Culturally relevant teachers' thorough and deep understanding of their content contributes to their ability to represent and deliver that content in various ways. They know how to employ multiple representations of knowledge that use students' everyday lived experiences to motivate and assist them in connecting new knowledge to home, community, and global settings. Multiple representations of subject-matter knowledge involve finding pertinent examples, comparing and contrasting, bridging the gap between the known (students' personal cultural knowledge) and the unknown (materials and concepts to be mastered).
Culturally relevant pedagogy addresses high standards in the content areas. For example, the National Council for the Social Studies standards focus on culture and individual development and identity. According to the standards, teachers should help their students examine the characteristics of different cultures; analyze cultural belief systems; and how personal identity is shaped by one's culture, by groups, and by institutional influences. Additionally, the pedagogical standards require teachers "to possess the knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions to create at the appropriate school levels learning experiences that fit the different approaches to learning of diverse learners."
The standards of the National Council for Teaching of Mathematics emphasize content and pedagogy that increase equity in the mathematics classroom. The first of its six principles and standards is the Equity Principle, which states: "Excellence in mathematics education requires equity—high expectations and strong support for all students." The organization emphasizes that all students should have access to high-quality mathematics instruction and appropriately challenging content be included to promote access and attainment for all students. For more information about NCTM's Equity Principle, read Beyond Access and Achievement: Equity Issues for Mathematics Teachers and Leaders.
The five core propositions of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards are the most rigorous standards for teachers in the field.
Yvonne Divans Hutchinson of King-Drew Medical Magnet School in Los Angeles is a National Board certified teacher who has focused for many years on developing strategies to engage all her students in substantive discussions of literary texts and the issues those texts raise for their own lives. In this approach, she builds on the oral traditions of her students African-American and Latino cultures and seeks to support the development of their literacy skills through high standards, explicit expectations, and rigorous literature experiences. See how her lesson met the standards of NBPTS with her lesson, A Friend of Their Minds: Capitalizing on the Oral Traditions of my African American Students.
