Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

    Culturally relevant pedagogy seems to be synonymous with culturally competent teaching, which we discussed in our first course in this MAT program. Being a culturally competent teacher involves effectively meeting the needs of all your students in a diverse classroom. A culturally competent teacher must therefore be unbiased, fair, caring, and flexible. Such a teacher must diffuse stereotype threat, view all students as capable learners, and have high expectations for all learners, irrespective of their race, religion, or gender. Culturally relevant pedagogy thus must incorporate multicultural curricular content, provide all students with equal opportunity for success, and be sensitive to students with differing perspectives.

   

    It’s hard to say if I’ve experienced culturally relevant pedagogy in my school system. The county in which I teach is one of the least diverse counties in the state, but I think it does a good job of making education accessible for the minority students in the district. Regardless, there are many ways to incorporate culturally relevant pedagogy into my lessons. For one, my teaching should appeal to various learning styles and my lessons should be flexible. If students of different cultures are comfortable with different approaches to learning, then incorporating various approaches and styles will help those students find one that works for them, while simultaneously making all learners more well-rounded. Peer tutoring and cooperative learning are other techniques I can use in my lessons to promote cultural competence. Pairing students with others gives them the opportunity to work with someone who may be from a different cultural background, allowing the students to compare their personal views and hopefully reduce stereotypical feelings. Finally, the promotion of a growth mindset is a component of culturally relevant pedagogy. Minority students may be turned off by STEM courses due to common stereotypes that suggest that these students will struggle in those courses. Deliberately teaching and promoting a growth mindset can show students that traits such that intelligence are not fixed; rather, they are malleable traits that can be modified through effort.

    I don’t think a teacher can be completely effective if he or she is not culturally competent. If a teacher does not use culturally relevant pedagogy, they may accidentally marginalize a particular group of students or fail to understand a student’s struggles. One of the challenges of teaching is finding one or more ways to help each student in a diverse classroom of students succeed. This can be done by appealing to various learning styles, incorporating cooperative learning activities, and promoting a growth mindset, for example. Having students conduct research projects about scientists of diverse backgrounds is another interesting way to reduce stereotypical mindsets and provide minority students with positive role models. Regardless of the specific techniques one chooses, the importance of emphasizing culturally relevant pedagogy in education is undeniable.

Growth Mindset and Affective Assessment

Growth Mindset and Affective Assessment

Supporting the growth mindset has been one of my biggest takeaways from this MAT program. Among other things, we’ve learned that students with a growth mindset persist through struggles, use mistakes as learning opportunities, and are more motivated to learn. I try to support the development of the growth mindset with the feedback I provide to students. When students succeed, saying things such as “you’re so smart” implies that intelligence is an innate or fixed trait that remains largely unchanged. Instead, I try to say things like “you must have worked so hard” to remind students that effort is the most important determinant of success. I have a few students who have really struggled throughout this semester, and I’ve tried to constantly remind them that they can improve their grade, but it won’t happen without effort.

    Another strategy I use to support the growth mindset is second chance learning. If a student performs poorly on a summative assessment such as a test or a quiz, he or she is eligible to retake the assessment if certain conditions are met. First, the student must complete a form in which they describe what they did to prepare for the last assessment, why that didn’t work for them, and what they will do differently to prepare for their retake. Then, the student must complete a study guide I’ve constructed to help them review the material. Finally, the student must make corrections to their first assessment. After all this is complete, the student may take a new assessment. Second chance learning of this nature helps students understand that we can learn from our mistakes. Furthermore, students who take advantage of second chance learning opportunities tend to realize that the reason they didn’t perform well on the first assessment wasn’t because they lacked the intelligence to do well; rather, they didn’t pay attention in class or didn’t study enough leading up to the assessment. These mistakes are fixable.

    I think my support of the growth mindset has created a very positive atmosphere in my classroom. I don’t have many students with poor attitudes, but even when certain students are struggling, they know that they only need a little effort to turn things around. The growth mindset has also allowed me to be a more flexible teacher. For example, I understand that not all students will prefer the same approach to learning as I do, so I need to incorporate variety into my lessons. Similarly, I know that some students need to put a little extra work into their studies to succeed. For this reason, our school has a “flex” mod in which students can sign up to go to a particular classroom for extra practice or more personalized instruction. In my opinion, this flex mod has also improved my relationship with my students. I have a handful of students who regularly come to my flex mod to ask questions, do practice problems, and study the material. Students appreciate that I will take the time to help them when they are struggling, and I’ve noticed that students will work harder for you when they know that you work harder for them.

    I use affective assessment to give my students a say in how the class runs. For example, I used an interest and engagement survey before and after students completed a project to see how student attitudes toward science and projects had changed. I learned that students enjoy completing projects and working in groups, so I’ve incorporated more group projects into my instruction. Most of my affective assessment, however, has been informal. I’ve polled the class a few times at the end of lessons to see how willing they’d be to do similar lessons again. This has taught me, for example, that my students aren’t big fans of WebQuests and most virtual labs. On the opposite end, students love competing against each other in review games, so I use Kahoot and Pictionary to make learning fun. As much as I try to use affective assessment to improve student learning, I admit that I can do more to incorporate this type of assessment in my instruction. I should consider using surveys at the beginning of each unit and as part of the summative assessment at the end of the unit to monitor students’ attitudes and feelings toward science.

Diversity in my Classroom

Diversity in my Classroom

    The students I teach in my classroom are not very diverse from a sociocultural perspective. Between my three classes, I have about seventy students. Of those seventy students, I have two Asian-American students, two African-American students, one Hispanic student, and the rest are Caucasian. Furthermore, I don’t have any English language learners or students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Despite not having diversity of this type in my classroom setting, I still use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies to appeal to learners with various preferences, styles, strengths, and weaknesses. For example, I try to present information in various forms, such as via text, video, kinesthetic activities, and hands-on labs. Similarly, I assess students using projects that allow for student choice and expression in addition to more traditional written tests of content knowledge. Finally, I encourage mastery orientation and a growth mindset to provide options for sustained effort and persistence. All of these strategies are found on the UDL worksheets that accompany our lesson plans.

    Without significant diversity in my classroom, I can deliberately bring diversity into my lessons in a few ways. One way to incorporate diversity is to teach about scientists of diverse backgrounds. By teaching students about successful African, Asian, and South American scientists, I can show students that people from any background can be successful scientists. I could even assign students a project in which they must research and teach the class about a scientist. This would allow students of differing cultural backgrounds to find a scientist similar to them that they find interesting, providing them with a positive role model in science.

A second way to incorporate diversity could be to analyze scientific discoveries and events from multiple perspectives. For example, when learning about pathogens and vaccines, I could start a discussion about how exposure to pathogens and access to medicine creates inequalities, and I could have my students analyze these differing perspectives. Controversial topics can be analyzed from multiple perspectives during debates. Two of my cohort classmates and I planned a debate about the ethics of using Henrietta Lacks’ cells when we read about her for our literacy course. There are many similar topics throughout the biology curriculum, and analyzing some of these could incorporate diversity.  

Finally, I can have high expectations for all my students, irrespective of their background, and do my best to minimize stereotype threat and discrimination in my classroom. I’ve learned in our MAT program that ethnic minority students and women tend to struggle in STEM fields due to stereotype threat, but encouraging a growth mindset can combat this. I try to promote a growth mindset in my classroom by using master-oriented feedback. For example, I compliment students on their effort rather than their ability and I use second-chance learning opportunities to help students learn from their mistakes and adjust for improvement. There are many other ways to make my classroom a safe place for students of diverse backgrounds, but these are the three I can use to most naturally incorporate diversity.

   

Rockstar Theorists

 Rockstar Theorists

There are many theorists that have influenced my personal teaching, but a few stand out above the rest. The first theorist that comes to mind is Jean Piaget. Constructivism is one of the theories that has resonated with me the most. Constructivist is the idea that new knowledge is created with reference to prior knowledge. When an experience doesn’t agree with the the cognitive schemes we have for a subject, a disequilibrium occurs that drives learning. This disequilibrium is behind the teachable moments that make lessons much more memorable. In my everyday teaching, I try to create teachable moments by using real-world examples and having students role-play as professionals to solve practical problems. I also make a concerted effort to smoothly transition from one topic to the next so that students are continually reflecting on their background knowledge.

    

   The second theorist that has most influenced my teaching is Howard Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences. I agree with Gardner’s idea that different students have their own strengths, weaknesses, and personal preferences. Balanced teaching should therefore include variety to appeal to these learning styles. This approach will not only help students with diverse learning needs, but help students become more well-rounded learners. Finally, following Gardner’s theory incorporates repetition in a way that isn’t too boring for the students or the teacher. For example, I’ll often start a new unit with a hands-on activity, then use written notes, readings, lab activities, and videos to cover the content. If students don’t understand the material the first time it’s covered, they’ll ideally get the hang of it when we use an approach that resonates with them. 

    Finally, Carol Dweck and her theory of the growth mindset has had an influence on my teaching since our very first residency. Keeping the growth mindset in mind has altered the way I provide feedback to students. Instead of saying things like “you’re smart,” I try to give feedback such as “you must have worked hard,” or “your efforts really paid off.” These latter comments suggest to students that their success in the course is in their hands. I’ve heard many students comment that they “just aren’t good at science” or “just aren’t smart,” but I hope that embodying the growth mindset will help my students put forth more effort, persevere through challenges, and see mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures. This is a skill that will help them succeed not just in my classroom, but in all aspects of their lives. 

    Throughout our MAT program, I have been exposed to many theorists and theories that have influenced my teaching. Not all of them have significantly resonated with me, but the teachings of Piaget, Gardner, and Dweck, among others, have impacted the way I approach my lesson planning, teaching, assessment, and feedback. As a professional, it is important to constantly reflect on my teaching and look for ways in which I can improve. I hope to use the teachings of these theorists, and others I learn about in the future, to mold myself into the best teacher I can be.

Classroom Goals

Classroom Goals

In ED640, I established goals for myself that I hoped to work towards during ED645. The first goal was to establish classroom rules and procedures that I can take with me when I become a teacher of my own. I’ve been fortunate to work with two great mentor teachers that have helped me become a better classroom manager, and I can confidently say that my internship experience has provided me with rules and procedures for the future. For one, I like having students start each class by writing the learning objectives in a log and answering a warm-up question. That immediately gets students thinking about science when they walk in the room and it provides me with an opportunity to activate student background knowledge. I also like placing papers that the students need to pick up at the front of the room near the door and bins for students to turn-in their work at the the back of the room. This allows students to flow into the room easily, collecting papers they need for the day, and turning in papers for me to collect. As for the rules, I’ve learned about the importance of developing rules with students and being consistent when enforcing those rules. For example, discussing what it means to be respectful with your students on the first day of class is a great way to ensure that everyone is one the same page regarding appropriate behavior. I want to have a similar discussion about the use of phones when I become a teacher of my own. I think phones are amazing technologies that can certainly enhance education, but in my experience, phone are mostly a distraction in the classroom. Therefore, having a discussion with students about appropriate phone use could be potentially invaluable in the future.

My second goal for my internship was to familiarize myself with the curriculum and start to develop my own lessons and units. Carroll County fortunately provides teachers with a curriculum that has lesson plans, PowerPoints, activities, assessments, and other resources to make this process much easier. My mentor teacher has also allowed me to use many of his own resources so that I have many options to choose from when planning lessons. I’ll usually look at what the county provides, what my mentor teacher has, and resources I have created myself and decide which ones I want to use during class. The scope and sequence provided by the county has also given me a good idea of what topics to cover and how to pace myself. So far, I think I have done a good job in progressing to meet this goal. I have been using the 5E model to plan all my lessons and have my resources organized very neatly on my laptop, on a flash drive, and in a binder so that I can reuse them as needed in the future. I was initially concerned with how I would decide what to teach, when to teach it, and how, but my mentor teachers have given me excellent guidance in curriculum planning.

Setting goals and reflecting on one’s progress towards meeting those goals is important in any setting. This is especially true for an inexperienced teacher. Teachers use feedback from student assessments to improve the learning process, and it’s similarly important to recognize that teachers must continue to learn and grow concomitantly. Upon reflection, I think that I have done a good job of meeting the goals I set for myself at the end of ED640, but there are always ways in which I can continue to improve.

Communicating with Parents

Communicating with Parents

    This past week, I sent home three emails about students inappropriately using their personal electronic devices in the classroom. In our classroom, we don’t allow students to use their phones unless the teachers, myself and my mentor teacher, allow it for an explicit purpose such as a Kahoot quiz. During all other class times, student phones must be put away and silent. I clearly expressed this to my students on the first day of class as we went over the syllabus and the consequences for violations of our rule pertaining to using electronic devices. The first violation results in a verbal warning from the teacher. The second violation results in a minor referral and email home to the parents/guardians of the student. The third violation results in a major referral and detention. The fourth and all following violations result in a referral to the administration for discipline.

    Thus far, students have been pretty good about not using their phones during class time. I have had to give verbal warnings to ten students or so during the first two weeks of class, and three students have violated the phone policy twice, resulting in emails home. Filling out the minor referral, which automatically send an email home, was a little awkward the first couple of times. It’s weird emailing a parent to say that their child has gotten in trouble for something, especially as a student teaching intern who wasn’t had to do this before. That being said, I had every student and teacher sign a form saying they had read and understood the syllabus, so I wasn’t too concerned with the parents reacting negatively.

    The outreach seems to have resolved the issue, although it may be too early to say. I think many students thought we were bluffing or being dramatic when we said we wouldn’t allow phones on the first day of class, but the referrals and emails home seem to have sent the message, because I have caught fewer students on their phones since the first email was sent home, and the three students who have second violations haven’t been on their phones since. I think this is one of the scenarios in which it’s useful that students talk to each other so much. Word spreads pretty quickly that when it comes to phone use in the classroom, we mean business.

    Although my communication with the parents of these students went reasonable well, I was surprised that I didn't receive a response from any of the parents. If I had received a minor referral from a teacher when I was a student, I know my parents would have responded with an apology and assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. Similarly, none of the students had their phones taken away by their parents, so it’s possible that they don’t see it as a big deal. I don’t want to have to assign detention for something relatively harmless like using a phone during class, but if I don’t enforce the rules we established at the beginning of the semester, students won’t respect them at all. Communicating with the students and parents about these policies should reduce the number of violations going forward.

    If I had a “do-over” of contacting the parents of those who had received two phone violations, I don’t think I would do anything differently. It hasn’t been long enough yet to see if the contact home will change student behavior long-term, but so far, it has worked well. If I had to do anything differently, I would maybe show students the Cell Phone Violation form we use to keep track of violations. Every time I see a student using their phone in class, I ask them to put their phone away, and record the details of the violation on the form, including the date of the violation and a description of what the student was doing and what the student was supposed to be doing. Each student has their own form, so I know exactly how many violations a student has at any given time. If I had shown this to students on the first day, it may have made it more clear that we were very serious about monitoring and disciplining infractions. Before I sent the first email home, I suspect many students thought I was bluffing. Now, they know I’m serious, but it may have been better to firmly establish that from the start.

Reflection- Classroom Management

Reflection- Classroom Management

At the end of ED640, I set a few goals for my full-time spring internship. My first goal was to establish my own classroom rules and procedures that I can take with me when I become a teacher of my own. My second goal was to familiarize myself with the curriculum and start to develop my own lessons and units. My third, more broad goal, was to become a better classroom manager specifically from a disciplinary perspective. The first and third goals certainly relate to this week’s topic of classroom management, and my internship experience and the readings from this week have already changed my perspective on these goals slightly.

    Establishing my own classroom rules and procedures is a tricky thing to do during an internship because I’m working with a mentor teacher in that mentor teacher’s classroom. I don’t want to come in and completely change the way things are run in the classroom, but I do want to gain some experience as the head of the classroom and simultaneously adopt classroom management ideas according to the suggestions made by my mentor teachers. Fortunately, my current mentor teacher is very flexible, and starting in February when the third quarter begins, I’ll have more control over the classroom. Until then, I’m adding ideas to my repertoire that I can use in the future. One routine that I really like is starting every class with a warmup and using a timer to keep students on task. This is an idea I got from the mentor teacher I worked with in the fall at the middle school level. As students are entering the classroom, she displays a timer on the screen that counts down from 5 minutes. Students have those five minutes to write down their objectives and complete the warm-up. During this time, the teacher can take attendance and help any students who may have been absent. After the warm-up, the teacher can then read the learning objectives, review that warm-up, and go over the agenda for the day. I really like this approach because students are immediately productive when they enter class, especially once they become accustomed to the routine. I hope to use this in my future classroom and extend this idea to the end of class for conclusion activities.

    This week’s readings also provided me with a lot of great advice regarding classroom management that is supported by research. For example, Marzano and Marzano (2003) noted that having high quality relationships with students was the most important factor for successful classroom management. They go on to add that classroom management benefits from having clear rules and procedures with clearly defined consequences. Furthermore, these rules work best when they are mutually established by the teacher and the students (Marzano & Marzano, 2003). This is great advice that I can use in my own future classroom. Taking the time to get to know students seems to have a tremendous impact on their behavior, and I’ve seen firsthand that students are more comfortable when they know the teacher. Allowing students to take a part in making rules is also sound advice that I will follow because it gives students partial ownership over the classroom rules and procedures. Consistently and fairly enforcing those rules is key to maintaining the classroom once those rules have already been established.

    In terms of being a better classroom manager from a disciplinary perspective, Crouch (2016) notes that being a good classroom manager prevents many disciplinary problems in the first place. There’s no doubt that I will improve in this regard with experience, so I hope to use the second semester this spring to try out some classroom management ideas for myself. Like Marzano and Marzano (2003), Crouch (2016) states that getting to know students and establishing a positive classroom environment is best for limiting behavior problems. When those problems do arise, it is often best to place yourself near the misbehaving student, which often solves the problem. I’ve seen this in our classroom many times already. Simply letting a student know you’ve noticed their behavior is often enough to change that behavior.

In conclusion, I haven’t had many issues regarding classroom management during my internship so far. Most of the students seem to respect me, and I always have my mentor teacher to lean on if I have any trouble. There are a few students who tend to act out, but I’ve been able to handle everything thus far. My biggest concern is keeping students productive for the entire period. Some students work so quickly that I need to constantly find new things for them to do while their classmates are finishing. Other students would rather sit around and do nothing for the whole period. In my experience, it’s best to over plan for a lesson so that you always have an extra activity or two to fall back on for the students who work quickly. For the students who work too slowly, we’ll usually say that any unfinished work must be completed for homework and most of the students will want to avoid that. This issue has less to do with behavior and more to do with engagement, but both are relevant to classroom management. I hope my internship experience this semester, coupled with our MAT program coursework, help me fulfill my goal of becoming a better classroom manager.  

References

Crouch, D. (2016). Stop Disciplining – Use Classroom Management. Retrieved from http://edu.stemjobs.com/classroom-management/

Marzano, R.J. and Marzano, J.S. (2003). The Key to Classroom Management. Educational Leadership, 61 (1), 6-13. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept03/vol61/num01/The-Key-to-Classroom-Management.aspx