In order for a classroom to work efficiently
and for students to receive the necessary instruction, there are a few tools
that are imperative for a teacher to have in their repertoire. For example, all
teachers should practice culturally responsive instruction in their classrooms.
Also, it is important that teachers familiarize themselves with the needs of
English language learners and be prepared with a variety of strategies on how
to teach ELLs. Lastly, teachers should understand critical literacy and how to
teach their students to read from a critical perspective. It is essential that
teachers are able to meet the needs of all of their students in their classroom
and one way to ensure that that is happening is by becoming acquainted with and
utilizing all three of those aspects of pedagogy.
Culturally responsive instruction:
According
to Gay, author of, Culturally
Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, & Practice, culturally
responsive instruction “uses the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and
performance styles of diverse students to make learning more appropriate and
effective for them; it teaches to and through the strengths of these students”
(Gay, 2000). In other words, culturally responsive instruction is a pedagogy
that recognizes the diverse cultural characteristics of students in a classroom
and adjusts the instruction to account for the diversity. All teachers should
strive to provide students with culturally responsive instruction.
Teachers
should begin by providing students with a comfortable and inviting classroom
culture. To do this, the teacher should let students know that they are
genuinely interested in each individual so students will feel cared for and
accepted. Teachers should make it a priority to establish strong bonds with
every student. When students feel comfortable in the classroom, they become
motivated to take ownership of their learning and therefore become more
successful learners. It is also important that the different cultures in the
classroom are acknowledged or represented in some way throughout the school
year. For example, teachers can provide students with literature in the
classroom that reflects multiple ethnic perspectives and genres. This helps
students feel more connected to their learning experiences and learning
experiences become more genuine. It is also important to communicate high
expectations for your students. Letting students know that they are capable of higher
achievement builds their self esteem.
According
to Gay, the benefits for culturally responsive instruction are endless (Gay,
2004). First, culturally responsive instruction helps students feel accepted by
acknowledging their cultural background. Second, it creates home-school
connections as well as self-world connections. Students are better able to
relate what they learned in school to themselves, as well as their home life,
and real world experiences. Third, students are provided with an opportunity to
learn and appreciate the cultures of their classmates. Next, culturally
responsive teaching uses a wide variety of teaching strategies in order to meet
the needs of every learning style (Gay, 2004). Using multiple strategies
provides every student with an equal opportunity to learn.
Teachers
who practice culturally responsive pedagogy create active learners who take
pride in their learning. According to Gay, culturally responsive teachers realize not only the
importance of academic achievement, but also the maintaining of cultural
identity and heritage (Gay, 2004). Becoming familiar with the
practices of culturally responsive instruction benefits both the teacher as
well as students.
Teaching English language learners:
Communities
across the country are becoming more diverse and because of this, the
responsibility of classroom teachers is shifting. It is now the teacher’s
responsibility to teach academic content as well as language skills to students
who require that service (Peterson
& Salas, 2004). Teachers must work hard in order to plan and provide instruction
in a way that is easy for ELLs to comprehend.
There
are several strategies that can be used to strengthen classroom instruction in
order to make it more appropriate for ELLs. According to Bob Peterson and Kelley Dawson Salas, authors of
“The New Teacher Book,” the first thing to remember when teaching ELLs is to
speak slowly and enunciate your words (Peterson & Salas, 2004). It
is important to remember that ELLs will be more likely to comprehend what you
are saying when you speak at a slower pace and enunciate; this also provides
ELLs with an example of how they should speak when speaking English. Working
one on one with ELLs frequently will also provide them with extra support in
the classroom. ELLs may be hesitant to speak in whole group situations; because
of this, opportunities for one on one instruction and small group situations
are desirable. Using several visual cues as well as providing manipulatives for
hands-on activities will also help solidify new concepts that are being
learned. According to MaryEllen Vogt and Jana Echevarria, authors of 99
Ideas and Activities for Teaching English Learners with the SIOP Model, other
important suggestions to take into consideration when teaching ELLs include providing
meaningful activities, making explicit links to students’ background,
emphasizing key vocabulary, providing clear academic tasks, modeling, providing
students with a variety of learning strategies, and providing students with
regular feedback (Echevarria & Vogt, 2004).
Becoming
familiar with the various techniques of how to teach ELLs is imperative for all
teachers. As previously stated, it is the teacher’s job to provide all students
with effective instruction in order to meet the needs of every student; this
includes the needs of ELLs. The goal for all teachers should be to provide ELLs
with appropriate English language support in addition to content instruction (Echevarria
& Vogt, 2004).
Critical Literacy:
Becoming
familiar with critical literacy and how to teach with a critical edge will help
prepare students to become excellent critical readers. According to Paulo
Freire, “Critical literacy focuses on issues of power and promotes reflection,
transformation, and action. It encourages readers to be active participants in
the reading process: to question, to dispute, and to examine power relations”
(Devoogd & McLaughlin, 2004). When we prepare students to read from a
critical perspective, we are teaching them to be active participants in their
reading and to look beyond the text in order to come to their own conclusions
about what they read. Critical literacy teaches children that there is more
than what is printed on the page; if they stop and think about what they read,
they have an opportunity to formulate their own opinion as well as to think
about what they read from multiple perspectives.
Interpreting other
perspectives is a significant part of critical literacy. According to Maureen
McLaughlin, author of Critical Literacy: Enhancing Student’s Comprehension
of Text, providing students with an opportunity to examine the author’s
point of view and brainstorming other perspectives, “challenges students to
expand their thinking and discover diverse beliefs, positions, and
understandings” (Devoogd & McLaughlin, 2004). For example, students can ask
themselves questions such as “what does the author want me to think?” or “how
do the other characters in the story feel?” Teaching children to ask themselves
these types of questions helps them to see other people’s points of view, which
is important in literature as well as in real life experiences.
There are several benefits
to teaching critical literacy in the classroom. First, it provides students
with the opportunity to think for themselves and to make their own decisions
about what they read. Students are able to formulate their own opinions and
reflect on the reading they do. Critical literacy also expands our thinking and
enlightens out perceptions by providing students with a greater understanding
of different cultures and points of view (Devoogd & McLaughlin, 2004). It
is important that children learn at an early age that everyone is different and
everyone has their own perspective, and critical literacy encourages this idea.
Students are able to recognize and better understand the points of view of the
author, the illustrator, other characters in a story, as well as their
classmates. Through examining the many benefits of critical literacy it is
evident that using critical literacy in the classroom is beneficial to all
students.
Culturally responsive instruction, methods of
teaching English language learners, and critical literacy are all important pedagogical
methods to practice in the classroom. All three methods are beneficial to
learning and have been proven to increase achievement in students. Because of
this, it is essential for teachers to become familiar with and practice these
methods in the classroom.
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