diverse students (p. 11). Christensen (2012) used mentor texts, modeling, peer support, and collaboration to engage students in lessons that taught “students to read and write while also examining the ways race and class function in our society” (para. 5). In my study, I enacted these recommendations by varying groups to provide support and collaboration opportunities, teaching students how to co-construct meaning through dialogue, providing explicit vocabulary instruction and native language support, and promoting access to challenging content by providing visual supports. Finally, much as students benefit from knowing the objective of a lesson in advance, I am inspired by Kearns’ (2012) transparency with her subjects in describing her research aims (p. 29) and sharing her data with them (p. 37). I sought to be similarly open with my students about the goals of my project and the data I collected along the way. I teach because I believe it is the most direct way to enact anti-racism and disrupt systems of oppression. I owe it to my students to show them why I’m here. Question: What happens when I use culturally-responsive teaching practices? Subquestions: What teacher choices engage students? How do students respond to injustice? Why controversial topics? Summary of data collection methods Student work samples - photographs of student notebooks, data about grades on assignments, scanned copies of student work samples, data on the choices students make when given a choice in an assignment, student responses to survey questions. Records of class discussions - scripts of small group conversations that I sit in on, small group minutes on the highlights of their conversations, diagrams of whole-group conversations with a seating chart, codes for type of comment and lines connecting the flow of conversation, notes about whole group conversations written on the board then photographed afterwards, scores for student responses and comments on the online discussion forum (Google Classroom). Teacher journal - reflections on planning sessions with my co-teacher including what texts we selected to present to students and why, reflections on how class went, thoughts about individual students whose reactions are notable or challenging. Student data - quarterly grades, standardized test scores (NWEA), attendance records, special programs (ELL, IEP, 504, MTSS). Data and interpretation
Genevive High (100%) “Living situation is currently a big mess a lot of back and forth.” Separated/Divorced parents, Living far from school D first quarter Medium (60%) “I live kinda far so I wake up early to get here which is why I’m always tired.” Separated/Divorced parents, Living far from school F quarter, Ds second and third quarter Adam Medium (78%) (left blank) Siblings, Separated/Divorced parents, Social “Everything!” Fs all quarters Beatriz Low (43%) “My brother is in a wheelchair which requires both of my parents to take him out of the house so if they are running late I might be as well.” “Depression” F quarter, D second quarter Sylvia Low (50%) “My responsibilities at home sometimes impact school because I have to my grandmother and this may cause me to be late or just not show up to school.” “My home” Fs first and second quarter Joanna Low (44%) “Problems at home” “Brother annoying me” Sibling, Parents’ work, Social F quarter, D second quarter Students who earned Ds or Fs throughout the year reported some challenges at home. Above are selected results from a questionnaire filled out on the first day of school and a follow-up survey given in March. Students are dealing with stress that can make it very challenging to complete assignments and feel motivated at school. While the table above only highlights some of the students who earned Ds or Fs, it does illustrate how home stress can align with poor school performance. All but two students (Logan and Adam) were able to bring up their reading grades by third quarter, and a third student (Beatriz) continued to have low class participation throughout the year, despite her high test scores. I feel that my work to engage students in culturally-relevant topics may not have benefitted these three students, I want to highlight interactions I had with them. 2C1. Logan