Culturally Responsive Teaching is a holistic approach to instruction that ensures our mindsets and actions recognize students’ cultures, languages, identities, and life experiences as assets, and that we leverage those assets to create a sense of belonging, promote academic success, and develop a critical worldview.
What does it look and sound like in practice? How can you intentionally implement Culturally Responsive Teaching in your practice, and in particular when teaching your content? The Framework for Equitable Instruction is a Relay developed tool to help you reflect upon and answer these questions.
Teacher Awareness of Our Own Identities: Our identities and experiences inform our beliefs about teaching, our students, and the communities in which we work. In turn, those beliefs inform our teaching practices in ways that can honor or hinder students.
Advance the Learning of Rigorous Content: Using instructional practices that ensure all students are meaningfully engaged with developmentally appropriate, standards-aligned content.
Affirm Students’ Identities: Learning about our students’ identities so that we can support their positive self-conceptions through our teaching. We leverage our students’ experiences to advance the learning of rigorous content.
Build Students’ Agency: Cultivating students’ belief that they are capable and competent in our respective disciplines. We support their ability to see the relevance of the content in their lives.
Recognize Inequities: Advocating on behalf of students when we identify inequitable policies and practices. We help students identify inequities that exist and provide age-appropriate options that can be used to take action if they choose.