Let's Discuss: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leadership Practices

?Becoming Student-Centered: The student-centered approach has a long history of success and controversy; however, it has been widely used in various educational settings, learning experiences, and instructional practices. This approach would have been an excellent option for me growing up because much of what I was learning was of no interest to me. I often questioned the purpose of the material and its practical use in our society…long after school. Fulton's (2019) article highlighted a student-centered approach must consider the class culture, learning styles of the children, learning needs of the children, their interests, and academic and life goals. I agree. This approach is a personalized and engaging approach for learners. Having the learner at the head of learning rather than only on the receiving end makes this approach comprehensive, develops the learner's skills, and incorporates their specific interests into the learning process.

?This is not vacation time for the teachers in the classroom; this is as equally engaging as traditional teaching methods; however, this approach drives higher levels of engagement from the learners while still interacting with the teacher in real-time as they are learning. Linc's (2022) defined the student-centered learning style as the approach to learning where learners determine what, how, and why of topics to study. The key in this approach is to develop skills that apply to active participation in the workforce, succeed and contribute to society, not just to meet institutional learning goals. The approach can be easily tailored and flexible enough to meet the student's unique learning needs to accommodate the different ways they learn, the pace at which they learn, and the environment in which they learn. This approach also considers the learner's aspirations, especially as they relate to promoting educational attainment. It is the responsibility of the institution, its teaching staff, administrative teams, and education specialists to determine the educational needs of the learners so that the proper methods can be deployed. If the curriculum, assignments, or instructional strategies need to be flexible, then it should be so because not all learners thrive in a fixed learning/teaching environment. ??

?Promoting Transformational Teaching: Slavich & Zimbardo's (2012) research identified transformational teaching as practices that create dynamic relationships between teachers and students, facilitating student learning and personal growth. Transformational teaching requires transformational leaders! Why? Because the leader pushes their members to get and be well-engaged in creativity. Transformational teaching has flown in the face of the traditional assimilative learning style because of how adaptive and flexible newly acquired learning can be applied across the traditional knowledge structures. An important note about this teaching style understands that in no way are the learners passive in their engagement; they are quite the contrary. The students of this approach are self-engaging, self-regulating, and actively co-construct the knowledge from the various methods, systems, and techniques that trigger the shifting of mindsets about the topics taught. This is where I would thrive in the classroom because my mind approaches topics differently than that of the norm or expected. I needed more of a transformational leader in the room rather than the Ben Stein character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off movie. Why? Well, because this approach introduces learners to alternative ways to learn, grow, and change, similar to what we expect of our transformational leaders in educational leadership positions or the corporate world.?

The core of the transformational teaching approach is empowering the learner to see past the classroom, blackboard, and desks perspective into the experiences that are applicable in an ethical and real-life social world lens. Why? Because it challenges the status quo and forces the teaching, administrative, and counseling staff to be agents of change. Fuglie's (2010) article identified transformational teaching in inquiry-based learning, service learning, and project-based learning styles. Much like in the business world, where transformational leaders create teams that inspire, motivate, and collaborate, where the ROI is boosted revenue. Transformational teaching does the same for students; however, the ROI is rooted in new and useful knowledge, innovative environments, and solutions-based approaches to the conflict between the traditional and contemporary teaching and learning styles. I want to be viewed as an intellectual coach rather than just a "teacher or instructor" because I see what we do as more than just teaching. Through transformational teaching, as educators, we are responsible for enduring the students have mastered the body of information acquired critical concepts of the lessons while playing an active and engaged role in their personal development in promoting educational attainment.

? What must happen first is for the educator to understand what is causing periods of learning and retention deficiencies in the class or the learner. As we know, our learners (of all ages) are having difficulties with the "social" aspect of life. Many have replaced the human social interaction that used to occur more frequently with e-social interaction. This switch can cause the learner to become more withdrawn and isolated, creating barriers for recognizing their needs and the delivery of support systems. Genesis' (2014) article highlighted barriers as any difficulty or situation preventing learning from occurring, so the education teams should deal with these issues collaboratively.

Cost could potentially be a significant factor in their ability to learn and retain information. I assert that a student more concerned with paying for tuition, food, housing, and transportation will have a more challenging time with learning and retaining the material. Also, expectations that are too high or unclear on the part of the learner, teacher, or other stakeholders (i.e., parents, institution, etc.), could all play varying roles in the learner's abilities to learn and retain information. But not all is lost. If the educator is engaged, many of these things will be evident quickly, and help can be offered. The educator must develop a rapport with the learners that makes them feel that they can talk to the staff about anything that creates barriers to their learning…not all do.

Some ideas to transform the learning includes some of the following ideas:

If tapping into technology helps in this, many e-learning platforms can help, many I have utilized as a part of my learning, and in the classes, I teach. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are great because the courses are taught from universities by highly qualified instructors, many of which have terminal degrees. Flipped or inverted classrooms are also helpful because they are student-centered and are peer-assisted…which really connects the learners to the material. Hybrid or blended (learning) classrooms have also been utilized to combine classrooms, which could potentially drive student learning and retention. Microlearning (was a new concept to me); however, it has been proven beneficial. Valamis (2020) highlighted that this approach requires little time to consume the material, increases learner engagement in a much shorter time period, improves retention, allows the learner to be mobile when needed. We know that technology will make some parts of our lives more challenging; however, why not tap into its benefits for learning, retention, and relevance??

At the more grassroots level, the institutions and the educators could apply some of the following to change the tide of learning and retention at the K12 and higher education (i.e., more resources, specifically advising counseling staff). Thomas' (2009) research recognized the significance of retention and student success in their academic practices and highlighted this is a concern in academia. Clearly defining what success looks like for the student, challenge the learner to explore, discover, reflect on the material presented, and challenge them to transfer with they've learned into a practical, relevant, and relatable lesson for the class. Educators need to tap into relevant topics and provide current examples to spark the interests of learners. How? Relevant articles, journals, periodicals, and current events in place of outdated textbooks…really work. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and educators must be good with learning from their own mistakes in this effort.

References

Chapter 1: Culturally Responsive Standards-Based Teaching (p. 1–22); Chapter 2: Taking Stock of Current Classroom Practices (p. 23–72)

Fuglei, M. (2010). Start your own learning revolution with transformational teaching. Retrieved from https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/learning-revolution-transformational-teaching/

Fulton, J. (2019). What is a student-centered learning approach? Retrieved from https://www.classcraft.com/blog/what-is-a-student-centered-learning-approach/

Genesis, A. (2014). The most common barriers to learning. Retrieved from https://www.childpsych.co.za/common-barriers-learning/

Lincs (2022). TEAL Center Fact Sheet No. 6: Student-centered learning. Retrieved from https://lincs.ed.gov/state-resources/federal-initiatives/teal/guide/studentcentered

Saifer, S. (2011).?Culturally Responsive Standards-Based Teaching: Classroom to Community and Back. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin.

Thomas, L. (2009). Improving student retention in higher education. Retrieved from https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrXpmdaJ_xhiBUAuQMPxQt.;_ylu=Y29sbwNncTEEcG9zAzcEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1643943898/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2ffiles.eric.ed.gov%2ffulltext%2fEJ864028.pdf/RK=2/RS=NnMwBfuFblGzXM4IJ7wnngkak.k-

Slavich, G., Zimbardo, P., (2012). Transformational teaching: Theoretical underpinnings, basic principles, and core methods. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3498956/

?Valamis. (2020). Microlearning. Retrieved from https://www.valamis.com/hub/microlearning