The Culturally Responsive Classroom
By: Rhonda Phillips
What is a culturally responsive classroom?
• Allows and encourages diversity among the students and teacher.
• It provides a safe environment for all students to be themselves and be heard.
• It provides rigor in the course content by utilizing differentiation strategies.
• It teaches problem-solving, conflict resolution, and critical thinking skills.
• It incorporates students’ culture into the curriculum and classroom environment/climate.
Classroom Environment and Climate
• Includes walls, seating, lighting, sound, materials, and technology– Exhibit student
work– Allow the students
to decorate the room (with guidelines)
Classroom Environment and Climate
• Post and make clear rules, routines, and expectations– Allow students to create the
expectations for the classroom
Classroom Environment and Climate (cont.)
• Teach problem solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution– Group work – Listening and speaking skills
• Know and understand the leaning needs of all students, including gifted, ELL, disabilities, and socio-economic status– Personal inventory– Learning Style Inventory
• Recognize opportunities for learning– Be cognizant of the things people are saying
and the way they are saying them
Relationships• Activities
– Cultural Concept Map– Personal Profiles– Describe Yourself in 6
Words• Attend events within
the communities of your students.– Festival of the Forks
• *Don’t be afraid to know your students
Festival of the Forks• A 2-day non-stop • festival celebrating • Albion’s community spirit.• Shopping, activities, dancing,
cultural experiences, parade, and music.
Curriculum and Assessment
• Student-Centered Instruction and Authentic Assessments
• ELA– Meaningful Objects– Walking in the Shoes of Others
• Science– Weather, Weather Everywhere– Diversity in Plants and Wildlife
• Social Studies– Life Timeline– Ojibwe Dying Quills Designs
• Math– Graphing Differences– Sweat Shop Math– Heirloom Geometry