Creating a culture-centered classroom is built on the foundation of culturally responsive pedagogy and culturally relevant teaching practices. These may seem like big, fancy phrases, but they are also super powerful and effective phrases that represent strategies that work for ALL students.
Pedagogy & Practice
Culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) encourages teachers to observe the cultural and ethnic make up of the students in their classroom for the purposes of incorporating practices, language, and texts from those cultures and ethnicities to both affirm these students and positively educate other students.
Culturally relevant practices are an extension of culturally responsive pedagogy. In this, teachers are encouraged to be culturally competent, meaning they have the ability to understand and effectively communicate and educate students of multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds. Check out “Why Create a culturally Responsive Classroom” for more information about both the pedagogy and the practice.
Teachers who use culturally responsive pedagogy to design culturally relevant lessons create culture-centered classrooms where students thrive for three reasons. Students are affirmed, welcomed, and celebrated in the classroom environment and through instruction. This leads to increased confidence in their academic identity and a natural desire toward increased engagement and information retention.
Three Benefits of a Culture-Centered Classroom
- Students are affirmed in their personal and academic identity because they see others represented and feel seen themselves. Students are encouraged to be their authentic selves. Through instruction and growth experiences in the classroom, students understand that their “authentic self will change and evolve and grow. In order to discover their every changing authentic self they will make mistakes and fail at times. They are never made to feel however, like they are a mistake or the way they talk is a mistake or the way they dress is a mistake or the food they enjoy is a mistake. Differences are appreciated and preferences may change with increased knowledge and exposure, but a change is not forced.
- Every student feels welcome in the classroom as an individual and as a scholar. Their thinking is honored and their voice is respected. Students feel welcome because they see representations of their cultural values and traditions being discussed in normal classroom discussion, being used as examples to develop further understanding, and are included in the books read.
- Celebrating a student doesn’t mean throwing a party. Well… maybe sometimes, but not everyday. Instead, a student being celebrated looks like creating student centered rules, expectations, and norms in the classroom. It looks like decentering Christian or mainstream holidays if you are not teaching in a Christian or Catholic school. It looks like students seeing the history of their ancestors being taught IN school – the good, the bad, the ugly. There is no one group of people that is ALL good or ALL bad. We all have our missteps and shortcomings. It is how we learn from and shift away from negative, hurtful choices that makes the difference.
Creating a Culture-Centered Classroom
A culture-centered classroom is a space where personalized learning happens naturally. It is a classroom where differentiated instruction is the norm. It is a place where students are challenged to think critically about their world and the world around them. Students are encouraged to be thought leaders.
Is this the type of classroom you always dreamed of having? If so, you’re in good company. Let’s create this reality together. Check out the many on demand courses, teaching resources, and coaching options available:
