Equity
Phase 2 

"Look-Fors" During Observation
Remember: The most helpful part of the observation is not checking off items, but the conversations and reflections that happen after the visit.  

Beginning/ Developing

• Teacher displays racial, ethnic, and cultural materials only during designated heritage months.
• Teacher does not ask students to make connections to what they are learning with their own lives.
• Teacher over uses mainstream culture as examples of real life experience.

Practicing/ Achieving

• Lesson is taught from a culturally inclusive perspective.
• Instructional materials, visuals, and student work in the classroom reflect the racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds represented by students.
• Teacher relies on strengths of language, culture, and family background when working with students.
• An asset-based approach to teaching and learning is reflected consistently in the classroom supporting the development of positive self-image and extending high expectations for all students.

Questions to Guide Observation 

• Does the lesson use students’ real-life experiences to connect school learning to students’ lives?
• ​How are the racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds represented in the classroom and in student output?

Resources

• Closing the Gap:  Creating Equity in the Classroom: This report from Hanover Research highlights classroom strategies, tips, and approaches to close the equity gap.
• Critical Practices for Anti-bias Education:  A resource full of anti-bias strategies and practices in the following areas: Instruction, Classroom Culture, Family and Community Engagement, and Teacher Leadership.
• A Field Guide to Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: This Field Guide uses hip-hop music and youth culture to make ELA and social studies content accessible to middle school students who otherwise might find it foreign or irrelevant. Its culturally responsive design is specifically informed by the ideas presented in A Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching (Raymond J. Wlodkowski and Margery B. Ginsberg).
• 5 ways to Build an Asset-based Mindset in Educational Partnerships: This blog highlights the importance of Building on the strengths of students to create cultures of equity.
• How to Be a Global Thinker: This article shares strategies for increasing cultural competence in a students. ​

Diversity in Design, Coaching Tool
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Diversity in Design, Coaching Tool
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