Culturally Responsive Teaching

Learn more about how to use students’ customs, characteristics, experience, and perspectives as tools for better classroom instruction

Explainer

What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?
Here's what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher and where critical race theory ties in—or not.
Teaching Video What Culturally Responsive Teaching Looks Like: A Native Educator Explains
An expert on Native education explains what culturally responsive teaching is and why it is so important for students.
Kaylee Domzalski, November 17, 2021
4:23
illustration of an exhausted boy studying on a laptop with numbers and equations circling above. His mother is behind him with hands on his shoulders while his head is in his hand.
iStock/Getty Images Plus and Gina Tomko/Education Week
Mathematics Gates Foundation Targets Culturally Responsive Math Teaching With New Grants
The goal is to improve algebra outcomes for Black and Latino students, English-language learners, and students experiencing poverty.
Sarah Schwartz, August 11, 2021
4 min read
Superintendent Deborah Gist speaks during a Tulsa Public Schools board meeting in Tulsa, Okla. on March 5, 2018.
The Tulsa, Okla., system, led by Superintendent Deborah Gist, is among districts that are pushing back against the state's new law placing restrictions on how schools teach about racism and other "divisive" concepts.
Joey Johnson/Tulsa World via AP
Equity & Diversity These Districts Will Risk Breaking State Law to Continue Anti-Racism Work
In forging ahead with anti-bias training off-limits under Oklahoma law, for example, districts could end up losing their accreditation.
Eesha Pendharkar, August 6, 2021
7 min read
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Culturally Relevant Pedagogy to Advance Educational Equity
Schools are welcoming students back into buildings for full-time in-person instruction in a few short weeks and now is the perfect time to take a hard look at both our practices and systems to build
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An illustration of a student sitting on the floor of a room.
yokunen/iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A Q&A: Meeting the Needs of Students of Color in a Time of Collective Trauma
An expert in culturally responsive school psychology urges a wider lens in connecting with students of color in coping with pandemic trauma.
Evie Blad, March 31, 2021
10 min read
Common Language
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School & District Management Opinion 5 Words That Are Commonly Used But NOT Commonly Understood
In schools, we have a common language around words like "growth mindset," but we do not have a common understanding of what those words mean.
Peter DeWitt, March 14, 2021
7 min read
Images shows a stylized artistic landscape with soothing colors.
Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Assumptions Teachers Often Make About Black Students and What to Do About Them
Skin color doesn’t tell you everything about someone’s background. Here’s how to look beyond race.
Adaurennaya Onyewuenyi , March 10, 2021
2 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Science Opinion Ten Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies for the Science Classroom
Four teachers share how they implement culturally responsive instruction in their science classrooms.
Larry Ferlazzo, February 14, 2021
13 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Mathematics Opinion Teach Math in Ways That Are 'Proactive' & Not 'Reactive'
Eleven educators share their ideas on how to promote culturally responsive teaching in mathematics.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 18, 2020
23 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Mathematics Opinion Twelve Ways to Make Math More Culturally Responsive
Four educators share ideas for using culturally responsive teaching in math class, including by helping students make community connections.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 17, 2020
13 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
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Curriculum Opinion For Many Teachers, Black Lives Only Matter Conditionally
If you believe Black lives matter, it's time to stop whitewashing American history, writes Rann Miller.
Rann Miller, September 16, 2020
4 min read
Equity & Diversity Letter to the Editor Don't Lose Momentum on Racial Justice
To the Editor:
In a recent blog post ("'Teachers Cannot Be Silent': How Educators Are Showing Up for Black Students Following Protests," June 1, 2020), it was noted that several educators were coming up with innovative ways to reach out to their students following the killing of George Floyd.
July 13, 2020
1 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Teaching Opinion Ways to Make Lessons 'Relevant' to Students' Lives
Six educators share strategies for making lessons directly relevant to students' lives, including by building relationships.
Larry Ferlazzo, May 26, 2020
16 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Vanessa Solis/Education Week. Source image: Getty
School & District Management Opinion Culturally Responsive Teaching Is Promising. But There's a Pressing Need for More Research
The evidence that culturally responsive teaching can fix the nation's schools for children of color is promising, but woefully incomplete, writes Heather C. Hill.
Heather C. Hill, March 6, 2020
6 min read