I was fortunate to start my professional experience as an elementary teacher in a unique Stillwater, MN public school that practiced interdisciplinary curriculum planning, multi-age grouping, and personalized learning enriched by the arts, nature, and peace education. I learned in that school that how we teach (the power of positive school culture, the importance of relationships, social emotions learning, etc.) is as important as what we teach.
My career led me to teach in a teacher licensing program at Bemidji State University, provide instructional design and faculty development services at the Center for Teaching and Learning at Hamline University, and serve as director of an instructional design team at the University of Minnesota where I guided the design, development and review of online courses and programs to align with evidence-based practices. My focus in all these endeavors was guided by a learner-centered paradigm and the promise that authentic learning experiences hold to make learning more meaningful for learners.
All the while, I was earning a Master’s degree, then a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction and Learning Technologies — reading the research, conducting studies, publishing findings. And the deeper I went into the scholarship, the more clearly I could see the gap. Valuable research that could help teachers was sitting in journals that teachers would never read. The evidence that could guide school leaders was buried in academic language that school leaders could not use. And the practitioners who understood educational challenges best— had no seat at the research table.
As someone who has become a living bridge between research and practice, I was called to this work. I founded reDesignED to bring together researchers, learning scientists, instructional designers, educators, students and community partners to collaboratively solve both entrenched and emerging education challenges through the inclusive R&D process inherent in education design research (EDR).
I am excited about the potential impact that collaborative efforts such as EDR and other improvement science approaches have to serve the field that I love.
For research and scholarship, please see my curriculum vita.
MnLC 2024: Culturally-responsive teaching by design: From principles to practice
What are the principles of culturally-responsive teaching?
The principles of culturally-responsive teaching that have been empirically affirmed by the science of learning and development are 1) the importance of identity-safe and nurturing learning environments, 2) the importance of positive relationships, 3) the importance of recognizing bias, micro-aggression, and stereotype threat, 4) the importance of developing skills, habits, and a growth mindset, 5) the importance of rich, learner-centered experiences, 6) and the importance of integrated support systems to help learners succeed (Darling-Hammond, Cantor, Hernandez, Theokas, Schachner, Tijerina & Plasencia, 2021). These principles are developmentally needed for all learners, but they are even more crucial for the most vulnerable learners in the education systems. As such, CRT scholars frequently emphasize the science of learning and development (Darling-Hammond, et.al., 2021) as core to supporting marginalized learners.
What are the practices of culturally-responsive teaching?
Culturally-responsive practices include 1) getting to know who your students are as cultural beings, 2) reimagining the student-teacher relationship as a partnership, 3) involving family and community by connecting academic subjects to local contexts, 4) drawing on family and community funds of knowledge, 5) engaging learning objectives with diversity, equity, and inclusion outcomes to foster inclusive environments 6) building and maintaining classroom community, 7) expanding the representation of identities in the curriculum so that learners see themselves reflected, and 8) designing authentic learning experiences that make learning real world – and learner relevant (Hammond, 2014).
What are the implications for education?
CRT principles and practices not only apply to marginalized populations. They benefit all students in that they provide a learning environment 1) in which students are well-known and valued; 2) that supports relational trust and respect for diversity between and among students and teachers; 3) that sustains and validates the cultures of learners in the classroom; 4) that routinely expands the representation of identities in course content and learning materials; 5) that employs productive instructional strategies that foster a sense of purpose through meaningful work that builds on students’ prior knowledge and lived experience; 6) that employs inquiry as a major learning strategy, thoughtfully interwoven with explicit instruction and well scaffolded opportunities to practice and apply learning; 7) that provides well-designed collaborative learning opportunities that encourage students to question, reflect, and articulate their thoughts and developing understanding; 8) that provides opportunities for learners to develop metacognitive skills through the planning and management of complex tasks; and 9) that provides a variety of assessment strategies including the demonstration of learning through performance assessments that provide choice and personalization (Darling-Hammond, Flook, Schachner, & Wojcikiewicz, 2022).
reDesignED applies this important research to the fullest extent possible.
reDesignED also offers teacher professional learning opportunities on Culturally-responsive teaching by design.