Tamaño del compartimento

This chapter presents the results of my action research study focused on the following research questions: 1. Which aspects of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy are students responding to based on the use of three strategies? 2. How does integrating these strategies of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy into my teaching make me a more effective pedagogue? Qualitative data was collected via a survey (See Appendix I), short answer “tickets out the door” and a journal write responding to a prompt (See Appendix II). The data was analyzed for common themes and patterns, which indicated what aspects of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, used in the classroom, students positively responded to through more active engagement with the curriculum. Three themes emerged from this analysis regarding the first research question:

1. Relevancy: Students connected and engaged more with the curriculum when it directly related to their personal lives and experiences and connected back to real world events.

2. Choice and Autonomy: Students wanted more choice and autonomy with curriculum and school subjects.

3. Relationship Building: Students wanted meaningful, significant and trusting relationships with their teachers.

One major finding emerged from this analysis regarding the second research question: 1. Multicultural includes ALL cultures: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and the

practices that are associated with it, can serve to empower, engage and encourage students from all cultural backgrounds, races and genders.

These  four  findings  were  reflected  in  each  of  the  four  data  sources  that  were   collected  over  the  course  of  the  six-­‐week  study.    Male  and  female  students  both   contributed  their  desire  for  relevancy,  choice  and  autonomy,  significant  

relationships  with  teachers,  as  well  as  students  from  all  cultural  backgrounds.    The   subjects  of  this  study  reflected  both  a  desire  to  learn  more  about  current  world   events  and  cultures,  as  well  as  learning  skills  and  curriculum  that  would  prepare   them  for  future  career  and  college  readiness.    The  unit  of  study  in  my  English  10   class  during  this  action  research  was  centered  around  the  Shakespeare  play,  “The   Merchant  of  Venice.”    I  often  heard  students  during  class  commenting  that  what   happens  in  16th  _{Century  Venice  has  no  impact  on  their  lives.    One  Pacific  Islander}  

student  responded  that  school  curriculum  doesn’t  always  relate  to  him  on  a   personal  level  “because  I  don’t  use  the  things  I  learn  in  school  all  the  time.”      

Relevancy:  

  Throughout  the  data  collection  process  I  frequently  had  students  comment   that  the  things  that  they  learn  in  school  have  little  to  do  with  “real  life”  or  “real   world”  issues.    Students  from  all  cultural  backgrounds  complained  that  they  weren’t   learning  things  that  would  benefit  them  in  the  future,  or  that  the  things  that  they   learned  in  school  were  so  separate  from  what  they  considered  “real  life”  that  it  had   no  relevance  to  them.    Many  students  commented  that  they  wanted  the  opportunity   to  learn  college-­‐oriented  skills  that  would  directly  lead  to  college  and  career  

readiness.    In  addition  to  career  and  college  preparation,  students  repeatedly   indicated  that  they  were  interested  in  learning  more  about  current  world  events   and  other  world  cultures  outside  of  the  United  States.  This  interest  in  relevant  

subject  matter  was  found  across  the  demographics  of  this  study.  Both  male  and   female  and  students  from  all  cultural  backgrounds  felt  that  the  curriculum  and   academic  subjects  in  their  school  were  lacking  a  relevance  to  their  lives.  

Figure  1.  Survey,  Question  #3:  Do  you  think  the  things  that  you  learn  in  school  relate  

to  you  on  a  personal  level?    

Of  the  32  students  who  filled  out  the  survey,  when  asked  if  they  thought  that   the  things  they  learn  in  school  relate  to  them  on  a  personal  level,  4  students  

responded  ‘not  at  all,’  22  responded  ‘sometimes,’  6  responded  ‘most  of  the  time,’  and   no  students  felt  that  the  things  they  learned  in  school  related  to  them  on  a  personal   level  all  of  the  time.    One  male  student,  identified  as  Chilean-­‐American,  commented,   “Teachers  aren’t  good  with  relating  the  topics  with  anything  really.”    A  White  male   student,  when  asked  if  the  things  they  learn  in  school  relate  to  them  on  a  personal   level,  responded:  “some  help  with  personal  things  but  other  things  I  believe  are   irrelevant.”    One  Latino  male  subject’s  statement  is  worth  noting,  “I  think  that  what  I   learn  in  school  helps  me  think  of  what  I  want  to  do  in  life.”    His  statement  clearly  

0   5   10   15   20   25  

Not  at  all   Sometimes   Most  of  the  

time   All  of  the  time  

Pacihic  Islander/Asian   American  

White  

African-­‐American   Latino  

underscores  the  notion  that  personalizing  schooling  increases  the  likelihood  for   relevancy,  which  in  turn  creates  more  interest  in  learning.  

Topics  of  Interest.  Question  five  on  the  survey  asked  students  to  name  three  

topics  or  issues  that  they  would  be  interested  in  learning  more  about  in  school.     There  were  many  different  topics  named  by  students  ranging  from  sports,  racism,   government,  religion,  life,  history  and  many  others.    Of  the  53  topics  listed  by  the   student’s  in  an  open-­‐ended  response  format,  12  wanted  to  discuss  specific  school   subjects  or  topics,  and  39  wanted  to  discuss  topics  relating  to  social  issues,  world   events,  and  American  pop  culture.    8  responses  named  racism  as  a  social  issue  they   were  interested  in,  3  responses  were  related  to  world  news  and  current  events,  3   students  listed  women’s  issues,  5  wanted  to  learn  more  about  “real  life  issues,”  and   6  responded  drugs,  bullying  and  sex.      

Table  3  

Survey,  Question  #5:  What  are  some  topics  or  social  issues  that  you  are  interested  in   talking  more  about  in  school?  

Student  Demographic:   Topics/Social  Issues:   Comments:   American-­‐Chilean,  

Male   Talking  about  what  goes  on  in  the  world,   Racism,  

Discrimination  

“The  reason  we  learn  so  much  is   just  because  of  the  idea  of  a   renaissance  man  knowing  many   things  so  we  can  be  more  well   rounded  but  we  don’t  even  use   half  of  the  stuff  we  learn.”   Latino,  Male   Religion,  

Government,  Life   “I  think  we  should  talk  about  these  topics  because  it’s  a  good   way  to  show  how  the  world  is.”   Guamanian,  Female   Real  life  stuff   “Stuff  that  is  relevant  to  real  life.”   Latino,  Male   Racism,  Laws,  

Athletics   “This  would  be  more  interesting.”      

The  first  strategy  of  Culturally  Relevant  Pedagogy  that  I  attempted  to  include   in  my  curriculum  and  teaching  strategies  throughout  the  study  involved  infusing  the   curriculum  with  cultural  references  and  perspectives.  The  second  strategy  involved   creating  a  classroom  environment  where  students  could  use  their  background   knowledge  and  experiences  as  a  basis  for  their  education  and  connection  to  the  text.     To  do  this,  I  created  a  “funnel  activity”  where  students  distilled  the  main  characters   motivation  for  their  actions  through  funneling  the  character’s  primary  monologue   down  to  one  word  and  analyzing  their  actions  in  relation  to  that  word.    After  they   had  completed  this  activity,  and  justified  their  choice  to  the  rest  of  the  class,  I  had   them  do  a  similar  activity  with  a  more  reflective  nature.    First,  I  had  them  write  a   journal  entry  exploring  their  personal  interests  and  passions.    Then  I  had  them  do   the  same  “funnel  activity”,  where  they  distilled  their  own  motivation  down  to  one   word  from  their  journal.  This  complimentary  “personal  funnel  activity”  was   designed  to  get  them  to  interact  with  the  text  and  characters  of  “The  Merchant  of   Venice”  through  a  personal  lens  looking  at  what  actions  in  their  life  are  in  concert   with  the  characters  in  “The  Merchant  of  Venice”  and  whether  they  impact  

motivation  in  a  positive  or  thoughtful  manner.  

Connections  to  student’s  personal  lives.  The  majority  of  students  who  

participated  in  the  lesson  enjoyed  the  opportunity  to  relate  subject  matter  to  their   own  lives,  and  to  spend  class  time  discussing  their  own  and  their  classmate’s   motivations.  Many  students  commented  on  their  enjoyment  of  relating  the  subject   matter  back  to  their  own  personal  lives.    A  male,  Latino  student  stated,  “I  really  liked   this  activity  because  I  got  to  know  something  that  motivates  me.”    Another  Latino  

male  student  stated  that  he  gave  the  lesson  a  “5  [out  of  5]  because  I  was  able  to  talk   about  what  I  like.”    A  female  African  American  student  commented,  “I  like  that  we   got  to  write  about  what  we  like.”  

Figure  2.  “Ticket  out  the  Door”  #2,  Personal  Funnel  Activity:  Rate  this  activity  on  a  

scale  of  1  (did  not  like  the  lesson)  to  5  (really  enjoyed  the  lesson)    

  While  not  all  students  indicated  that  they  wanted  to  learn  more  about  things   and  topics  relevant  to  them,  a  majority  of  the  34  students  in  the  classroom  at  some   point  indicated  that  they  wished  the  things  they  learned  in  school  were  more   relevant  to  their  personal  lives  and  the  outside  world.    I  found  that  all  students,   regardless  of  cultural  background,  indicated  that  they  would  be  more  engaged  by   relevant  curriculum  and  topics  than  by  some  of  the  things  that  they  considered   irrelevant  in  school.    A  White  male  student,  when  asked  about  whether  or  not  they   enjoy  reading  more  if  they  could  read  about  topics  they  were  interested  in,  

commented,  “If  you  are  able  to  read  something  you  like  it  will  be  more  interesting.”    

0   2   4   6   8   10   12   1-­‐  Did  not  

like   2   3   4   5-­‐  Liked  a  lot