StephanieProctor

11/13/2014
DED518
Dr.Laird
FinalCapstoneProject

Culturallyrelevantteachingoccursinschoolsthataremulticultural.Teachers
incorporatethecultureofstudentsintothecurriculum.Theyuserepresentationsand
examplesfromtheculturesofthestudentsaswellasthosefromthedominantsociety.
Theculturesofstudentsfamiliesandthecommunityarevaluedandreflectedinall
aspectsofinstruction.Developaculturallyrelevantlessonplanonatopicthatyouwill
beteaching.Describetheculturalcontextforthestudentstowhomthelessonwillbe
taught.Peruseclassreadingsandofferhowaspecializedknowledgeandunderstanding
ofstudentscultureandimplicationsfortheirmulticulturaldevelopmentshouldbean
entitlementforallteachers.

Reflection is a key part of being an effective culturally responsive teacher.

According to Laird, teachers lesson planning requires a well thought out before a
teacher may begin their instruction planning (E. Laird, DED 518,September11,2014).
Instruction planning should originatewithstudentcenteredanddifferentiatedinstruction.
An effective culturally responsive teacher should continually evaluatetheeffectsoftheir
decisionmaking processandtheimpactonthecommunity,
including have on parent(s), colleagues, administrators,
community members, and most importantly, the students.
A teacher who doreflectontheirinstructionbeforeorafter
class tends to be the better teacher for students (E.Laird,
DED 518, Fall 2014). A teachers reflective
decisionmaking is a part of the teaching process where he/she has to monitor the
students performance based on his/her cultural contexts and their learning preferences.

Cultural contexts is where the teacher has to reflectandlookatthe valueof thestudents

cultural influence on his/her learning process. An effective teacher, who is aware of
different cultural contexts will be able to bring about intended learning outcomes in
his/her classroom environment when the teachers intent is clear in their instruction
(Cooper, 2011). Teachers integration of culturallyresponsiveteaching(CRT)is acritical
skill to acquire. Smith suggests for teachers to have a solid knowledge of learning and
human behavior, exhibit a positive attitudes, and fosters learning and human
relationships, have mastery competence in their subject area, and have a repertoire of
teaching skill that facilitates student learning (Cooper, 2011). Smiths best suggestion
about culturally responsive teaching is for the teacher to display an attitude about
students social and cultural background. Teachers need to be mindful and selfaware of
their personal philosophy, morals and ethical beliefs, lifestyle choices, as well as their
attitudestowardsstudentsbackgrounds.
Culturally responsive teaching includes reflective decisionmaking procecss.
Reflective decision making process is something that teachers have to develop through
practice. Reflective teaching includes a decisionmaking processwhichconsidershowto
reconstruct student knowledge, and includes being able to connect a students prior
knowledge to the subject matter, and how to apply the teachers objectives to students
learning styles. Teachers need to be able to reflect related to students cultural relevant
contexts by using reflectiononaction and reflectioninaction (Cooper, 2011).
Reflectiononaction and reflectioninaction are a key part of culturally responsive
teaching strategies. Teachers need to determine what is effective or not effective for

students. Teachers need to be able to provide reinforcement for students who who may
not be familiar with different cultures,suchasNativeAmericanheritagemonth(E.Laird,
DED 518, September 4, 2014). Cooper (2011) state, Reflectiononaction occurs when
planning for a lesson or in thinking about a lesson that has already has been already
taught (p. 14). For instance, If a teacher is teaching for the first time related to Native
American Heritage and culture. A potential factor to encounter a student who may
already have a emerging prior knowledge related to Indians and basic historical
information related to spanish exploration, and a teacher will need to thinkabouthowto
provide enrichment or extension for students after the lesson plan has been taught.
Although,Teachersneedtobeabletoprovidereinforcementforstudentswhomaynotbe
familiar with different cultures such as native american heritage month.
Reflectioninaction occurs during the teaching of a lesson, often, requiring an
immediate response (Cooper, 2011, p. 14). For example, often, a teacher will see
students inquiring a lot of questions if students are not familiar with Native American
culture, and that is when a teacher is prepared to respond and provide extended concept
of the Native American culture. According to Laird, he mention about how teachers
reflection is critical for teachers to know the difference between enrichment and
extension support during teachers differentiated instruction planning. (E. Laird, DED
518, November 6, 2014). An effective teacher should assure that students learning
growth is on their pace and is able to understand the topic before students are ready to
moveontonexttopic.

AccordingtoLaird,reflectionononesteachingisimportantforgrowth.(E.Laird,
DED 518, September 4, 2014). Teachers cannot learn how toteacheffectivelyiftheydo
not reflect on their current practices and are not active in theirprofessionaldevelopment
or community. Hughes (2014) discussed about the teacher diversity capital is intended
to name the type of teaching enhancement that embraces emotion
and drives teachers to seek new opportunities and ideas for
building positive relationships with students and families from
culturally

diverse

backgrounds(Hughes,2014).

Teachers need to ensure that they are developing a

solid positive parenttoteacher relationship. Cooper (2011) supports Hughes's argument
about how it is critical to have teacher diversity capital to build a positive relationship
with the community. He state that when you communicate with parents, you should
show genuine interest in them and their child. (p. 334) Participation in professional
development based on diversity is another key part of a teachers responsibilities and
helps to effectively integrate culturallyrelevantteachinginto theclassroomenvironment.
Related to teachers responsibilities, A teacher needs to have a rational and reflective
process based on student need, appropriate objectives, selfmotivational skills, and
instructional strategies that accommodate the students cultural backgrounds (E. Laird,
DED 518, Fall 2014). For instance, If I am preparing a lesson plan related to Native
American Culture, then I will need to gather information about this culture by attending
community events such as Native American festivals or ceremonies. A teacher cannot
teach a topic if they are not familiar with the cultural contexts, which is why it is

important for teachers to be able to advance in their profession and show that they are
able to teach and expose authentictostudents.Aculturallysensitiveteacheralsoensures
that the classroom environmentincludesdifferentiatedinstructionwhichisaphilosophy
that enables educators to plan strategically in order to reach the needs of the diverse
learners in classrooms today to achieve targeted standards (Gregory &Chapman, 2007,
p.2).
Differentiation is a critical part of culturally responsive teaching since students
learning experiences and abilities mayvarydramatically.Eachstudentslearningstyleor
preference is not the same. Students do come from different cultural backgrounds,
influenced bytheirfamilyandthesurroundingsociety.Theteacherhasaresponsibility to
demonstrate acceptance of diversity intheclassroom. Forexample,alessonplancreated
in accordance with culturally responsive teaching paper is about
Native American Culture. In this lesson, students read Sacajawea
by Joyce Milton and Sitting Bull by Lucielle
Pellar. The purpose of the Native American
Culture lesson plan is to teach and expose Deaf
and hard of hearing students to diverse topics presented through a
literacy lesson. The attached lesson plan has a native american
student who resides on an Indian reservation. After the student learns about Native
American culture and the different dynamics of relationships within the community,
compared to mainstream (white) American culture, students will also learn about the
differences between gender roles and beliefs regarding the dynamics of power within

Native Americanculture.Aclassdiscussionfromanativeamericanstudentandexposure
to a culture that is different from the majority of the students in the class, will assist
students with effective peer collaboration and bring a new awareness and the
understanding of this culture. When the students native american culture awareness
literacy unit is complete, and they are done with literacy assignments, the teacher will
invite a few native american adults from the Native American community to come and
share about their experiences as a Native American. Native speakersarethebestmethod
to provide authentic exposure to students who are not familiarwiththeNativeAmerican
heritage. At end of the lesson plan, the teacher will hope to accomplish the authentic
culturally responsive teaching. By embracing the sociocultural realities and histories of
students through what is taught and how, culturally responsive teachers negotiate
classroom cultures with their students that reflect the communities where students
develop and grow (Geneva Gay, 2000, as cited in Kozleski, 2010, p.3 ).Asaculturally
responsive teacher, being aware of each students cultural background is critical and
exposing students to feel connected to his/her peers and in the classroom environment.
Cooper (2011) states that CRT is an approach to teaching and learning that builds on
cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference and performance style of
ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant and effective for
them(p.189).
An effective culturally responsive teacher will proactively plan different
approachesforstudents.Cooper(2011)states,
Afullerdefinitionofdifferentiatedinstructionisthatateacherproactivelyplans

variedapproachestowhatstudentsneedtolearn,howtheywilllearnit,and.or
howtheycanexpresswhattheyhavelearnedinordertoincreasethelikelihood
that each student will learn as much as he or he can efficiently as possible.
(Cooper,2011,p.155).
Diversity awareness is critical in the classroom environment. If a teacher excludes the
exposure of diversity, then there can be an impact on students language acquisitionand
learning processes. One important part of being a proactive teacher, is to ensure the
classroomenvironmentissafeonadailybasis.Kozleski(2010)statesthat,
Thiskindofclassroomrequirescarefulplanningandexplicitteachingaround
socialinteractionssothatstudentslearntoassumeleadershipforlearning,feel
comfortable exploring differences of opinion, and accept thattheymayneedhelp
from their classmates in order to be successful. Along the way, students learn to
see the classroom and their interactions from more than one perspective so that
they can identify potential difficulties that come from assumptions of privilege,
the distribution of power (who gets to make the rules), and the assessment of
performanceandcompetence(Kozleski,2010,p.3).
The classroom environment needs to be created by the teacher so that students are
respected by each other, diverse backgrounds are welcomed and recognized, and the
teachers instruction is useful, meaningful, and relevant to the students. A teachers
communication needs to be clearly related to the their intended outcome and students
achievement (E.Laird, DED 518, Fall 2014). Teachersmustaddressstudentsdiversity,
and genderdifferencesinlearning,considerculturalissues,drawuponstudentsinterests,

and be aware of student learning modalities (Cooper, 2011). Teachers effective

classroom management and culturalsensitivity is necessary to understand these areas in
ordertobeaneffectiveculturallyresponsiveteacher.
Gay (2010) states that you cant teach what and who you dont know (p. 1).If
an effective teacher wants to be able to teach well, he/she will first need understand
about why he/she is teaching, who he/she will teach to,wherehe/shewillbeteaching at,
what content/subject(s) he/she will teach, and
how the he/she will utilize these approaches
based on their teaching methods. After a
teacher understands the four important Ws
(who, where, what, and how), then the
classroom teacher will be able to integrate academic and cultural diversity into lessons
and instruction by providing equal opportunities which allow students to express
themselves, continued support for students growth, and ensures that each students
individual culture(s)arepartoftheclassroomdialogueandenvironment.Kozleski(2010)
makes several excellent suggestions for teachers who want to become familiar with
culturally responsive teaching (CRT). As a teacher, I would want to establish a high
expectations, actively engage students in their learning, develop cooperative learning in
the lesson plan, and learn about the history of diverse groups. In fact, having on file a
learner profile on file for each student is important and assists in including different
aspects of the cultures in the classroom. Additionally,havingalearnersprofileforeach
student, shows it is vital for teachers to have a better understanding of and be able to

evaluate each students learning style based on Gardners eight multiple intelligences.
Much like a students cultural background learning style can impact the students
learning preference, so can their areas of strength and intelligence. Often lessons are
geared toward thosewhohaveverballinguisticormathematicallogicalintelligences,but
teachers need to recognize those students who have intelligences that areintheothersix
areas. Students will likely have a combination of these areas of intelligence, and lessons
needtobedesignedtonurturetheseareasofintelligenceaccordingly.(Cooper,2011)
A teachers objective for including diversity in the classroom does not mean
categorizing students solely by their race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, or
sexual orientation (E.Laird, DED 541, August 26, 2014). The purpose of the Native
American culture lesson plan, for Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students is to
demonstrate that regardless of their race, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, or gender,
Native Americans do not deserve to be oppressed by white people. The topic of
oppression due to differences will be discussed. For example, a teacher would ask the
students to identify the oppression in the passages as students are able to discover the
main points of the story. The classroom discussion will encourage DHH students to
collaborate with peers and discuss reasons not to oppress others due to diverse
backgrounds. Such a collaboration is critical, because students who experience
oppression in the classroom are likely to sit out or may have a low affective filter and
even struggle with their reading comprehension or language acquisition skills (M.Rust,
DED 511, Fall 2014). Boththeteachersinaclassroomandthepeersmustopenlydiscuss
issues of oppression and how to combat them in order for all students to feel safe in the

classroom (Cooper, 2011). In addition to the collaboration,. Gaystates,culturerefersto

a dynamic system of social values, cognitive codes, behavioral standards, worldviews,
and beliefsusedtogiveorderandmeaningtoourownlivesaswellasthelivesofothers
(Gay, 2010 as cited in DelgadoGaitan & Trueba, 1991, p.89). The bottom line is an
effective teacher, who wants to include culturally relevant teaching in his/her practice,
will need to be clear oncontent,providerespectfultasks,reflectonstudentsassessment,
be currently active in the students community, flexible while maintaining routines, as
well as be responsible and ensure that the students language is accessible in the
classroomandfocusesontheirgrowth.
A teachers background experiences and culture are a determining factor of the
teachersabilitytoinfluencelearningintheclassroom.Often,teachersdonotrealizehow
important it is for them to ensure that students of color or those with disabilities feel
connected to the classroom. Students of color and those with disabilities are stillviewed
by society as underachieving. Modern teachers are taught how to ensure that studentsof
color or those with disabilities should notbeviewedtheyareasunderachievingstudents.
Modern thinking related to how to teach students, regardless of their background,
includes

culturally responsive teaching that is validating, comprehensive,

multidimensional, empowering, transformative, and emancipatory (Cooper, 2011). An

effective teacher will encourage students tofeelsafetodisplaytheirculturalheritageand
their identify, supports their academic growth,empowerstudents,encouragesanadditive
approach in the language planning or instruction, and ensure the classroom environment
is studentcentered. Cooper (2011) state that we need to consider students safety,

acknowledgement, expectations, hard work/support system, and be aware of that

everyone in the classroom is a learner and teacher. (p.160) Also, InTASC #4 standard
discusses about how a teachers curriculum should be invitational for our students.
Attempting to include different types of diversity in the class is never easy, but
interestingly complexandcansometimesbeinfluencedbythestudentpowerdynamics in
theclassroom.
Teachers often find themselves at a level of frustration if students power
dynamics affect a teachers ability to effectively manage their classrooms. Teacherswill
need to examine the role of culture in culturally responsive teaching as it relates to
student power dynamics (Cooper, 2011). Sociopolitical and sociocultural awareness will
promote all types of students to extend their knowledge and eliminate the oppression
wall.TeelandObidahproposethat,
Teachersshouldseeculturaldifferencesasassetscreatinglearningcommunities
whereculturallydifferentindividualsandheritagesarevalueusingcultural
knowledge of ethnically diverse cultures, families, and communities to guide
curriculum development, racial and cultural stereotypes, prejudices, racism, and
other form of intolerance, injustice, and oppression being change agents for
social justice and academic equity mediating power imbalances in classrooms
based on race, culture, ethnicity, and class and accepting culturalresponsiveness
as endemic to educational effectiveness in all areas of learning for students from
allethnicgroups(TeelandObidah,2008ascitedinGay,2010,p.31).

Teachers need to question themselves with how can they can break down the language
barrier of racism, sexism, or homophobia by developing collaboration between students,
teachers, and within the community.Regardingthementalattitudeoflanguage,language
use is influenced by socioeconomic status or cultural background. Students should be
taught to learn how to evaluate their language usage towards to their peers. Students
sociocultural and linguistically meaningful contexts should be included in their
higherlevel cognitive and communicative skills with their peers (Cooper, 2011). After
considering a students social dynamics, a teacher will need to reflectonhowtocreatea
variety climate of learning for a student.The culturally responsive teachers decision
making is the first step toward considering variety of climate learning and enrichment
opportunities. Regarding to the Native American culture lesson plan, the teacher will
need to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing studentsintheclassareable todowellwith
their collaborative learning by monitoring their social dynamics. Based on their
collaborative learning about Native American culture, the teacher will need to
acknowledge that, regardless of what will happen with their process, students will
comprehendthetopicintheend.
According to Gregory and Chapman (2007), all students can learn and be
successful. Related to students growth, a teacher knows that a student is capable of
learning and is likely to be influenced by the teachers disposition. Students have their
peripheral stimuli that would triggertheiraffectivefilterrelatedtotheirlearningprocess.
Peripheral stimuli is whenthebrainconveysa messagetothestudentsparallelprocessor
part of thebraintoprocessthethoughts,emotions,and perceptionsfromateachersbody

language, tones, and their teaching approach with the students (Gregory & Chapman,
2007). A teachers attitude orbehaviorintheclassroomdoesimpactastudents abilityto
learn.Foranexample, ateacherwillneedtoreflectonabouthowtheyareabletoeducate
students about Native American culturewithoutoffendinganyoftheirstudentsincluding
deaf and hard of hearing students when presenting the discrimination experienced by
Native Americans. Goleman (1995) suggests teachers evaluate each students emotional
intelligence. Understanding of emotional intelligence helps the teacher to evaluate how
theculturallyrelevantlessonispresented.
Readiness isanotherareawhichinfluencesstudents.Forinstance,wheneducators
see a student is living in a fear in the classroom, it means their readinesswilleventually
block their ability of learn (Gregory & Chapman, 2007). Readiness differentiation is
influenced by students background, unfamiliar topics, and the teachers ability to
connect a students prior knowledge to their current knowledge (Cooper, 2011).
Readiness and degree of complexity of learning tasks are critical and should be
considered by teachers becausestudentsshouldfeelgoodaboutthemselveswhentheydo
leave the classroom. Goleman (1995) suggests teachers should reflect ontheiremotional
intelligence, which could be influenced by their cultural background. Culturally
responsive teaching skills should include Golemans emotional intelligence and Zone of
Proximal Development(ZPD),whichincludesastudentsselfawareness,selfregulation,
motivation, empathy, and social skills. Students ZPD with a teacher is what generates
their learning process and social skills. According to Cooper (2011), Lev Vygotsky
defines zone of proximal development as the difference between the intellectualinsights

a child has and the higher or deeper levels that the child could reach with the help of
another (Cooper, 2011, p. 112). Social interaction skills are important to develop for
students language acquisition and communication. Teachers should be able to provide
sufficient enrichment for social skills, such as cooperative and collaborative learning. In
addition to culturally responsive teaching, cooperative and collaborative learning is
anothercriticalpart.
Gregory and Chapman (2007) state that students working in cooperative groups
are likely to learn social skills effectively. As a culturally responsive teacher, a teacher
need tobeawareofthepotentialaspectsofcooperativegrouplearningwithstudentswith
different cultural background. Robins, Gregory, and Herndon (2000) encourage teachers
who do differentiating instruction tousetheacronomy,TASK,intostudentscooperative
learning:
TThinkingisbuiltintotheprocess
AAccountabilityisessential.Goalachievement:bothindividualand
group.
SSocialSkillsleadtoteamsuccess.
KKeepeveryoneonTASK:roles,tasks,resources,novelty,simulations,and
clearexpectations(Robins,Gregory,&HerndonascitedinGregory&Chapman,
2007).
Gregory and Chapman (2007) example ofusingTASKisbeneficialforculturally
responsive teachers because the purpose of TASK is to promote collaboration for
students to be aware of cultural contexts in the classroom environment. Related to

collaboration, Cooper (2011) discussesabouthowcriticalthescaffoldingisinastudents

learning process. Scaffolding is about constructing a students knowledgeandpromoting
internalization ofinformationthroughcollaborativelearningwiththeteacher.Gay(2010)
discusses about how it is significant for teachers to recognize the values of human
connectedness and collaborative problem solving are high priorities especially with
diverse students. (p. 187) She also states that cooperationplaysdoserveimportantrole
an how a student learn in groups and how well they communicate when in groups.
Teachers needs to create a learning environment that encourages positive interaction
which work to change student attitudes related to their motivation tolearnthecontentof
the topics. Cooperative learning strategies, properly structured, have proven to be
efficient and effective in promoting mastery of knowledge and skills among students of
allabilitiesandages.(Cooper,2011,p.254).
Teachers need to reflect and figure out how to develop an effective cooperative
learning environment for students. Evaluating of each students ability to work together
should be based on their disabilities, achievement, demographics, bias, personality
factors, and cultural background. In regards to working together, Justin Wilson (2014)
discusses how one would view this image and whether one
could identify the difference between cooperative or
collaborative learning. (J.Wilson, DED 518 Module #9, Fall
2014).

This image represents cooperative learning and

encourages the idea of allowing students to learn how to

share their responsibility and collaborate with each other regardless of their diverse
backgrounds.

Effective learning happens when students are interacting withothersandthe

teacher to create their own meaning (E.Laird, DED518,Fall2014).Fora studentwitha

disability, teachers often get stuck with how to provide a solution for students with
disabilities related to cooperative learning or through collaboration. Teachers should
already have their knowledge about how to work with students with a disability. A
students disabilities should not be viewedasmakingcooperativelearningactivitieswith
other students inaccessible. Culturally responsive teachers should be able to understand
how to model apositiveattitudeandteachstudentsthatmaynothaveadisabilitytolearn
howtoworkwithstudentsthatdohaveadisability.Darrow(2013)spokeontheradio,
All students need to feel useful and valuable. Maintain expectations thatarehigh
yet appropriate to a students disability: All students have the potential to learn,
regardless of their disability. A students learning is commensurate with a
teachers expectations. Encourage students with disabilities to assume leadership
roles: Leadershippotentialinstudents withdisabilitiesneedstoberecognizedand
promoted for these students to truly maximize their capabilities. Encourage the
empowerment of students with disabilities. Motivate students with disabilities to
selfadvocate and to become active participants in their own education: Students
with disabilities who learn toselfadvocatewhentheyneedserviceswillbebetter
prepared for the world that awaits them at graduation. Challenge stereotypic
views of disability played out in the media: As teachers, we must be mindful

never to propagate mediadriven stereotypes in our teaching, and take advantage

of opportunities to highlight realistic and affirming portrayals of persons with
disabilities.(Darrow,GeneralMusicToday,2012)
Darrow (2012) has several good points about how teachers should promote the
idea of empowering studentswithdisabilitiestotakeonleadershiproles.Teacherneedto
develop a solid collaborative model for the students to learn how to work with students
with disabilities, and encourage empowerment. The teachers model empowerment will
influence students attitudes and behaviors in the classroom environment. Students
positive interdependence motivation is the key to their academic achievement as longas
the teachers intended outcome is clear. Teacher accountability is the central point of
students motivation and interdependence because their accountability is intended to
ensurethatstudentslearningispositive,clearandaccessible.
Related to students with disabilities, deafness is recognized as diversity and
cultural relevance includes recognizing deafness as a cultural difference. Stewart and
Kluwin (2001) state that the placement of a deaf child is influenced by a childs race,
parental education, and family income (p. 272). Deaf and hard of hearing teachers
(DHH) who are welleducated about culturally responsive teaching will recognize the
demographic impacts on students learning or language acquisition.StewartandKluwin
(2001) also state that DHH teachers should be sensitive to cultural differences that
interfere with interacting minority children or their parents, should be aware of learning
style difference that might interfere with learning, and iswillingtoseekforhelpseeking
differences for parents(p. 273). Teachers need todevelopapositiveparent(s)toteacher

collaboration to provideabettersupportsystemforadeaforhardofhearingchildrelated
to their language acquisition and learning process. Often, teachers or parents, who lack
deafnessawareness,donotrealizethatAmericanSignLanguage(ASL)isavisualspatial
language. THe lack of a deaf or hard of hearing childs information processing can
impact their learning styles. Therefore, teachersneedtodevelop theirculturalknowledge
about deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) language use in the classroom environment.
According to current knowledge of deaf culture, it is typical that DHH students do lack
access to the language or understanding of their own identity. A deaf culturally
responsive teacher should internalize the understanding how critical it is to incorporate
deafcultureawarenessintotheirclassroominstructionandlanguagepolicy.
Finally, culturally responsive teaching is what centers classroom instruction
around amultiethnicculturalframereference(Gay,2010,p.xxiii).Culturallyresponsive
teaching (CRT) should promote the idea of equity and collaboration within the
community. In our society today, it is recognized that the population is growing more
culturally

and

linguistically diverse.

However, CRT itself alone cannot solve

racism, sexism, or homophobia. Teachers
also need to be aware of elements of
culture within conflicts, environment,
modes of expression, moral values, social
organization, policy laws, technology, and
the economic organization.

Culturally

responsive teachers should ensure that classroom teaching methods are making changes
and demonstrate the best language and role modeltostudentssotheyareabletodevelop
a positive attitude about diversity both inside and outside of their classroom. As a
culturally responsive teacher, bringing a culturally relevant lesson planning into the
curriculum, encourage teachers to build a variety of ways of knowing and including
students from diverse backgrounds in demonstrating their proficiencyinlanguageusage,
mathematical knowledge, literacy skills and most importantly, social interaction.
Therefore, Teachers need to have a specialized knowledge about students cultural and
diverse background and are able to provide an effectiveculturallyresponsiveteachingin
teachers instruction planning. Likewise, LadsonBillings quoted it is an approach that
empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural
referentstoimpartknowledge,skills,andattiudes.

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