From Being Woke to Doing #theWork : Using Culturally Relevant Practices to Support Student Achievement & Sociopolitical Consciousness

Becoming a culturally relevant teacher is a journey, not a destination. It is a choice that an educator must make daily, to ensure that all students have equitable opportunities to learn. This edited book is designed to support educators in building their responsive educator muscles with the aid of reliable research-based content related to mindset, knowledge, and skills. The book includes: (1) explicit guidance on unpacking self, (2) guidance on how to explore the community and lived experiences of students, and (3) exemplar practitioner curriculum strategies in Humanities and STEM classrooms. Educators will pick up this book from different entry points, based on their personal journey. There is space for all educators to shift.

Kisha Porcher, Ph.D. (2016), George Mason University, is Assistant Professor of English for the University of Delaware. She has published articles on centering Blackness in English Education and preparing preservice teachers to teach Black students.

Reshma Ramkellawan-Arteaga, Ed.D. (2017), Teachers College Columbia University, is an educational consultant and part time lecturer for Rutgers University. Her areas of research include unpacking cultural identities as it intersect with pedagogical practice.

Colleen Hinds-Rodgers, doctoral candidate, Johns Hopkins University, is a National Senior Managing Director of STEM Teacher Leadership Development at a national teacher preparation non-profit. Her areas of research include healing academic trauma and teacher preparation in culturally relevant and affirming mathematics.

Jacobē Bell, doctoral candidate, Teachers College, Columbia University, is the Network Director of Networked School Improvement for a national nonprofit. Her areas of research include Black joy for Black women educators, humanizing pedagogies, and asset-based teaching and learning.