Currently, as educators we are detecting cultural wars, cultural biases, and culture shock, in our classrooms as they become more diverse. How does this recognition assist with designing instruction that captivates the brain while attending to the individual cultures? When one classroom can contain as many as 20 or more different cultural influencers, how does one design instruction that covers essential standards?
This workshop session is based loosely on Zaretta Hammond’s book "Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain; Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students." Through interactive discourse it will guide the participants to becoming aware of their own cultural idiosyncrasies which can have an impact on student learning.
Incorporating culturally responsive teaching practices will improve student achievement as a climate of trust and intellectual safety is built. It is when the student believes that the teacher is sensitive to their individual and familial systems of beliefs that sustainable learning will take place.
Hammond states, "Cultural responsiveness is not a practice, it’s what informs our practice so we can make better teaching choices for eliciting, engaging, motivating, supporting, and expanding the intellectual capacity of ALL our students. That’s why it is so important for culturally responsive teachers to be well-versed in brain science and cultural understanding."
Active and transparent engagement in this session will cause a pivot in our focus. Thus, informing our practices to make them not just silos of knowledge but wider and more effective instructional deliveries.

Authors:
Mary White, Houston Christian University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Mary E. White is an Assistant Professor and Chair of the School of Education at Houston Christian Christian University. Her research interests include Cultural Pedagogy as well as Cultural Bias in the classroom.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-white-edd

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