Sophie Prussky December 2, 2017

ECI 535
Tami Ryan

Cultural Awareness, Responsive Teaching and Learning Experience

The learning experience I have prepared is for the grade 5 students studying math

at Urban City School #100. The activity I prepared is a culturally inclusive activity that

has the needs of all my students in mind. The lesson would begin with the teacher

handing out a ‘personal profile sheet’. The worksheet will ask the students a variety of

questions about themselves including physical characteristics, personal interests and

background information. After the students have filled out their sheets the teacher will

divide the children into random groups of two. This would be facilitated by students

picking names out of a hat in order to ensure that the pairing is completely random in

nature. The students will then be instructed to work with their partner to discuss their

profiles and determine the similarities and differences between them. Following the

discussion, the teacher would take a break to teach students about Venn Diagrams, how

to create them, and what their use is in mathematical terms. The students will document

their findings on a Venn diagram which they will create together. They will be instructed

to record at least five of their own characteristics, five of their partner’s characteristics

and then five characteristics they both share in the centre section titled ‘Things we have

in common’ on the Venn diagram. We will discuss all Venn diagrams as a class and

create a scatter plot of the differences and commonalities. There will be an emphasis on

highlighting the diversity of the students in the classroom. This will provide the students

with two different visual representations of displaying their data.

This lesson fulfils the New York State (NYS) P-12 Common Core Learning

Standard 5.MD, grade 5 measurements and data (Engage NY, 2013). This learning

experience also satisfies the grade 5 Ontario math curriculum expectations under the data

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ECI 535
Tami Ryan

management and probability section. Most specifically it covers the two of the objectives

of: collecting data by conducting a survey or an experiment, and then by comparing

similarities and differences between two related sets of data, using a variety of strategies

(Ministry of Education, 2005).

There were several key factors that came to mind when creating this activity for

my students. The first being that all students’ diversities are included, respected, and even

celebrated. The second factor that was taken into consideration was that curriculum

standards were being met in an inclusive and interactive way. The third and final factor is

creating a culturally responsive curriculum. According to Geneva Gay, an internationally

renowned educator on multicultural education, “…when academic knowledge and skills

are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference of students, they are

more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and

thoroughly” (Gay, 2002, p. 106). This is something I was mindful of when creating my

learning experience. I tried to implement culturally responsive curriculum by having

active teaching methods like frequently checking for understanding on both an individual

and group level, and having high expectations for student engagement and participation.

As well, I will foster positive relationships with all families regardless of their language,

culture, religion, ethnicity, or any other differing barrier, in order to educate myself on

the diverse lives of my students and translate my experiences into instructional practice.

This will hopefully instil a heightened cultural sensitivity that I will model and teach to

my class. The learning experience also encourages student-controlled classroom

discourse when the students are working in teams to fill out their Venn diagram. Here the

students will work with a classmate they may not have interacted with without

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ECI 535
Tami Ryan

encouragement and will be exposed to the ways their peer’s problem solves, work

together and negotiate. Another culturally responsive technique my leaning experience

would implement is creating small group instruction with academically-related discourse.

The academic discourse, that based off my experience would also be personal in nature,

would help all the students in building confidence, social skills, and developing language.

When trying to create a culturally responsive curriculum that provides dignity for all

students, I believe offering multiple modes of learning techniques will cater to the diverse

learning styles of my students. For example, the ENL (English as a New Learner)

students might struggle to follow the entire verbal discussion, however with the visual aid

of the Venn diagram and scatter plot, they will hopefully understand the lesson

objectives.

My learning experience plans to reinforce the pillars of the Dignity for All

Students Act by encouraging class participation to create ties between students to foster a

sense of community within the classroom and eventually the school. My hope is by

creating a community in my classroom each individual child will feel a sense of purpose,

belonging, and acceptance. This is particularly important for the students are ENL, new

to the country, or who are struggling with their personal lives at home.

Work Cited

Engage NY. (2013). New York State Common Core. Retrieved from

file:///Users/sophieprussky/Downloads/a-story-of-units-a-curriculum-overview-

and-map-for-grades-p-5.pdf

Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching. Journal of Teacher

Education, 53(2), 106-116. doi:10.1177/0022487102053002003

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Sophie Prussky December 2, 2017
ECI 535
Tami Ryan

Ministry of Education. (2005). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Mathematics.

Retrieved from

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/math18curr.pdf