Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain PDF

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Summary

Notes of main points and summaries of the first chapters of the book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain...

Description

Topic/Objective: Chapter One Pg 12-20 Culturally Responsive Teaching

Name: Erica Semeling Class/Period: Multicultural education Date: October 11th 2018

Essential Question: Building Awareness and Knowledge - Climbing Out of the Gap Questions:

Notes:

What is a dependant learner?

Dependent Learners Dependent learners - Never learned how to learn, rely on support in order to get more work done, not able to synthesize and analyze information. ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Dependent does not   mean deficit Students should be on their way to being dependent learners by 3rd grade Always dependent on the teacher to carry most of the cognitive load Unsure of how to tackle a new task Can’t complete a task without scaffolds Sit & wait when stuck until teacher intervenes Doesn’t retain information well, “Doesn’t get it”

For people of color, low income, English language learning, and underserved students, they routinely have less opportunity to develop higher level thinking skills. ●

What is the school to prison pipeline?

The School to Prison Pipeline The school to prison pipeline is a set of seemingly unconnected school policies and teacher instructional decisions that over time result in students of color not receiving adequate literacy and content instruction while being disproportionately punished for nonspecific subjective offences such as “defiance”. ● ●

What is an independent learner?

Students end up spending more time in the office being disciplined and less time actually in the classroom Students fall behind and can’t keep up, out of frustration the child continues to act out and the teacher responds by sending them out of the room again

Independent Learners An independent learner is able to create new ideas, synthesize and analyze new information, and understand new concepts with minimal support from the teacher. ● ● ● ● ●

Why are people of color affected more?

The dependent learners continue to feed into the school to prison pipeline

Relies on the teacher to carry some of the load temporarily Utilizes strategies and processes for tackling new tasks Regularly attempts new tasks without scaffolds Has strategies to get unstuck Has learned to use long term memory

Racial Bias People of color are not offered sufficient opportunity in the class to develop the cognitive skills and habits of mind that would help them. Separate but Equal - rooted in the education system and not the fault of the student’s race, economic circumstances, or the actual student themselves.

What are schools doing that is harmful?

Role of the School Emphasizing memorization of lectures doesn’t help students learn for themselves or create new ideas and concepts, which limits them in their adult lives. ● ● ●

Schools underestimate what students are intellectually capable of Schools postpone challenging and interesting work Students aren’t motivated because they won’t have the chance to do higher level thinking

How do we help independent learners?

Helping Dependent Learners Dependent learners can’t become independent just based on grit and determination, students must develop the skills they will need in order to increase their brain power.

What is culturally responsive teaching?

Culturally Responsive Teaching Culturally responsive teaching is a teacher’s ability to see cultural differences and respond positively to learning, using culture to connect to students and creating a safe space for learning to promote effective information processing.

Why aren’t people using culturally responsive teaching?

How does CRT affect neuroplasticity?

What is the ready for rigor framework?

Culturally Responsive Teaching Isn’t Being Used CRT isn’t being continually used by teachers and schools, they’ll usually have a one time “training” session with no follow up or emphasis on it afterwards, teachers often end up underestimating the significance of CRT since it isn’t emphasized during training or certifications. Culturally responsive teaching is often seen as a way to reduce behavioral problems instead of being seen as a way to improve rigorous cognitive development. Culturally Responsive Teaching and Neuroplasticity When properly used CRT is able to help students build intellective capacity. Intellective capacity is the increased power the brain creates to process complex information more effectively, and culture plays a big role in it. Ready for Rigor Framework The ready for rigor framework implements the idea that students are ready for rigor and independent learning, based on validation, instructional conversation, wise feedback, and affirmation. The ready for rigor framework can help increase brain power and doesn’t feed into the school to prison pipeline. Awareness

How does awareness make a difference in the ready for rigor framework?

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Understand the three levels of culture Recognize cultural archetypes of individualism and collectivism Understand how the brain learns Acknowledge the socio-political context around race and language Know and own your own cultural lens Recognize your brain’s triggers around race and culture Broaden your interpretation of culturally and linguistically diverse students learning behaviors

Awareness depends on an up to date socio political lens that understands that we live in a society with unequal and unearned privilege to some while others experience a disadvantage because of race, gender, class, or language.

Learning Partnerships How do learning partnerships make a difference in the ready for rigor framework?

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Reimagine the student and teacher relationship as a partnership Take responsibility to reduce students social-emotional stress from stereotype threat and microaggressions Balance giving students both care and push Help students cultivate a positive mindset and sense of self-efficacy Support each student to take greater ownership for his or her learning Give students language to talk about their learning moves

Building trust is essential because our brains are wired for connection, and allows the teacher to hold the student to higher expectations. Information Processing How does information processing impact in the ready for rigor framework?

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Provide appropriate challenge in order to stimulate brain growth to increase intellective capacity Help students process new content using methods from oral traditions Connect new content to culturally relevant examples and metaphors from students community and everyday lives Provide students authentic opportunities to process content Teach students cognitive routines using the brain’s natural learning systems Use formative assessments and feedback to increase intellective capacity

This teacher will help students understand what they are learning and connect it to the outside world, and they understand how culture impacts the way the brain processes information. Community of Learners and Learning Environment Why is community important in the ready for rigor framework?

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Create an environment that is intellectually and socially safe for learning Make space for student voice and agency Build classroom culture and learning around communal (sociocultural) talk and task structures Use classroom rituals and routines to support a culture of learning Use principles of restorative justice to manage conflicts and redirect negative behavior

This strategy focuses on making a community where students feel safe and accepted and able to be vulnerable in able to improve their own learning

Summary: The achievement gap has denied underserved students of color and english language learners opportunities to develop their cognitive skills and processes that help them become independent learners. Culturally responsive teaching is a powerful tool to help dependent learners develop the cognitive skills for higher level thinking. Culturally responsive teaching uses the brain principles from neuroscience to mediate learning effectively. The ready for rigor framework helps us operationalize culturally responsive teaching....