Education 402 Research Blog

  This week we read  Module 17: Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy – Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth and listened to AERA Division G's Podcast: Culturally-Responsive & Sustaining Pedagogy on Apple Podcasts . These modules had very beneficial takeaways and lead me to think critically about current curricula we use in a way I had not before. During our Google Meet session, the students continued to discuss The Hate U Give. Angelina asked us to reflect on why this book might be relevant for the students in our classroom. To which I had the following response; I think the overarching themes from The Hate U Give will certainly resonate with the EL students at West. These students come from diverse backgrounds and from different countries; the unique experiences they have had thus far in life are sure to relate with some of Starr’s experiences in the book. Community, the power of language, and identity especially are themes I feel that are touched upon

 This week, we read  View of Worth the Risk: Towards Decentering Whiteness in English Language Teaching . Our cooperating teacher Angelina had us reflect on the question " why can centering whiteness be harmful when working with an EL population?" EL populations typically are students of color, and so centering whiteness in their academia is harmful in numerous ways, such as; it pushes assimilation, promotes the message that they are “lesser than,” and depreciates their rich and unique identities. It is important to have a diverse teaching faculty. Just as in the film and media industries where representation is needed, it is necessary in schools as well. When you see and interact with adults who look like you, they act as symbols of success. They become role models for others in more ways than one. We have discussed in the past how different cultures share different core values and have different perspectives on things. When you have teachers who strictly come from very simi

  This week's assignment consisted of the reading  How Schools and Teachers Can Get Better at Cultural Competence and viewing the Ted Talk Education System v. Cultural Competence | Gracia Bareti | TEDxDirigo . When reading the article, the fourth key tip, “Develop Cross-Cultural Skills” stood out to me. To me, the other areas were logically included, and I had discussed in other classes before, but the subject of “Cross-Cultural Skills” resonated with me because it is an area I feel that I will be the hardest for me to achieve as a teacher. Because I have been so used to assimilated classes where students often share the same experiences and preferences, I really need to be mindful of my actions in actively making sure that my classroom will be truly inclusive and judgement-free. Developing these Cross-Cultural Skills, as Farmer acknowledged, “takes time,” and because there are no clear guidelines for creating the “perfect classroom,” I need to continuously be consciously aware an

  This week's assignment was to listen to this podcast here;  Culturally Responsive Teaching: 4 Misconceptions . I had never learned about the concept of “culturally responsive teaching” before this week, and so Gonzalez’s episode was very interesting to me. It gave me a new perspective on how to approach diverse students (and all students in general) and reiterated the importance of observing students, assessing and reflecting on what is and is not working. It's essential to overall feel in tune with the class and be sure to not leave anyone out or behind. Hammond, the guest in the podcast, stated that it is “how do we build the capacity of diverse students to have intellectual confidence and grow?” and “how do you as a teacher show up?” Through incorporating CRT in the classroom, it becomes beneficial for everyone involved; for the students who can achieve higher and for the educators who can grow more. CRT is profitable for any classroom, and will of course be very importan

Today was our first Google Meet session with Ms. Kirwin and Ms. Gillespie! The classroom consisted of students who were both physically in the classroom, and those who were joining from home on their computers. We introduced ourselves, then observed as Ms. Gillespie continued with preparing the students to take the upcoming ACCESS testing to assess their English language proficiency. It was very interesting to watch as Angelina went through practice questions with the students to familiarize them with the setup of the test. I was not familiar at all with ACCESS testing and so this class observation was very insightful.  Earlier in the week we had met with the teachers and the principle of West High School. At this orientation, the staff briefed us on what to expect, the demographics of the school, their educational goals, strategies and techniques to keep in mind when working with the students,  and overall just welcoming us into their community.  For our weekly readings and reflection