Journals.uncc.edu (North Carolina's Urban Research University)
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The Impact of Video Self-Reflection on Teacher Practice
No full textThe purpose of this research study was to analyze the teacher’s ability to utilize video self-reflection as a structured learning tool to enhance their teaching practice and CLASS scores. Research has demonstrated that teachers are better able to be self-reflective when provided with a framework (Calandra, Gurvitch, & Lund, 2008). Literature has documented video self-reflection and CLASS as links for growth in children and professional development support for teachers (Pianta, Mashburn, Downer, Hammer, & Justice, 2008). Results from the present study indicated that the teachers became increasingly aware of the CLASS Toddler tool criteria through scoring their own behaviors, which impacted their instructional practices with children and led to increase reliability in scoring and increased CLASS scores
Language or Cognition? Using Culturally Responsive Teaching with English Language Learners
No full textThis paper looks into the population of English language learners and the benefits of culturally responsive teaching in addressing their needs. Urban schools are becoming increasingly diverse. Students from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds are entering classrooms and being taught by White, middle class, monolingual teachers (Landsman & Lewis, 2012). Engagement and motivation are integral parts of ensuring the academic success of diverse students. Therefore, teachers must find ways to understand and relate to their students’ backgrounds in an effort to increase student achievement. Culturally responsive teaching amongst English language learners allows teachers to use students’ linguistic diversity as an asset to their learning instead of as a limitation. This paper recognizes the presence of an achievement and opportunity gap between English language learners and their peers on high-stakes tests. The increased presence of English language learners in mainstream classrooms is making it necessary for teacher preparation programs at the college/university level to address their cultural and linguistic needs. This paper explores the concept of culturally responsive teaching as a way of ensuring the academic success of English language learners.
Keywords: English language learners, culturally responsive teaching, diversit
My Story, My Way: Conceptualization of Narrative Therapy with Trauma-Exposed Black Male Youth
No full textThis manuscript conceptualizes narrative therapy as a therapeutic intervention for race-based trauma experienced by trauma-exposed Black males. Urban youth, particularly Black males in high-risk communities, frequently witness community violence and endure multiple ongoing traumas, including those that are race-related. Such trauma may be overlooked or exacerbated in schools through teachers’ implicit bias, inappropriate zero-tolerance disciplinary measures, out-of-school suspension, and misdiagnosis of trauma-related mental illnesses (e.g., anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder) as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This research explores race-based trauma from a blended theoretical framework incorporating trauma and narrative theories. Narrative therapy is presented as a collaboration-based counseling approach that emphasizes client experiences. Traditional talk therapies typically ignore race-based trauma as experienced by Black males. A culturally responsive narrative therapy model is proposed that incorporates the client’s preferred mode of story-sharing, such as poetry, song/rap, drama, dance, writing, and illustration. Model significance and recommendations for school administrators, counselors, and therapists are provided.
Keywords: Black males, narrative therapy, urban schools, race-based traum
Towards Black Gaze Theory: How Black Female Teachers Make Black Students Visible
No full textDamage-centered research (Tuck, 2009) dehumanizes Black people by focusing on disparities rather than cultural capital. Moving away from theories that frame blackness as a deficit, we turn to Black women teachers and educators and their humanizing pedagogies as experts in cultivating cultural wealth of Black children, youth, and families. Building on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 2014), Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2015), and Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000) we look towards Black female teachers and the ways that they mentor and humanize Black students to lay the foundation for Black Gaze Theory as a framework that 1) shifts conceptions of Black children away from a white gaze laden with “amused contempt and pity†(Du Bois, 1994, p. 2) to sociopolitical consciousness and 2) describes the cultural wealth of Black children and youth
An Evaluation of Contextual-Fit and Value of Clinical Placements in a Dual Licensure Program
No full textGiven continuing criticisms of teacher education, many higher education programs are turning to innovative ways to redesign their preparation of teachers for meeting the needs of students in inclusive environments. Among promising approaches are efforts to align and integrate the content and pedagogy of general and special education with participation in high quality clinical field experiences. In this research, we documented the extent to which standards and research-based practices aligned with experiences in schools as well as the measured and perceived value of participating in these high-quality clinical experiences for candidates in a dual certification teacher education program. Our findings suggest that schools vary in levels of use of inclusive practices and the field placements positively influence the development of preservice teachers’ knowledge and use of these skills
Teach to the Student, Not the Test
No full textNational education reform has led to increased accountability and high-stakes testing in primary and secondary grades. Testing has become a billion-dollar industry in the United States, and many schools have created a culture of teaching to the test while eliminating or reducing instruction of non-tested subjects. Standardized assessments are used to evaluate teachers and schools. However, validity can be questioned when significant gaps in student performance continue to exist between racial subgroups. The purpose of this article is to examine progress made in closing the Black-White achievement gap, by analyzing fourth and eighth graders’ achievement on NAEP assessments from 2005 to 2017. The author suggests reducing the number of standardized assessments and replacing test preparation curriculum with culturally relevant instruction
Current Practices for Teaching Letter and Letter Sound Knowledge in Preschool Including Strategies for Improving Instruction in these Areas
No full textHead Start teachers (N= 48) were interviewed about their beliefs and practices for supporting letter knowledge in their classrooms. Results highlighted that teachers believed letter knowledge to be important skill for preschoolers to develop and articulated a variety of approaches to supporting this skill within their classrooms. Promoting letter knowledge through play and children’s name letters were popular approaches; however, teachers missed many opportunities to promote letter and letter-sound knowledge with their children. Thus, in addition to presenting findings from semi-structured interviews, this article provides a range of research-based practices available to promote letter and letter-sound knowledge during preschool