Integrating Culturally Relevant Teaching Strategies: Professional Development for Elementary Classroom Teachers

Research has determined that culturally responsive teaching is a powerful tool that improves student achievement while providing more equitable educational opportunities for all students (Au, 2009; Banks, 2006; Gay, 2000; Hammond, 2015; Ladson-Billings, 2009). Schools that engage in CRT are able to build bridges of meaning between home and school experiences and between academics and students\u27 cultural realities. However, evidence also suggests that while teachers may have knowledge of multicultural education, many do not display the characteristics needed to fully apply and sustain culturally responsive pedagogical practices. The professional development and PLC supports created for this project are built upon the theoretical framework of Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) and Geneva Gay (2000). The purpose is to provide a resource for classroom teachers, which describes CRT and outlines ways that educators can more effectively implement culturally responsive instructional strategies into their daily practice. Educators can use the strategies and tools presented in this project to plan instruction, raise expectations, and help diverse students feel valued and empowered. Some examples provided in the PD include modeling and scaffolding, collaboration and peer support, building on Funds of Knowledge, using learning activities that reflect students’ backgrounds and encouraging school-family partnerships. Culturally responsive teaching offers students the opportunity to meet learning challenges with the strength and relevance of their own cultural frame of reference. The project gives teachers the opportunity to reflect on how culture affects student learning behaviors; and how they can change classroom interactions and instruction to embrace these cultural differences

Case Study of a District-University Partnership: Developing Culturally Responsive Educators in a Rural Setting

Using a theoretical framework of critical race theory and conceptual frameworks of cultural education, this study explores the intersection of district-university partnerships and culturally responsive education. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine the formulation and outcomes of a district-university partnership established to offer a college level course focused on anti-discrimination, equity and inclusion, and social justice in schools. Using survey data, I explored the relationship between participation in the course and the participants’ self-reflection in the areas of empathic concern and perspective taking, preparation for culturally responsive teaching and equitable practices, and comfortability with discussions about race. I conducted three interviews with course developers in the school district related to the sustainability of the partnership and the impact of the social-political context on the curriculum design. In addition, I examined how participants’ discourse during the course was reflective of empathic concern and perspective taking. Findings revealed participation in the course impacted educators’ self-reflection, and provided opportunities for discourse reflective of empathic concern and perspective taking. The district-university partnership demonstrated four elements of sustainability: well-defined administrative structure, clear focus, shared decision making, and ongoing process of evaluation. This research study will contribute to the field’s understanding of district-university partnerships in a rural setting, to school districts considering university-district partnership opportunities, and to universities and practitioners training current educators on culturally responsive practices

The Development of a Virtual Science Museum for the Public Understanding of Science in Eastern China and in the United States

In 1999, the Chinese Academy of Sciences realized that there was a need for a better public understanding of science. For the public to have better accessibility and comprehension of China's significance to the world, the Computer Network Information Center (CNIC), under the direction of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, combined resources from thousands of experts across the world to develop online science exhibits housed within the Virtual Science Museum of China. Through an analysis of historical documents, this descriptive dissertation presents a research project that explores a dimension of the development of the Giant Panda Exhibit. This study takes the reader on a journey, first to China and then to a classroom within the United States, in order to answer the following questions: (1) What is the process of the development of a virtual science exhibit; and, (2) What role do public audiences play in the design and implementation of virtual science museums? The creation of a virtual science museum exhibition is a process that is not completed with just the building and design, but must incorporate feedback from public audiences who utilize the exhibit. To meet the needs of the museum visitors, the designers at CNIC took a user-centered approach and solicited feedback from six survey groups. To design a museum that would facilitate a cultural exchange of scientific information, the CNIC looked at the following categories: visitor insights, the usability of the technology, the educational effectiveness of the museum exhibit, and the cultural nuances that existed between students in China and in the United States. The findings of this study illustrate that the objectives of museum designers may not necessarily reflect the needs of the visitors and confirm previous research studies which indicate that museum exhibits need a more constructivist approach that fully engages the visitor in an interactive, media-rich environment. Even though the world has moved forwards with digital technology, classroom instruction in both China and in the United States continues to reflect traditional teaching methods. Students were shown to have a lack of experience with the Internet in classrooms and difficulty in scientific comprehension when using the virtual science museum--showing a separation between classroom technology and learning. Students showed a greater interest level in learning science with technology through online gaming and rich multimedia suggesting that virtual science museums can be educationally valuable and support an alternative to traditional teaching methods if designed with the end user in mind

Online cultural heritage materials and the teaching of history in the schools: a concept analysis of state archives and collaborative digitization program web resources

Archives have long been peripheral resources for the elementary and secondary school classroom. Digital technologies carry the promise of strengthening the teaching role of archives. With the rise of the World Wide Web, many archives--along with libraries, museums, and other memory institutions--have digitized portions of their holdings, and some have done so in support of pre-collegiate classrooms. With an exploration of the use of primary sources in the teaching of history as its foundation, this dissertation provides a concept analysis of 24 online history teaching sites maintained by state archives and collaborative statewide digitization programs in the United States. It describes the range and extent of teaching activities used by these sites to build various aspects of one form of domain-specific cognition, history thinking. These aspects include epistemology and evidence, progress and decline, agency, continuity and change, significance, empathy and moral judgment, and narrative building. This research also analyzes the primary sources directly associated with these lessons to determine the subject eras and original formats that they represent, as well as their representation of ethnic minorities, women, and children. The research leads to a proposal for the creation of a collaboratively constructed framework for the teaching of history thinking skills through the use of primary-source-rich, inquiry-based activities

impact of IT on indigenous peoples

This e-book brings together 11 articles from several different continents and cultures, which illustrate how tribal nations are using information technology to explore their culture, document these efforts and share elements of their perspectives with the larger world.Intro -- Contents -- Abstracts &amp -- keywords -- Editorial -- Digital libraries: barriers or gateways to scholarly information? -- Perspectives on tribal archives -- Native American technology access: the Gates Foundation in Four Corners -- School-museum partnerships for culturally responsive teaching -- Indians on the Internet - selected Native American Web sites -- American Indian tribal Web sites: a review and comparison -- Maori access to information technology -- Iwi archivists as recordmakers? -- Te Mata o te Tai - the edge of the tide: rising capacity in information technology of Maori in Aotearoa-New Zealand -- Impact of ICT-based distance learning: the African story -- A survey of cybercafe´ s in Delta State, Nigeria -- Book reviews -- New on the Net -- Calendar -- NewsThis e-book brings together 11 articles from several different continents and cultures, which illustrate how tribal nations are using information technology to explore their culture, document these efforts and share elements of their perspectives with the larger world.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries