Foreword by Donna Heath

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction

1. Making the Multicultural Connection

Strategy 1: Be sensitive to the diversity of today’s classrooms.

Strategy 2: Move beyond “color blind” teaching and take the time to know students in specific localized cultural contexts.

Strategy 3: Reflect on how multicultural competence is defined today.

Strategy 4: Help immigrant students by understanding their personal beliefs.

Strategy 5: White Ethnic students need multicultural education too.

Strategy 6: Cultivate multicultural connections.

Strategy 7: Develop and promote a positive ethnic identity to students.

Strategy 8: Watch for factors of exclusion that influence multicultural curriculum choices.

Strategy 9: Focus on the classroom management factors that best reflect culturally responsive teaching.

Strategy 10: Include multicultural works when developing a quality English curriculum.

2. Including Students with Special Education Needs

Strategy 11: Recognize that different cultures view disabilities differently.

Strategy 12: Teach all students about disabilities to facilitate the social acceptance of students with special needs

Strategy 13: Avoid excessive drill and repetition when teaching math.

Strategy 14: Spend more time teaching a few key concepts rather than trying to cover it all.

Strategy 15: Tailor homework to ensure success for students with disabilities.

Strategy 16: Spend the time to develop and use a variety of assessment strategies.

Strategy 17: Offer positive and constructive feedback rather than criticism.

Strategy 18: Communicate student progress early in a course, but avoid using formal grades to do so.

Strategy 19: Ensure students receive appropriate instructional or assessment accommodations.

Strategy 20: Be aware of potential bias when considering the recommendations of the Student Study Team

Strategy 21: Focus on classroom process before course content to increase time on task.

Strategy 22: Consider using Universal Design for Learning Principles when designing lessons.

Strategy 23: Encourage students to set process goals when learning new technology.

Strategy 24: Create scaffolds to help students learn complex skills and procedures

Strategy 25: Focus on instructionally centered communication when working with students with learning disabilities.

Strategy 26: Encourage students with disabilities to develop positive interpretations of their academic performance.

Strategy 27: Use instructional strategies that support the specific needs of students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

3. Cultivating Gender Sensitivity

Strategy 28: Open the dialogue with students regarding gender equity issues.

Strategy 29: Support male and female students differently during school to school transitions as gender can influence their needs.

Strategy 30: Become aware of the traits of gifted females.

Strategy 31: Work to prevent inequities between male and female students’class partcipation.

Strategy 32: Consider how students sometimes treat female teachers differently than male teachers.

Strategy 33: Address gender issues in the classroom to increase student success and confidence.

Strategy 34: Be prepared for subtle gender bias in academic situations.

4. Including Students Who are Sexual Minorities

Strategy 35: Create a classroom environment of safety and respect.

Strategy 36: Access libraries to provide a more inclusive collection for sexual minorities.

Strategy 37: Explore curriculum that includes minority sexual identity and sexuality.

Strategy 38: Weigh the issues of choosing to remain “closeted” vs. “coming out” within educational settings.

Strategy 39: Consider the effect of teachers “coming out.”

Strategy 40: Be aware of the diverse and complex path that gay males undertake in self-defining themselves as gay.

Strategy 41: Work to prevent “low-level violence” in schools.

5. Supporting Students Who are Economically Disadvantaged

Strategy 42: Teach group skills to help low-income students establish a positive and encouraging support network to increase their likelihood of attending and completing higher education.

Strategy 43: Use cooperative test review and study guides to improve student achievement.

Strategy 44: Encourage all students to enroll in rigorous courses and build in the needed supports to facilitate their success.

Strategy 45: Utilize a variety of print materials to inspire student reading and writing.

Strategy 46: Explore the effects of pacing on student learning when working with low-income students.

Strategy 47: Teach self-regulation and attention sustaining skills to help students improve their performance.

Strategy 48: Explore team teaching to address the needs of economically disadvantaged students.

Strategy 49: Mentor economically disadvantaged students to improve their aspirations.

Strategy 50: Make academic success the first priority for economically disadvantaged students.

Strategy 51: Use a variety of assessments to identify gifted students from underrepresented groups, particularly economically disadvantaged students.

Strategy 52: Support equal access of extracurricular activities to promote student connectedness.

Strategy 53: Use popular films featuring urban classrooms as starting points for reflection and critical analysis.

Strategy 54: Be aware of the factors that contribute to the failure of highly competent students.

6. Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners

Strategy 55: Be wary of low expectations for language minority students.

Strategy 56: Reflect on the complex issues surrounding school literature selection for bilingual and bicultural students.

Strategy 57: Carefully consider the use of cooperative groups with second language students.

Strategy 58: Explore the definition of literacy and the complexity of the term when applied to bilingual and bicultural students

Strategy 59: Actively address the diverse needs of English learners.

Strategy 60: Prepare for a cultural and linguistic mismatch between teachers and their students.

Strategy 61: Select spell checker programs that meet the needs of the specific student population.

Strategy 62: Consider portfolios to create an overview of student performance and growth.

7. Working with Parents

Strategy 63: Develop strategies to help parents help their children succeed academically.

Strategy 64: Include parents from marginalized groups by making them feel welcomed.

Strategy 65: Involve minority and culturally diverse parents as resources in the classroom.

Strategy 66: Consider the positive and negative effects that homework has on students and their families.

8. Establishing and Sustaining Your Professional Identity

Strategy 67: Actively seek opportunities to expand personal experiences in multicultural settings.

Strategy 68: Internalize that cultural experience and perspective is different for each individual.

Strategy 69: Recognize the signs and symptoms of “diversity-related burn-out.”

Strategy 70: Successful teachers should become knowledgeable about adolescent culture.

Strategy 71: Do not underestimate the preparation necessary for placement in urban multicultural settings.

Index