can gain and loose capital in each of the four different types as students grow and learn. Dr Zisselsberger also mentioned to the class that the "levels" of capital of each student is dependent upon the a student's background and what they bring to the classroom.

Social Capital
To begin, social capital, "consists of the amounts and qualities of: (1) interactions with adults, siblings, and peers, (2) listening abilities, (3) empathy skills, and (4) appropriate behaviors and responses (Zwiers, 7)". To me, social capital deals with the amount of social interaction a student has with a wide variety of people and how a student interacts, relates, and responds with different people. At school, students will come across a variety of situations in which they will need interact with people varying in age and backgrounds. I believe that social capital is the most valued by students, especially those in middle and high school; they do not want to be an outcast or viewed differently and truly want to have friends and fit in.

Zwiers states that cultural capital "tends to consist of travel experiences, wealth, parent education, music listened to, games at home, being read to, reading, race, and religion related experience (Zwiers, 7)". For me, cultural capital reflects more of the student's up-brining and life experiences outside of the classroom and school.

Knowledge Capital
According to Zwiers, knowledge capital, "tends to develop (accumulate) from reading, being read to, watching educational and new programs on TV, using computers, organizational abilities with knowledge, word memory abilities, travel, conversations with siblings and adults, and parents asking and answering questions about the world (Zwiers, 7)". For me knowledge capital is rooted in the ability to read and access information whether it be from books or on a computer. I agreed with Dr. Zisselsberger when she stated in the classroom, knowledge capital is most likely the most valued of the capitals.

Linguistic Capital
The fourth type of capital is linguistic. Zwiers states, "Linguistic capital consists of the quantity and quality of language used by parents and peers, in TV shows, and in daily discussions; of religious interactions, which can develop, abilities to use abstract language; of computer experiences and games; and of books at home, whether one is reading [to] oneself or being read to (Zwiers, 7)". For me, linguistic capital deals with the amount and quality of "language" input a student receives. I also believe it has a lot to do with a student's cultural and socioeconomic background.

This is one of my favorite educational videos that I have ever encountered. The video itself focuses in on the self-esteem of students with disabilities, but at the same time, the context of the video could easily be switched to discuss linguistically and culturally diverse students. I am NOT, by any means comparing the state or abilities of linguistically and culturally diverse students to those of students with disabilities; I want to emphasize, that just as students with disabilities, culturally and linguistically diverse students lack "the poker chips" to engage in and play in the game we call school.

To show you how this is applicable to the diverse learners we will encounter in our classrooms, let's examine the case of Sandra. To begin, these "poker chips" are representative of the various capitals that students bring with them into the classroom. For example, Sandra, from Colombia may have 1000 cultural capital poker chips because she comes from a very close knit, supportive family, that exposed her to many elements of culture, read to her when she was little, and raised her to be a devout Catholic. On the other end of the spectrum, she may have 15 linguistic capital poker chips because the only English that she hears at home comes from the television, which she is only allowed to watch after finishing her homework and chores. Sandra will be less likely to interact within the classroom, because she does not have enough linguistic chips to gamble away, meaning take a chance on making a mistake or getting made fun of in front of the entire class. If she does take that chance and gets the answer right, yes, she will increase the amount of linguistic poker chips she has, boosting her self-esteem, but in the back of her mind always looms the "what if scenario".

As a culturally responsive teachers, it is our job to encourage the student and make them feel included by incorporating familiar elements into the classroom. The first step that a culturally responsive teacher must take, is to do their homework. How do you expect to meaningful engage, connect, and interact with students, if you do not know anything about their home life, culture, and what prior knowledge and experiences they bring into the classroom? A teacher must lay the ground work and foster a warm, inviting, and safe, classroom culture in which students feel appreciated, valued, and will want to share personal information pertaining to the class and content area. I believe that all of these elements truly stem from the way in which a teacher is able to connect with his or her students, and creating a relationship in which the students feel that the teacher cares about them, sees them for a human being, and believes that they can succeed .

How can you teach inclusively?
1. Be reflective by asking yourself the following
a. How might your own cultural-bound assumptions influence your interactions with students?
b. How might the backgrounds and experiences of your students influence their motivation, engagement, and learning in your classroom?
c. How can you modify course materials, activities, assignments, and/or exams to be more accessible to all students in your class?

2. Incorporate diversity into your overall curriculum.

3. Be intentional about creating a safe learning environment by utilizing ground rules.

4. Be proactive in connecting with and learning about your students.

5. Utilize a variety of teaching strategies, activities, and assignments that will accommodate the needs of students with diverse learning styles, abilities, backgrounds, and experiences.

6. Use universal design principles to create accessible classes. For example, present information both orally and visually to accommodate both students with visual or auditory impairments in addition to students with various learning preferences.

7. When possible, provide flexibility in how students demonstrate their knowledge and how you assess student knowledge and development. Vary your assessments (for example, incorporate a blend of collaborative and individual assignments) or allow choice in assignments (for example, give students multiple project topics to choose from, or have students determine the weight of each assignment on their final grade at the beginning of the semester.)

8. Be clear about how students will be evaluated and graded. Provide justifications.

9. Take time to assess the classroom climate by obtaining mid-semester feedback from students.
a. Pass out index cards during class for anonymous feedback.
b. Ask students to rate from 1-5 how comfortable they are in class. Also ask for 2 suggestions for how they could feel more comfortable.
c. Conduct a Qualtrics survey.
d. Discuss your findings in the next class and share any changes you will make regarding the feedback.
Strategies Provided by the Cornell University: Center for Teaching Excellence (http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/building-inclusive-classrooms/inclusive-teaching-strategies.html)
I believe this video offers teachers a quick and explicit outline of how to create a culturally inclusive classroom from top to bottom, beginning with addressing your own ideas, biases, and stereotypes. Once you are able to overcome, what I like to consider " self-road-blocks" to creating a culturally inclusive environment, you can tackle other elements and help your students appreciate and look forward to learning about one another the unique background that everyone brings into the classroom.

Below, I have posted three slides providing activities, I believe will help you as a teacher get to know your students an have them interact with one another in a more meaningful context.

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"A culturally inclusive classroom is one where students and staff alike recognize, appreciate and capitalize on diversity so as to enrich the overall learning experience. Fostering a culturally inclusive learning environment encourages all individuals - regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation or political beliefs - to develop personal contacts and effective intercultural skills."

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Janette Klingner: Realizing the Potential of RTI: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in English Language Learners

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RTINetwork.org guides educators and families in the effective implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) as a means to improve educational outcomes for all students.