Culturally Responsive Instruction: Lesson Design and Delivery

The study seeks to determine which types of assignments and experiences during coursework best prepare preservice candidates to work with CLD students in urban centers. Specifically, the infusion of cultural diversity (i.e., culturally responsive instruction, materials, and/or curricula) in lesson plan construction and delivery will be examined. During the Fall 2001 semester, teacher education candidates enrolled in SPED 664 Materials, Methods, and Problems in Teaching the Special Needs Child were asked to infuse cultural diversity into the five required lesson plans (reading, math, written expression, science, and social studies) utilizing the six step lesson format. Each candidate enrolled in the course was observed teaching a lesson once during the semester.

For this study, 120 lesson plans constructed during the semester will be analyzed for both quality and content inclusion as it relates to cultural diversity. Second, 24 written anecdotal observation forms of lesson delivery will be analyzed. This data will serve as a pilot study for the Fall 2002 semester, when a larger subject pool will be engaged. The goal of the project is to examine better ways to infuse culturally responsive instruction consistently throughout lesson plan construction and delivery.