Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction

The achievement gap remains a stubborn problem for educators of culturally and linguistically diverse students. With the introduction of the rigorous Common Core State Standards, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement and facilitating deeper learning Culturally responsive pedagogy has shown great promise in meeting this need, but many educators still struggle with its implementation. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction.

The book includes:

• -Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships
• -Ten “key moves” to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners
• -Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection

With a firm understanding of these techniques and principles, teachers and instructional leaders will confidently reap the benefits of culturally responsive instruction.

“An essential, compelling, and practical examination of the relationship between culture and cognition that will forever transform how we think about our role facilitating the learning of other people’s children—and our own children! —LaShawn Routé Chatmon, Executive Director National Equity Project

“All students can and will learn at high levels when provided the type of instruction described in this book. This work calls us to action by mandating that we move beyond looking for student outcomes that rely heavily on the regurgitation of memorized facts to applying the information learned to new situations.”—Kendra Ferguson, Chief of Schools Kipp Bay Area Schools, Oakland, CA