EUGENE SCHOOL
DISTRICT 4J
“Adapting Instruction
to Students' Cultures
Presented by:
Carmen X. Urbina
Adapting Instruction to Students'
Cultures
• Teachers should adapt their instructional practice
to the distinctive cultures of African American,
Latino, Asian and Native American students.
Choose one:
• Agree strongly
• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Disagree strongly
• Why I feel this way:
Take a Closer Look…
Please Read and Underline
• Please read the background information on
Adapting Instruction to Students' Cultures.
• Underline Information that you agree, disagree
or provoke your thinking.
Pair and Share your thoughts with a partner.
Background Information
• Background
Teachers who are responsive to their students' values, beliefs and
experiences will be more effective than those who are not. Some
generalizations about the cultures of different racial and ethnic
groups can help teachers to begin to understand their students.
However, these generalizations also can lead to stereotypes and a
failure to recognize that within broad racial and ethnic groupings
(e.g., Latino and Asian) there are significant average differences
related to subgroups (e.g., Chinese Americans and Cambodian
Americans), as well as social and class differences within groups.
Moreover, even within subgroups and students of similar
socioeconomic status, there are often significant differences in
the factors that influence student learning. There is no substitute
for getting to know each student well and adapting instruction
accordingly.
Questions to Consider:
Let’s Break up into “4” groups
• Group 1 and 2:
– What is culturally relevant pedagogy?
• Group 2 and 3:
– What are some ways in which teachers can view the
cultures of their students without stereotyping them?
Share with the Group
Highlights of Your Conversation
Let’s Listen to the Experts
1.
Red Flags- Identifying cultural generalizations
and dispositions about race, culture and class.
2. Balancing Cultural Awareness and
Understanding Individual Differences/Culturally
Responsive Pedagogy
3. How Can Teachers Get to Know the Beliefs,
Values and Experiences that Influence Their
Students’ Learning?
Let’s Listen to the Experts
• Geneva Gay argues that cultural generalizations are useful as a
baseline frame of reference bit that they should not obscure
variations within group cultures:
• Jacqueline Jordan Irvine says that it is important to guard against
over-generalizing about cultural differences. Understandings
about diverse cultures may be thought of as frameworks within
which to test hypotheses about student values and experiences:
• Sonia Nieto observes that in order to know their students
well, teachers need to be aware of their own dispositions
about race, culture and class:
 "Educator Check-In on Culture," a check list teachers can use to
assess their own cultural responsiveness, developed by the
National Education Associations C.A.R.E. initiative

:
Balancing Cultural Awareness and Understanding Individual
Differences/Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
• Geneva Gay describes a continuum along which members of any culture
express their cultural identities in individual ways
• Carrie Kilman supports the notion that teachers must reflect on their
own cultural filters in order to understand immigrant students’ school
experiences (Kilman, C. Crossing Borders/Border Crossing, Teaching
Tolerance 28, Fall 2005).
• Jacqueline Jordan Irvine identifies the fundamental premises of culturally
relevant/responsive pedagogy:
• Kris Gutierrez describes the importance of thinking of culture in dynamic
terms, as the practices and behaviors of each individuals in their daily lives:
How Can Teachers Get to Know the Beliefs,
Values and Experiences that Influence Their
Students’ Learning?
• Luis Moll describes how teachers can learn
about their students by visiting them in their
homes and communities:
• Victoria Purcell-Gates describes the assignments
she gives her pre-service teachers, requiring
them to spend time in the communities in which
they teach:
• Lisa Delpit encourages teachers to discover who
their students are outside the classroom.
SMOG IN THE AIR
“SMOG IN THE AIR”
Beverly Daniel Tatum
• Cultural racism is described by Tatum as “smog in the air”, at times visible,
but mostly invisible but yet existing and affecting our perceptions, ideas and
thoughts (1995:95). The presence of the smog does often go unnoticed, but
nevertheless, it is still there – and after being exposed to the smog for a long
time it becomes not only a natural part of our lives, but even a necessity for
experiencing stability in the world. The metaphor is effective and wellfunctioning in this context.
• Tatum defines racism “as a system of advantage based on race”, rather than a
personal ideology based on racial prejudice. Instead, when racial prejudice is
combined with social power, that is when it leads to the institutionalization of
racist policies and practices (1997:7-8) The systematization of advantage in
the society is being presented in an interesting contrast to the idea of
American meritocracy, i.e. a system where one’s possibilities and
opportunities in life should be determined by one’s talent and abilities.
“Whether we agree or not, the process of
engaging my children in critical examination
of the books they read, the television they
watch, the films they see, and the video games
they play is essential.”
– “Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the
Cafeteria?” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, p. 48
Dimensions of Culturally
Responsive Pedagogy
• The Personal Dimension-How do teachers
become culturally responsive?
• The Instructions Dimension-How does
instruction become culturally responsive?
The Personal Dimension- How do teachers become culturally responsive?
Specific Activities for Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Engage in reflections thinking and writing.
Explore personal and family histories.
Acknowledge membership in different groups.
Learn about the history and experiences of diverse
groups
Visit student’s families and communities.
Visit or read about successful teachers in diverse
settings.
Develop and appreciation of diversity.
Participate in reforming the institution.
The Instructions Dimension-How does instruction become
culturally responsive?
Specific Activities for Culturally Responsive Instruction
1. Acknowledge students’ differences as well as
their commonalities.
2. Validates students’ cultural identity in
classroom practices and instructional materials.
3. Educate students about the diversity of the
world around them.
4. Promote equity and mutual respect among
students
5. Assess students’ ability and achievement
validity.
The Instructions Dimension-How does instruction become
culturally responsive?
Specific Activities for Culturally Responsive Instruction
6. Foster a positive inter-relationship among
students’, their families, the community and
school.
7. Motivate students to become active
participants in their learning.
8. Encourage students to think critically.
9. Challenge students to strive for excellence as
defined by their potential.
10. Assist students in becoming socially and
politically conscious.