Assessing the Level of Cultural Responsiveness in Your Teaching During this week’s Discussion assignment, you had the opportunity to examine and discuss a variety of teaching strategies that reflect the CREDE standards. For this week’s Application Assignment, you will examine your own teaching practice in order to determine areas of strength and areas needing improvement in terms of the standards and characteristics of culturally responsive teaching. To prepare for this assignment: Review the CREDE standards and Dr. Garcia’s 5 Rs and 1 T.Reflect on how these standards and characteristics could be implemented in your classroom. Next, think about how you typically teach and the extent to which you practice the CREDE standards and Dr. Garcia’s characteristics of culturally responsive teaching. Then, focus on a particular lesson or unit that you have recently taught, and critically evaluate the extent to which it incorporates the CREDE standards and Dr. Garcia’s œ5 Rs and 1 T. To gain greater insight into your teaching, you could videotape yourself teaching a lesson, ask a colleague to observe you and provide feedback, or record your thoughts and observations immediately following a lesson. Use the following checklist to assist in your analysis. Please note that you do not need to submit the checklist, but you will use it to help you prepare for this Application Assignment: Assessment Checklist of Culturally Responsive Teaching Adapted with permission from The Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy by the Center for Research, Education, Diversity, and Excellences (CREDE) pedagogical standards. After completing the assessment checklist, reflect on the following questions: Which CREDE standards and culturally responsive approaches do you believe you are effectively implementing? In what ways could your teaching be more culturally responsive? What specific adjustments could you make to your lesson/unit plan and in your teaching approach in order to better reflect the CREDE standards and Dr. Garcia’s œ5 Rs and 1 T? The assignment: Summarize your analysis and describe specific ways you could modify your unit/lesson plan and teaching approach in order to better address the needs of ELLs and maximize learning for all students. Be certain to reference the CREDE standards and Dr. Garcia’s characteristics of culturally responsive teaching. Resources Website: Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE): The CREDE Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy and Learning Online Article: Wallace, S. (2004, September). Effective instructional strategies for English language learners in mainstream classrooms. Retrieved from ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS IN TEACHING CREDE standards and culturally responsive approaches that I have effectively implemented. According to the Johns Hopkins University (2011), teachers should work with their students in every way possible to achieve desired results. I work with my students to ensure that they understand everything that I teach. Where I introduce new skills to them and they do not understand, I make sure that I simplify technical terms and make them understand new vocabulary by going through them in detail. I have practiced contextualization where the standard requires teachers to connect students’ everyday activities and experiences with school. I do this by giving my students activities that reflect what they may have experienced in real life, so that they can apply such experiences in class in order to facilitate effective learning. Experiences make students learn faster rather than giving those activities they have never come across in their entire lives (Cox 2011). I have observed the language development standard by encouraging students to communicate in their native language where they can not do so in English. I have provided them with reading materials in their native languages so that they are able to understand their native languages first. Bilingual tutors are also available to translate what the students have read in their native languages. This is to create better understanding in both the native language and English (Gay 2000). I try to be responsive by responding to my students’ parents who are concerned with their children’s grades through the students themselves. This is to ensure that all parents are aware of the progress that their children are making at all times. I have been resourceful by availing reading materials to the students to help them understand themselves in their native language I believe I have adhered to one of Dr. Garcia culturally responsive approaches. I respect my students and try to be reasonable with them by understanding that they need time to figure out new things in life. That is why I ensure that they can relate their class’ work with to their prior knowledge before I can build upon that knowledge. I have an appropriate educational theory because I believe I can develop and support all students regardless of their background. Adjustments that I would make to my teaching to better reflect the CREDE standards and Dr. Garcia’s 5 Rs and 1 T. One of the major adjustments I would make is to engage my students in challenging activities so that they are able to think cognitively instead of always thinking within their life experiences. According to the University of California (2011), Challenging but achievable instructions will help them achieve standards set and therefore enables them to think on a more complex level rather than a basic level. I would also encourage my students to be more open and engage in conversations when I instruct them to do so. This will help me understand how they reason and what better ways I would use to give them a clear guide in achieving their academic goals. I would also ensure that all the students participate in the conversations so that their views and judgments are shared. I would also try to be more responsible for my students’ well being by ensuring that they can learn to view me as a parent figure to them. I realize that the task is not to be left to their parents only but to me also because they spend most of their time with me at school. REFERENCES Gay, G. (2000). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, & Practice. New York: Teacher College Press. Cox, M. (2011). Cultural Responsiveness and Motivation in Preparing Teachers. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Johns Hopkins University. (2010). New Horizons for Learning. Available from: University of California. (2011). Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence. Available from: Order a similar topic now!