Week 31: Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness
Step 1(What): My understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness is very much as defined by Gay (2001, p.106 ) “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. However my teaching does not always reflect my understanding. When I view my teaching through the lens of the Action continuum (below), I think it is mostly in the purple range because I do not hold deficit views of non-white learners and actively try to avoid tokenism. I have some understanding of language and cultural content but these are not embedded in my practice and my actions and expectations are often influenced by Whitestream thinking. My actions around cultural responsiveness are growing and I can see that I am but moving towards the green zone as I learn more, try more, and experience more.
Step 2 (So what): The five elements discussed by Gay (2001) which include knowledge about cultural diversity, culturally integrated content in the curriculum, development of the learning community, the ability to communicate with culturally diverse students and culturally responsive delivery of instruction, are clear indicators of cultural responsiveness. In my practice the elements I have strengths in are communicating with culturally diverse students and development of the learning community. My focus for learning is firmly based in student agency and building and sustaining relationships with my students and their whanau is a key aspect of our learning.
As I learn more about student agency and get to know my students better I'm finding my delivery of instruction is more culturally responsive. However in regards to knowledge about cultural diversity and ensuring culturally integrated content in the curriculum I do not do as well and know I need to work in these areas.
Step 3 (now what): I was challenged by Milne’s presentation (CORE Education, 2017). Aspects that particularly challenged me were:
I was also very challenged by a statement a young woman made in Milne's presentation (CORE Education, 2017) when she said, "Where am I in this picture?" in regards to her inability to see herself in the curriculum her teachers were delivering.
The question for me is 'Where are my students? - Do they see themselves reflected in our curriculum? In our class environment? In our lessons? In our values? In all aspects of our school?
References:
Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994
Gay,G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2),106-116.
Milne, B.A. (2013). Colouring in the white spaces: Reclaiming cultural identity in whitestream schools. (Doctoral Thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10289/7868
Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical Reflection Model. Retrieved from: https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf
Hi Donna,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post on cultural responsiveness. I could relate to a lot of what you said. In my community of learning we discussed a book called Colouring In The White Spaces (Reclaiming Cultural Identity in Whitestream Schools) by Anne Milne. It was pretty challenging for me, a pakeha teacher in a predominantly pakeha school. I can do a lot better to recognise and support the needs of Maori students in my school, but I also want to do the same for all of the students I teach. That's why I really like your quote from Russell Bishop.
Cheers,
Dan Oades