Bringing Theory to Life: Strategies that Make Culturally Responsive Pedagogy a Reality in Diverse Secondary Classrooms

Preparing U.S. teachers for effectiveness with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) secondary students remains a challenge, given the relative homogeneity of educators and their enculturation to an educational system based on European American norms and values. Although culturally responsive pedagogy has emerged as a promising avenue for promoting student achievement, instructional tools are needed to support application of theory in multicultural classrooms. In this paper the authors provide a framework for linguistic and academic development, contextualized within a larger model of biography-driven instruction. Instructional strategies implemented throughout the lesson are described, and their usefulness for improving teacher performance is explored.