5 Reflecting on CRP
Institutional
Think about the university as a whole.
- What attitudes or practices at the university repeat patterns of marginalization?
- Are there harmful aspects of the administrative or academic culture of the university?
- How can these patterns and aspects be disrupted?
- If you can’t think of any, are there any concerns that others have raised, or are there other perspectives to consider?
- How can you be an advocate for change?
Personal
Think about your lived experience.
- What do you know about your own culture?
- How do you present yourself culturally to your students?
- What do you know about your students and their various cultural identities and experiences?
- How can you create opportunities for you and your students to get to know each other?
Being open and enthusiastic about cultural differences while finding ways to create classroom connections helps in building a learning community.
Instructional
Think about your classroom.
- How can you make your classroom more culturally responsive?
- Do students have the opportunity to see themselves and their culture reflected in the course?
- Can diverse voices and/or perspectives be added to course materials?
- Can assignments be designed in a way that students can connect the content with their own cultural experience?
- What is missing from the text or from the course?
- Do students have the opportunity to co-create their learning experience?
Exercise
After reviewing the reflection questions above, what are your main insights about Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for your institution, yourself and your classroom?