1.3.2 Inclusive Teaching through Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
Culturally responsive or culturally relevant pedagogy describes teaching approaches in which students’ different cultural experiences enrich the course material (Ladson-Billings, 1992; 1995). Three pillars of this pedagogy include high expectations for all students, recognition and appreciation of different cultural experiences of students (cultural competence), and development of “critical perspectives that challenge inequities that schools (and other institutions) perpetuate” (social justice) (Ladson-Billings, 1995). As instructors, our goal is to meet students at their level of knowledge and facilitate their learning to get them where we need them to be. To put a culturally responsive spin on this same idea, instructors should also seek an understanding of students’ lived cultural experiences to get an idea of who they are and use this knowledge to provide engaging and relevant curriculum. Classrooms that embrace culturally responsive teaching offer a conduit through which students can appreciate their own culture as well as the cultures of others (Ladson-Billings, 2014). When diverse perspectives are recognized and valued this promotes open communication, mutual respect, and inclusion. An added focus on culturally responsive teaching within active learning is critical to create a safe space for students in which they can feel valued for the knowledge and lived experience they bring into the classroom.
There is no one right way to create a culturally responsive curriculum. A recent review of literature in the field of culturally responsive teaching outlines some useful principles (Morrison et al, 2008). Many of these principles aim to establish a safe, cooperative learning space for relationship-building between instructors and students, as well as among students. Rather than the traditional “sage on the stage” model, instructors engaged in culturally responsive teaching share the stage with their students, because students’ strengths, lived experiences, and knowledge are used as starting points for instruction. Successful implementation also involves instructors who take the time to establish meaningful relationships with students and take a personal stake in their students’ success.
The task of creating an environment conducive to culturally responsive pedagogy may seem overwhelming at first, especially if one teaches high-enrollment courses, but steps for how to build a cooperative learning environment exist. First, instructors need to honestly assess their biases (for example,https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html) and determine how biases may affect their interactions with students. Such biases may unintentionally alienate students in the classroom in ways such as a lack of diverse curricular examples/models or presumptive language (Tanner and Allen, 2007). Critical self-reflection on the part of the instructor is needed. Howard (2003) provides some key questions that instructors can use as a starting point for this reflection:1.) How frequently and what types of interactions did I have with individuals from racial backgrounds different from my own growing up?;2.) Who were the primary persons that helped to shape my perspectives of individuals from different racial groups? How were their opinions formed?; 3.) Have I ever harbored prejudiced thoughts towards people from different racial backgrounds?; 4.) If I do harbor prejudiced thoughts, what effects do such thoughts have on students who come from those backgrounds?; and 5.) Do I create negative profiles of individuals who come from different racial backgrounds? While these self-reflection questions focus only on race, it is beneficial for instructors to think of other classifications such as gender, religion, ability status, sexual orientation, or other axes of minoritization that can be substituted here. Only after biases are acknowledged can instructors begin to take on the work of creating a more inclusive classroom.
Culturally responsive pedagogy has been a recent focus of the AAC&U through their Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM (TIDES), which sought to aid institutions in developing teaching strategies that help STEM faculty adopt culturally sensitive pedagogy (Mack, 2019). Some principles born from this effort that were implemented in face-to-face courses (Hughes-Darden et al, 2019) can provide a more descriptive framework to translate cultural competence to the realm of online teaching. These principles are: 1.) Incorporate physical and hands on activities in instructional practices; 2.) Incorporate more student-led discussions and teaching opportunities in class;3.) Become aware of personal biases and judgements that shape perceptions of students and being willing to change these perceptions;4.) Have student-led teaching and learning apprenticeships that foster empowered learning communities; and 5.) Use students’ lived experiences as a context for course content and activities. All five of these principles can apply to the online learning environment with perhaps a slight modification to principle one. These instructional practices now become student-led and instructor-facilitated using one or more of the active learning tools described in this article.