Pedro A. Noguera, Ph.D.
Steinhardt School of Education
New York University
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Reforms treated as fads - too much change, not
enough follow through or evaluation
Too much focus on assessment, not enough on
teaching and learning
Too top down - insufficient “buy-in” and input
from teachers
Insufficient attention to school culture
Insufficient attention to social needs of students
Insufficient attention to real examples of
turnarounds and success
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A combination of skill and art
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Intellectual rather than technical work
 It draws upon the personality and creativity of
teachers
 Schools must strive for consistency not
uniformity in teaching
 Requires a commitment to ongoing learning
 Content knowledge
 Pedagogical skill
 Relationship building across differences
 The best teachers teach the way students learn
rather than expecting students to learn the way
they teach
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Make expectations clear and standards explicit by
modeling and exposing students to high quality work
Utilize diagnostic tools to check for understanding
Create a safe learning environment so that student
can learn from their mistakes
Provide numerous opportunities for students to
revise and resubmit work
Focus on motivation and engagement by
incorporating student interests and soliciting
feedback and questions from students
Analyze student work with a focus on what student
errors tell us about our teaching
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Taste good
Looks good, smells
good
Nutritious and good
for you
Makes you want
more
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Engaging,
interesting
Active learning,
class time is work
time
Leads to acquisition
of knowledge and
skill
Cultivates ongoing
desire to learn
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What can be done to reduce teacher isolation
so that good practices are shared and
common challenges are discussed together?
What needs to occur to create an atmosphere
of shared vulnerability?
What can the district elevate, support and
recognize excellence in teaching?
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Is it a problem?
 Met Life Survey: 40% low income students, 45%
minority students report that they do not identify
with their teachers
 Most teachers claim to be “color blind” yet many
report having greater difficulty working with
minority and low income students
 Disparities in achievement and discipline referrals
for a disproportionate number of students of
color suggest that there is a problem
 Good news - Students are less biased than
adults. They are generally willing to learn from
any adult who cares and takes an interest in
them.
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Normalization of failure: blaming kids and
parents
Differential expectations - lower standards
for students of color
Conflict in the classroom, lack of respect
and fear among teachers
Stereotypes unchallenged: students
perceive racial identity and achievement as
linked
Unwilling to accept responsibility for their
role in raising achievement
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Skills and cultural competence - you can’t
teach what you don’t know
Awareness of and willingness to unlearn
personal bias
Ability to affirm the cultural identities of
students
Research shows students respond well to
teachers that demonstrate:
 Firmness, organization and clear goals
 Compassion – identify and empathize with
students
 Challenge- students are expected to learn
 Patience – A willingness to help students who
don’t “get it” quickly
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The ability to work effectively as a professional across
race, class, linguistic and cultural boundaries based
upon a sensitivity to difference and an willingness to
withhold judgment. This includes the ability to
establish trust and rapport by developing relationships
premised on respect and empathy.
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Teachers understand the external pressures students face
and take that into account when working with students
◦ Gangs, teen pregnancy, pressure to work
◦ Develop partnerships and strategies to meet student needs
◦ Funds of Knowledge: View the community and parents as a
resource – Edison Elementary
Balanced commitment to excellence and equity – Henshaw
Middle School
◦ High standards with high support
◦ Homework is an equity issue
Clear focus on life beyond school – Thurgood Marshall HS
◦ Strategies for developing social capital and cultural capital
◦ Learning to code switch - Speech, dress, demeanor
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What have you found to be most helpful in
developing strong relationships with students
across racial and cultural differences?
How has your background helped or hindered
you in this work?
What skills, knowledge or information do you
think you need to increase your effectiveness
as a teacher?
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Avoid tendency to take a “color blind”
posture toward students
Avoid tendency to stereotype your students
based on race or culture
Be aware of how unconscious bias may
influence your interactions
Strive to know yourself and your students
so that your relationships are not affected
by race/cultural differences
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They have systems to monitor academic performance – PS 28
◦ They use data to make decisions about school improvement
◦ Students and teachers are clear about performance standards
They engage in constant assessment – School of Future, Success
Academies
◦ Performance assessment
◦ Learn from and examine student work
They have shared and distributed leadership
They have a culture of high expectations for all – MS 323
◦ Systems of mutual accountability for teachers, students and
parents
◦ Rituals, norms and practices that reinforce core values –
Academy of Pacific Rim
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Provide access to mentors – selected based
upon a record of effectiveness and an ability
to work well with colleagues
Provide time for observation and feedback –
from veteran teachers and knowledgeable
administrators
Provide time to collaborate and learn from
student work
Provide content area coaches – in classrooms
Don’t assign new teachers to teach the most
challenging classes
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Active learning, interactive classroom, ontask learning
Personalized learning plans
Inquiry-based pedagogical strategies
Simulations
Socratic seminars
Project-based learning
Experiential learning
Student leadership in the classroom
Public presentations of student work
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AVID, MESA
 Demystify success
 Provide support through peer groups
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Popular culture in the classroom - Algebra
Project
Accelerated summer school
After-school and community-based enrichment
Extra curricular activities - sports, music, clubs
Transition classes
 Smaller classes for students who are behind
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Old Paradigm
◦ Intelligence is innate
◦ Job of schools is to
measure intelligence and
sort accordingly
◦ Inequity in resource
allocation: best resources
to highest achievers
◦ Focus on achievement as
measured by test
performance
◦ Discipline used to weed
out the “bad” kids
◦ Parents as consumers
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New Paradigm
◦ Intelligence and ability
are influenced by
opportunity
◦ Job of school is to
cultivate talent and ability
among students
◦ Resources allocated
based on student need
◦ Focus on “whole child”
◦ Discipline used to
reinforce school values
and norms
◦ Parents as partners
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Systems to facilitate
school effectiveness
◦ Diagnostic assessment
◦ Early intervention
procedures
◦ Evaluation to insure
quality control
◦ On-site, ongoing
professional development
◦ Extended learning
opportunities
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Cultural Changes:
◦ Supportive relationships
between teachers and
students
◦ Willingness among
teachers to share ideas,
curricula, materials
◦ Practices reinforce core
values
◦ Peer culture where it is
“cool to be smart”
◦ Partnerships between
school, community and
parents
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Which lessons from the experiences of
effective schools are most relevant to your
school?
What would it take to shift the paradigm in
your school?
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Know their students:
• Academic needs – To determine the nature of gaps in
learning, and identify and respond to their academic needs.
• Cultural frame of reference - They understand how to
incorporate the history, culture and lived experience of
students to stimulate, motivate and make the curriculum
relevant
• Learning styles - They understand how their students learn
best and they implement instructional strategies that
engage them.
• Personal needs and challenges - Understand obstacles
students face outside of school. Work together to devise
strategies to overcome obstacles.
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Map out a theory of change
◦ If we do x + y + z, we can expect - ?
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Brockton HS: If we emphasize literacy
across curriculum, provide training for all
teachers, time for students to read and
write in school we will obtain higher test
scores
What resources, support and allies do you
need to achieve your implement your
theory?
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1) Establish shared ownership of the
problems
◦ Use data to identify areas where change is
needed
◦ Provide staff with time to visit successful schools
serving similar populations to observe patterns of
interaction, teaching and learning, etc.
◦ Solicit input from stakeholders - students,
parents, community
◦ Build sense of community with staff and provide
opportunity for discussion of the problems
identified
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Form committees focused on areas where change
is needed: student support, discipline, professional
development – shared ownership
Set clear, measurable and achievable goals – short,
medium and long-term
Implement rituals, practices and procedures that
will serve as the anchor of the new culture
Make sure that your plan is logically linked to the
problems facing your school
Provide ample opportunity for discussion of the
plan, to answer questions and to receive input for
strengthening plan
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Be sure that all staff understand what is
expected of them
Collect baseline data so that you can
monitor change over time
Check in at regular intervals to assess how
effectively plan is being implemented
◦ Get input from students as well
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pedro.noguera@nyu.edu
imotionmagazine.com- education rights
section for articles and papers
Recent books –
◦ Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to
Practice to Close the Achievement Gap with A. Wade Boykin
(ASCD, 2011)
◦ Unfinished Business: Closing the Achievement Gap in Our
Nation’s Schools (Josey Bass 2006)
◦ Schooling for Resilience: Improving the Trajectories of Black
Boys and Latino Boys (Harvard Education Press, 2014)