Culturally Relevant Teaching - Suggested Teaching Strategies

Suggested Teaching Strategies

In order to be culturally relevant, teachers must create an accommodating and inviting classroom culture, if they are to reach diverse audiences. Teachers must demonstrate that they care for their students, because a genuine attitude of interest is likely to yield positive emotions that empower and motivate students. One way teachers can make their classroom less intimidating is through reciprocal teaching, where students and teachers take turns leading the class discussions. Reciprocal teaching methods give students the opportunity to express the material according to their cultural viewpoints, which is very important according to the constructivist educator.

Similarly, many educators recommend cooperative learning methods as effective teaching strategies to promote culturally relevant learning. Rather than fostering competitiveness among students, group learning strategies encourage collaboration in the completion of assignments.

There have been many studies done in response to how students respond to teachers that exhibit the above characteristics, incorporating the principles and use of these strategies within the classroom. In the article "Telling Their Side of the Story: African American Students' Perceptions of Culturally Relevant Teaching." Tyrone C. Howard looked at the "perceptions and interpretations" of students who have experienced this type of learning environment. The qualitative data which included students response, is evidence that this is a positive and effective form of pedagogy.

Games and cross-cultural activities allow students personal interaction with different cultures. For instance, in the three-hour game, "Ba Fa Ba Fa", students participate in one of two very different cultures and must learn the languages and customs of that cultural group.

Other suggested strategies include family history research where students interview family members and learn about familial cultural influences on their own lives, and reflective writing where students write about their beliefs and cultural assumptions Students may choose to write about their cultural identity and its connection with their educational experiences.

Other suggested best practices in teaching race and diversity into the curriculum are: 1. Create a positive learning environment: attentive skills, teaching skills, and teacher/student interaction (Radical Pedagogy, 2003).

2. Utilize a diverse curriculum (Gollnick and Chinn, 2013).

3. Know, understand, and work with families that come from different race and ethnicities (Gonzalez-Mena and Pulido-Tobiassen, 1999).

4. Expose children to role models from their own culture as well as those from other cultures (Gonzalez-Mena and Pulido-Tobiassen, 1999).

5. Utilize student's cultures to help them learn the subjects and skills taught in school (Gollnick and Chinn, 2013).

6. Start teaching multi-cultural education to students at an early age (Russel, 2007). Gonzalez-Mena, J. and Pulido-Tobiassen, D. Teaching Diversity: A Place to Begin. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-quotdiversityquot.November 1999. Russell, S. Six Tips for Teaching Diversity. Retrieved November 15, 2012 from www.suite101.com/article/six-tips-for-teaching-diversity-930336. September 2007.