Close Read- Geneva Gay Article
CRT and Brain Rules
CRT Models and Practices
Know_your_brain(1)
OER Bracho Module 1 PPT
OER Bracho Module 2
OER Bracho Module 3
UDL and CRT- Article Excerpt
UDL Checkpoint Chart
UDL in the CONTENT AREAS
UDL in the CONTENT AREAS
Cultural Lenses on the Science of Learning
Overview
This module includes three units exploring the connections between adolescent development, the science of learning, and culturally responsive pedagogies. It is meant to make the case that K-12 teachers must not ignore the impact and value of culture as a dimension of development and factor in learning processes. The module culminates in an exploration of how the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework overlaps with principles of CRT (Culturally Relevant Teaching).
INTRODUCTION
Overview of this module
This module includes three units exploring the connections between adolescent development, the science of learning, and culturally responsive pedagogies. It is meant to make the case that K-12 teachers must not ignore the impact and value of culture as a dimension of development and factor in learning processes. The module culminates in an exploration of how the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework overlaps with principles of CRT (Culturally Relevant Teaching).
Audience
This module is primarily intended for K-12 teacher candidates working with adolescent learners, but the materials can be used by anyone working in K-12 schools. Some of the content might be adapted for use with K-12 students, depending on the teacher's focus or interests.
Length of Course
This is designed as a three-week module, but can be adapted depending on the educator's needs.
Course Outcomes
By the end of this module, learners will be able to identify how culturally-relevant pedagogies build on contemporary frameworks related to adolescent development, the science of learning, and UDL.
Technology Requirements
Participants in this module will need access to a computer, smart phone, or tablet as well as internet access to successfully complete the lesson.
UNIT 1: Science of Learning
Learning Objectives:
Teacher Candidates will be able to identify how different areas of the brain are linked to different aspects of the learning process.
Teacher Candidates will be able to explain how culture provides schema that can be tapped to increase student engagement and enhance comprehension.
Overview:
Teacher Candidates preparing to work with adolescents (ages 11-18) need to have a firm understanding of the developmental processes that shape learning. While traditionally this has meant exploring learning theories (such as constructivism or behaviorism), such explorations tend to be acultural-- i.e., avoiding the impact of students' cultural backgrounds and identities in the learning process. Research in the last 30 years has increasingly pointed to the need for culturally relevant pedagogies that reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of students in American schools, but to date very few studies have examined how such pedagogies are linked to adolescent development or the science of learning. Notably, the 2015 book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond fills that gap, offering a rich examination of the ways the brain and culture are linked. Hammond writes:
"Brain-based learning strategies from neuroscience and culturally responsive teaching have always been presented as two separate, unrelated branches of educational practice. Yet teacher educators Geneva Gay and Gloria Ladson-Billings each describe culturally responsive pedagogy as encompassing the social-emotional, relational, and cognitive aspects of teaching... Cognition and higher order thinking have always been at the center of culturally responsive teaching, which makes it a natural partner for neuroscience in the classroom. This book sets out to explicitly highlight the natural intersection between so-called 'brain-based learning' and culturally responsive teaching." (Hammond, 2015, p. 4)
In this first unit, learners explore aspects of brain science and describe how culture shapes learning. Students should read the following texts:
Harper, R. (2019). Science of Adolescent Learning: How Body and Brain Development Affect Student Learning. Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Chapter 3 of Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin Press.
These texts build students' knowlege about how the body and brain develop during adolescence, and examine how culture provides schema that can be utilized by educators to build comprehension, make connections, and deepen understanding as students explore new material or expand on prior knowledge.
UNIT 1: Activities and Assessments
Module 1: Activities and Assessments
This set of activities is designed for a 2.5 hour class session. The PPT follows the lesson plan below. Before class, students should read:
- the “Know Your Brain” open source packet from the NIH, available at https://library.ric.edu/c.php?g=1002716&p=7268363
-Chapter 3 of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain
-Executive Summary of the Alliance for Excellent Education report
1. To start class, go over the objectives of the day.
2. Use 3-4 minutes to have students answer the following prompt: •What did you learn about the brain from the reading? What was new or interesting? What do you still want to know more about? After students write, use 3-4 minutes to have students talk in pairs or groups of 3. Then use about 3-4 minutes to have students share one key insight/ response in the chat box, or use “equity cards” (each student has one card with their name on it, and is randomly called on) to solicit student replies. (Total about 10-12 minutes)
3. Go over the slides with the images from the NIH about parts of the brain and brain power. Afterwards, ask students to work in pairs or groups of three, with the following directive based on the slide “Parts of the Brain”: Which parts of the brain would be the most relevant for teaching my students (especially in my subject area)? Explain why. Then use chat or equity cards to solicit more responses from students. (About 15 minutes)
4. Transition to the All4Ed report and the “Research Statements” about adolescent development. If in person, print out each statement individually and do a “Gallery Walk” where students have 3 minutes to stop at a station and read the statement posted. Students should discuss what the statement means and how it applies to what they know or how they will work with students. Debrief for 10 minutes afterward. If doing this in a virtual setting, give each of 5 groups one statement to discuss, and then come back to the main room to share out. (25 minutes)
5. Transition to the book chapter. Ask students to work on the worksheet called “CRT and Brain Rules.” This can be done individually or in partners for about 10 minutes, and can be modified so that pairs/ groups work on specific items. Then facilitate a conversation about each of “Brain Rules” defined by Hammond. (30 minutes)
6. Transition to a discussion of schema. Read Slide 11 from the PPT, a quote about schema from Chapter 3 in the Hammond text. Watch the video “What is a schema?” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8BCcrM9DDI Afterward, discuss the video and focus on how schemas are linked to identities. Return to the Hammond quote and probe: How is schema linked to culture? (15 minutes)
7. Mini-lecture: narrate the slides about Schema Theory from the open resource at www.learning-theories.org/doku.php?id=learning_theories:schema_theory Alternately, let students access the resource on their own to read independently following a lot of interpersonal sharing/ connecting during class. (About 10 minutes)
8. After reviewing the schema theory slides/ resource, move to an activity in which students work in groups to discuss: How would schema and culture relate to my teaching of these topics/ subjects? What cultural knowledge might I draw on or need to build in order for students to process information or make sense of a topic? Feel free to modify the topics/ subjects. (About 15 minutes for group work and sharing out)
9. After some debriefing, return to the “Parts of the Brain” image and ask: what kinds of activities would I do to help students use their brain to access the content or fortify schema? (5 minutes)
10. Final Assessment. Have students go to a Padlet or Jamboard and respond to the following prompt: What are three things I learned about the brain, culture, and schema?
UNIT 2: Adolescence and Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy
Learning Objectives
Teacher Candidates will be able to identify key tenets of culturally responsive pedagogies.
Teacher Candidates will be able to explain why culture is relevant to the cognitive, emotional, and social development of adolescent learners.
Summary
This unit examines the key tenets of culturally responsive pedagogy, building on the prior unit which explored the connections between the brain, culture, and schema. The unit is grounded in the article by Geneva Gay, "Teaching to and through Cultural Diversity," and incorporates a close read of key passages to help students deepen their understanding of what is meant by culturally responsive teaching (CRT). The goal here is for students to recognize that CRT is not just a curricular approach, but also a pedagogical and relational one that accounts for the cultural and linguistic diversity of students. To that end, students use a worksheet that includes four models/ frameworks that outline CRT practices. Two OER images/ examples include:
http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/tools/innovation-configurations/
https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/culturally-responsive-teaching/teacher-competencies-that-promote-culturally-responsive-teaching/
The unit then encourages students to think specifically about the needs of adolescent learners, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Learners look at the Alliance for Excellent Education report entitled "Science of Adolescent Learning: Valuing Culture, Experienes, and Environments." These include:
Copyright: Alliance for Excellent Education. https://all4ed.org/science-of-adolescent-learning-valuing-culture-experiences-environments/
Following this discussion, students watch a TED Talk, "The Mysterious Workings of the Adolescent Brain." In response, students image that Geneva Gay and Zaretta Hammond were in the audience listening to the presentation. How would they respond to what they heard? This is meant to explicitly link adolescent development to culturally responsive approaches to learning.
Last, as an extension, students will look at more CRT resources that connect to specific disciplines.
Unit 2: Activities and Assessments
Students should read the texts listed below before class. The lesson plan below follows the order of slides in the associated PPT. This is designed as a 2.5 hour session.
Gay, G. (2013). Teaching to and through cultural diversity. Curriculum inquiry, 43(1), 48-70.
Harper, R. (2019b). Science of Adolescent Learning: Valuing Culture, Experiences, and Environments. Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Excellent Education.
- Go over the objectives for the lesson.
- Begin with a Freewrite. Have students respond to the prompt for 2 minutes: What did we learn last week about the brain, culture, and schema? Debrief for a few minutes. (5 minutes total)
- Review the slides that explain the need for CRT and that define CRT (slides 4-5 of PPT). Afterwards, have students do a pair-share in response to this prompt: How is what we learned last week connected to ideas in these slides? Students could work in breakout rooms or in-person. (10 minutes)
- Transition to the Geneva Gay article. Ask students their thoughts on the article and solicit key ideas before moving into a Close Read of key quotes (see associated worksheet). Instructor should read the first quote and give students to write reactions in the right column. Debrief the first quote together. Then the instructor might ask for volunteers to read the quotes and give time in-between or after to write reactions to each quote. Alternately, the instructor might assign each remaining quote to an individual group to read through, discuss, and then present out to the whole class. (30 minutes)
- After debriefing all the quotes, have students watch this video with Geneva Gay and others discussing CRT: https://youtu.be/nGTVjJuRaZ8 Debrief the video with students using a chat box activity or by having students quickly summarize the video in 50 words or less. (10 minutes)
- Have students look at the worksheet called “CRT Models and Practices.” Give students time to work quietly/ independently to review the images and write a response to the prompt on page 2: What is one key takeaway from each of these four sources? After about 10 minutes, go through each slide in the PPT, which has the same images as the worksheet. Debrief each slide and ask students for their takeaways. (25 minutes)
- Transition to the slide with the All4Ed Consensus Statements about culture and learning. Ask students to explain, based on the statements, why adolescents in particular benefit from CRT in the classroom. (10 minutes)
- Watch the TED Talk “The Mysterious Workings of the Adolescent Brain.” Afterwards, use a Jamboard or Padlet to have students respond to this prompt: Imagine Geneva Gay and Zaretta Hammond watched this video. How would they respond to what they heard from Sarah Jayne Blackmore? Debrief for a few minutes. (25 minutes)
- Homework: Have students look at another resource on CRT for specific subjects. On a discussion post, students should write about what they learned regarding the ways CRT can be applied to different disciplines.
UNIT 3: Culturally-Relevant Teaching and UDL
Learning Objectives
Teacher Candidates will be able to describe how UDL is linked to the science of learning, with specific attention to affective, recognition, and strategic networks in the brain.
Teacher Candidates will be able to link UDL to facets of culturally responsive pedagogies, and explain why such an approach is necessary to address cultural and linguistic diversity.
Overview
This final unit builds on the last two units by examining Universal Design for Learning (UDL) through a Culturally Relevant Teaching (CRT) lens. Students explain how UDL is a brain-based framework and then interrogate the ways CRT and UDL overlap. While UDL offers a clear framework for tapping into the brain's various networks, it does not fully integrate cultural diversity as a major component or factor. This unit is meant to counter the notion that neuroscience is acultural or disconnected from culture, and compels teachers to consider how these research-based approaches can be used in tandem to best meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Students begin by exploring more about the specific brain networks in the UDL framework. This includes a jigsaw activity designed to deepen their understanding of each network. They will then consider how the Kieran and Anderson article, "Connecting universal design for learning with culturally responsive teaching," (2019) shows connections between specific brain networks and CRT components.
^Copyright: Kieran, L., & Anderson, C. (2019). Connecting universal design for learning with culturally responsive teaching. Education and Urban Society, 51(9), 1202-1216.
Students will apply what they have learned by looking at the UDL Checkpoints associated with each of the 9 UDL Guidelines, using a worksheet that also asks for CRT connections. Next, students will have individual inquiry time to look at UDL resources for their subject areas.
Students will be assessed by completing a homework assignment where they write up an idea for a lesson grounded in at least 1 UDL checkpoint and 1 component of CRT.
Unit 3: Activities and Assessments
To read/ view beforehand:
A Creative Commons resource: https://instructionaldesign2improvelearning.pressbooks.com/chapter/chapter-6/
Kieran, L., & Anderson, C. (2019). Connecting universal design for learning with culturally responsive teaching. Education and Urban Society, 51(9), 1202-1216.
Lesson Steps:
- Go over the objectives.
- Freewrite: What have you learned over the last two weeks about the brain and culture? What did you learn from the homework assignment last week on CRT for different subjects? Let students write for about 4-5 minutes, and debrief for another 5. (10 minutes)
- Watch the video: https://udlhcpss.wordpress.com/brain-networks/brain-networks/ Have students use the associated worksheet, "Brain Networks Handout," to fill out after or during watching. Students should also add what they remember from the website they reviewed before class. Debrief with students using equity cards or chat box entries. (15 minutes)
- Engage students in a jigsaw activity. Each person will be assigned 1 of 3 videos to view about a different brain network. They will add to the worksheet. Have students debrief each section and offer insights into that specific network. (20 minutes)
- Pair-share: transition to the Kieran an Anderson article. Give students 5 minutes to discuss what they found valuable from the text, and how it connects to what we’ve been learning. Then discuss as a whole group for another 5 minutes. (10 minutes)
- Provide students the worksheet entitled “UDL and CRT- Article Excerpt.” The worksheet is a table from the article that shows how the different areas of UDL overlap with CRT. Use a Jamboard with three different slides, or use poster paper, to have small groups focus on one of the three areas. Students should select what they believe are the top 3-4 connections between the two frameworks, and offer specific strategies that manifest these connections. Remind them that multiple means of representation relates to recognition networks, multiple means of engagement relates to affective networks, and multiple means of action and expression relate to the strategic networks. (25 minutes)
- Have students go to https://udlguidelines.cast.org/ to visit the UDL guidelines. Model for students what can be seen when you click on the individual checkpoints (not just the guidelines). Examples of these are available in the PPT. Provide the worksheet ("UDL Checkpoint Chart") and have students work individually to review at least 3 checkpoints, and offer potential connections to CRT. Then have students debrief in small groups/ breakouts. (25 minutes)
- Give students about 10 minutes to individually review UDL resources for specific disciplines. Students can use the associated worksheet “UDL in the Content Areas” or you can add the links to your LMS page. Before sending them off, remind them of the homework assignment they did the week before on CRT in the disciplines. Have them consider how the UDL resources might overlap with what they saw in the CRT resources. When students return, have them share out in small groups based on disciplines, or in randomized partners. (20 minutes)
- Homework/ Assessment. UDL and CRT planning. Show the slide with “Some Ideas.” These are the same topics from the first unit, but students can select any topics. Ask students to use a Discussion Board to write out an idea for a lesson plan about that topics that incorporates both UDL and CRT. Students should write at least 1 checkpoint and 1 component of CRT at the top of the lesson and then narrate a lesson that incorporates both. This can be submitted in written, audio, or video form.