ORELA ORELA Diversity, Equity & Cultural Responsiveness 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What term describes a teaching approach that uses students' cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives as resources for learning?
- Assimilation pedagogy
- Culturally responsive teaching (Correct answer)
- Deficit-based instruction
- Standardized instruction
Correct answer: Culturally responsive teaching
Culturally responsive teaching, developed by Geneva Gay and others, leverages students' cultural identities and prior knowledge to make learning meaningful and equitable.
Question 2: Which practice best demonstrates a teacher's commitment to equity for students with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds?
- Treating all students identically regardless of context
- Providing differentiated access to resources and removing material barriers to participation (Correct answer)
- Focusing only on grade-level standards without modification
- Encouraging students to adapt to existing school culture
Correct answer: Providing differentiated access to resources and removing material barriers to participation
Equity means recognizing that students have different needs and resources, and actively working to ensure all students have what they need to succeed.
Question 3: What is 'implicit bias' in an educational context?
- Intentional discriminatory actions toward students
- Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect teacher decisions and interactions (Correct answer)
- A formal school policy that discriminates
- A student's awareness of their own learning differences
Correct answer: Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect teacher decisions and interactions
Implicit bias refers to unconscious assumptions or stereotypes that can influence teacher expectations, discipline referrals, and instructional decisions without the teacher's awareness.
Question 4: Oregon's statewide plan addresses the disproportionate discipline of students of color through which approach?
- Zero-tolerance expulsion policies
- Restorative practices and culturally responsive discipline frameworks (Correct answer)
- Stricter attendance monitoring
- Increased referrals to law enforcement
Correct answer: Restorative practices and culturally responsive discipline frameworks
Oregon promotes restorative practices and culturally responsive discipline as alternatives to punitive measures that disproportionately affect students of color.
Question 5: When building a culturally inclusive classroom library, a teacher should prioritize:
- Books only from the dominant culture to provide common reference points
- Diverse texts that reflect a wide range of cultures, identities, family structures, and experiences (Correct answer)
- Only recently published best-sellers
- Books at a single reading level for consistency
Correct answer: Diverse texts that reflect a wide range of cultures, identities, family structures, and experiences
A diverse classroom library ensures all students see themselves reflected in texts (mirrors) while also learning about others' experiences (windows and sliding glass doors).
Question 6: What does the term 'microaggression' refer to in school settings?
- Physical bullying incidents
- Subtle, often unintentional verbal or behavioral slights that communicate negative messages to marginalized individuals (Correct answer)
- Formal discrimination complaints
- Loud disruptive behavior in class
Correct answer: Subtle, often unintentional verbal or behavioral slights that communicate negative messages to marginalized individuals
Microaggressions are everyday brief and commonplace exchanges that send denigrating messages to members of marginalized groups, often without the perpetrator's awareness.
ORELA ORELA Diversity, Equity & Cultural Responsiveness 1
What term describes a teaching approach that uses students' cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives as resources for learning?