Module 2a: Culturally Responsive Teaching

Module 2A Full Description

This module is built for teachers who hear "culturally responsive" used for everything from bulletin boards to potlucks, and want to know what the research behind the term actually asks of them. You'll start with the source. You'll look at Gloria Ladson-Billings's three requirements for culturally relevant teaching (academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness) and Geneva Gay's five practices that make it real in a classroom. You'll meet Zaretta Hammond's "warm demander," who holds high expectations and builds real trust together. And you'll see how Django Paris and H. Samy Alim push the idea further, from responding to students' cultures to sustaining them. Then you'll get a practical lens you can use on any lesson, text, or routine: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop's mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors, and you'll try it on something you're already teaching. The module is built around a promise: you don't need a new program. You need to be a little more intentional about the moments and conversations you already have. By the end, you'll have chosen one small change to try.