What is Culturally Responsive Teaching?

"Worst" and "Best" Teacher Reflective Activity

Listen to song here:

William Glasser theorized that an individual’s “total behavior” was made up of four elements: feelings/emotions, physiological responses, thoughts/statements, and actions. While thoughts/statements and actions tend to be more voluntary, feelings/emotions and physiological responses are mostly involuntary. In this set of activities, we’ll use these four lenses and a “guided visualization” process to recall some of your own experiences as a student. In the guided visualizations, you’ll be prompted to recall your own voluntary and involuntary responses to two experiences of your own selection: an experience with your “worst teacher” and an experience with your “best teacher.”

After each of the guided visualizations, take a few moments to record your notes in the corresponding “Total Behavior” survey. Once both are completed, spend some reflective time writing about either or both of your experiences in a way that communicates what you’ve learned from your experiences as a student about what makes a good teacher.

Give yourself plenty of time and space to accomplish this set of activities. It would be best to download the guided visualization mp3s (“right click” and “save as”) and place them on an ipod or mp3 player. Find a comfortable place. Have a journal or notebook handy. Each visualization will take just a bit over 10 minutes to experience. You can record your immediate reflections in your journal or notebook or however you’d like, and then transfer what you’d like into the appropriate survey on each guided visualization form.

You may want to experience the guided visualizations more than once to be able to relax into these memories and recall more details.

"Best Teacher" Guided Visualization

http://www.customizedu.net/first-guided-visualization#

"Worst Teacher" Guided Visualization

http://www.customizedu.net/second-guided-visualization/#

Teacher

How Do I Build a

Culturally Responsive

Learning Environment

for My Students?

Narrative

of

Learning

Questions to Consider:

Section 1

a. What unhelpful assumptions do I make about student behavior?

b. Are the patterns of inequity in my classroom process-- who I call on most, who I respond to most, where I stand or walk during learning / class?

c. Do I experience sensations of fear or anger that could help me know when my own biases are being activated?

Section 2

a. Have I made an effort to find out what "rapport and connection" might look like in the various cultural backgrounds of my students?

b. What do I do to affirm and validate each student's potential for learning? Do I recognize factors that tend to marginalize or invalidate particular students' experiences?

Section 3

a. Am I vulnerable and real with my students? Do I share my own experiences in ways that respect thier potentially differing experiences?

b. What do I do ti promote connections between myself and my students around shared interests?

http://www.wolakotaproject.org/oseu-five-interview-with-joseph-marshall-iii/

“A Tale of Two Teachers” by Melissa Crum