Adapting to Change: Virtual Professional Development to Support Culturally Responsive Instruction in Middle-Level Classrooms

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Educational Change in Support of Every Young Adolescent

Abstract

The following research questions guided this case study: (a) What are the self-efficacy beliefs of middle-level teachers participating in virtual professional development devoted to CRI?; (b) How do middle-level teachers participating in virtual professional development devoted to culturally responsive approaches implement CRI with their students?; and (c) How do teachers engaged in virtual professional development experience CRI with their students? Findings indicate that teachers implemented culturally responsive instructional practices and developed positive classroom relationships with their students at high levels, although teachers’ efforts to provide opportunities for students to engage in critical consciousness or to build collaborative relationships with students’ families were rarely practiced. Teachers reported successes with connecting instruction to students’ interests and backgrounds and increased student engagement.

Authors

• Pamela Correll, Missouri State University

• Kimberly J Stormer, Houston Independent School District

• Ximena Uribe-Zarain, Missouri State University

• Cory T. Brown, The Ohio State University