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Educational Design & Technology

Educational Design and Technology

Culturally Responsive Instruction through Technology

Effective educational leaders strive for equity of educational opportunity and culturally responsive practices to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. Educational leaders should seek out and employ the latest technology to support teaching and learning in student-centered, culturally and linguistically responsive learning environments.

Technology, including online communication tools, social media, online collaboration platforms, and learning management systems, can facilitate:

  • Professional development activities such as:
    • Developing and implementing professional learning communities that will work to create culturally and linguistically responsive learning environments that will address diverse students' needs.
    • Assisting educators in effectively using technology to facilitate student learning through active engagement.
    • Developing educators’ ability to build appropriate supports for students as needed. 
  • Efforts to recruit, develop, and retain a more diverse and culturally responsive teaching workforce including:
    • Collaboration with local schools of higher education to facilitate training of preservice teachers to be more culturally responsive.
    • Broadening teacher recruitment efforts.
  • A variety of communication approaches, in multiple languages as needed, with families and the community to:
    • Keep families informed of school activities and social news 
    • Provide families and community members the opportunity to offer suggestions and feedback to the school district. 
  • Creating and offering courses for teachers on students’ cultures to increase teachers’ knowledge of students’ backgrounds to avoid instructional approaches that could interfere with student learning. 
    • Parents and students could be involved in designing the courses.
  • Infusing the learning community’s environment with the tradition, cultures, and languages of the students, their families, and educators.
    • Hosting ongoing events and activities in schools that celebrate cultures with opportunities for students to display their knowledge of local cultures.
  • Supporting student and educators to create collaborative partnerships with other educators, families, content experts, community members, business and others outside the learning community that enhance individual and group learning.