This OER takes a look at the intersection of human growth and development from a trauma perspective, the neuroscience of learning, specifically how the concepts of survival and exercise influence the student learning process. How does Culturally Responsive Teaching support dependent learners to become Independent Learners and understanding the role of culture in student learning.

This work has been created to supplement a beginning teacher educator course entitled Survey of Content and Experience for Texas Educators.   These units provide an understanding of the teacher candidates’ content, discipline, and related pedagogy inclusive of state standards and certification requirements. Students will engage in tasks that will assess their aptitude, skill, knowledge, and experience.

Course Objectives in alignment with CA ECSE TPEs:Unit One: Understanding the Impact of a Child's Disability on the Family Unit1.8  Understand the unique care, development, and learning needs of infants and toddlers and how to support their growth, development, and learning within the early childhood special education setting.4.5 Identify​ ​each​ ​child's​ ​strengths, ​ ​preferences, ​ ​and​ ​interests​ ​in​ ​collaboration​ ​with families​ ​to​ ​engage​ ​the​ ​child​ ​in​ ​active​ ​learning​ ​within​ ​and​ ​across​ ​routines, activities, ​ ​and​ ​environments. 

Objectives: CA ECSE TPEs1.5 Communicate effectively & in a culturally & linguistically appropriate manner with families & other service providers to facilitate & strengthen ongoing partnerships & collaborations that can support young children’s learning goals & outcomes.2.2 Promote children’s access, learning & participation in a variety of environments using models of support​ ​that​ ​are​ ​strengths-​ ​based, ​​family-centered, ​ ​and​ ​culturally & linguistically​ ​responsive.6.7 Effectively​ ​articulate​ ​the​ ​rationale​ ​for​ ​instruction​ ​and​ ​intervention​ ​plans​ ​through culturally & linguistically appropriate verbal​ ​& ​written​ ​communications​ ​to and with​ ​family​ ​members, ​ ​other​ ​service​ ​providers, administration, ​ ​&​ ​other​ ​stakeholders.

CA ECSE TPEs: 1.11 Facilitate​ ​the​ ​continuation of young children’s learning progress​ ​across​ ​multiple​ ​contexts​ ​&​ ​transitions including a variety of​ ​environments​, 5.6 Use​ ​ongoing​ ​assessment​ ​data​ ​from​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of​ ​sources​ ​& ​settings​ to establish​ ​meaningful,​ ​individualized​ ​learning​ ​goals​ ​& ​intervention​ ​activities, 6.2 Develop​ ​& ​implement​ ​policies, ​structures, & ​practices​ ​that​ ​promote​ ​shared decision​ ​making​ ​w/​ ​service​ ​providers​ &​ ​families, 6.4 Develop​ ​&​ ​implement​ ​effective​ ​transitional​ ​plans​ ​to​ ​support​ ​the​ ​ongoing learning​ ​& ​development​ ​of​ ​children​ ​entering​ ​different​ ​learning​ ​settings​, 6.5 Promote​ ​efficient​ ​&​ ​coordinated​ ​service​ ​delivery​ ​for​ ​children​ ​& ​families​ ​by creating & supporting​ ​the​ ​conditions​ ​for​ ​service​ ​providers​​ ​&​ ​the family​ ​to​ ​work​ ​as​ ​a​ ​team, 6.8 Facilitate​ ​effective collaborative​ ​transitions between​ ​the​ ​stages of schooling & educational settings​.

This module includes three units exploring the connections between adolescent development, the science of learning, and culturally responsive pedagogies. It is meant to make the case that K-12 teachers must not ignore the impact and value of culture as a dimension of development and factor in learning processes. The module culminates in an exploration of how the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework overlaps with principles of CRT (Culturally Relevant Teaching).

This module has been created by Dr. Carly Johnson, Chair of the Department of Music at Alabama State University, to supplement commercial textbooks available for college-level conducting courses.  The culturally diverse images, musical scores, and videos featured in the module provide more inclusive content, representative of students from historically marginalized groups, and aid in deconstructing racial, ethnic, and gender biases often associated with the study of Western art music and with holding leadership positions in music.  The module begins with reflective questioning, identifying and examining equity barriers in Western art music, and ends with pathway resources for underrepresented students to pursue additional study beyond the conclusion of the course. Included in this module are several activities and assessments that can be used in a variety of ways, suitable for both in-person teaching or for synchronous or asynchronous online instruction.

According to Montenegro & Jankowski, 2017, culturally responsive assessment is an assessment that is mindful of the student populations the institution/school serves, using language that is appropriate for all students when developing learning outcomes, acknowledging students’ differences in the planning phases of an assessment, and being intentional in using assessment tools and results to improve learning for all students.  This module will provide explicit instructions to guide your thinking about the relationship between assessment and instruction.The goal of this course is to introduce K-12 Educators and Higher Education faculty to using standards and assessment alignment to support all types of learners.  

The development of this module was sponsored by Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity to facilitate the development of OER as instructional materials for teacher education courses. 

This template has been created by Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity to facilitate the development of OER as instructional materials for teacher education classes.Within this resource are instructions, templates, and examples for using this template to create your own unit(s) for your own classes. 

This product was developed with preservice teacher needs in mind. Preservice teachers are often nervous about working with students with disabilities. The resources shared here are ideas that can be generalized to multiple classroom settings, for all different ages.

This is a unit developed for the Branch Aliance for Educator Diversity Summer Institute to be used as OER/instructional materials for Teacher Education classes. This unit emphasizes the varied types of pedagogical models candidates will need in their proverbial "toolboxes" as they prepare to enter the classroom.  

In this module, teaching credential candidates in elementary, secondary, and special education will learn about the assets and inequities that a focus on intersectionality can illuminate, and how this learning will affect their future work in classrooms.      

This resource is a lesson plan intended to introduce minoritized freshman and sophomore college students to the study of mythology and to its universal importance as the foundation of our common cultural heritage. The module may also be modified to accomodate high school level language arts courses. This resource will represent approximately three weeks of a typical 10 to 15 week World Literature survey course. 

This course has been created by Tiffany D. Pogue with support from Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity to provide an introduction to learners on A Pedagogy of Hope (PoH).  By the end of the course's completion, learners will be able to discuss the development of a PoH, describe the basic characteristics of the pedagogy, use it to plan a lesson, and reflect critically upon their experiences. 

This goal of this course is to introduce learners to phonological awareness, a foundational component of reading development in young children.  This unit is meant to introduce pre-service teachers to the concepts of phonological awareness and how to work with English Learners in their oral language development.  Phonological awareness is often misunderstood, therefore not addressed accurately in classroom settings.  The course is intended to supplement an existing course in foundational reading development. 

This series of units will walk us through thinking organizers, reflective activities, and a protocol that could be used as a starting point for taking a deeper look at the ways in which our assessments of students may contain unconscious bias. Why Rubrics? This series focuses on classroom, rather than standardized, assessments. The pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning that are grounded in using rubrics tend to be simultaneously the most (potentially) engaging for students and most vulnerable to subjectivity in "scoring" by teachers. Since rubrics are most commonly utilized to score student products and performances, in contrast to multiple choice or fill-in assessments, there is a higher likelihood of cultural, linguistic, and ableist biases to be present in both the scoring instrument (rubric) and the scoring process.

This is a 3-unit 6 week course on quantitative history.  It is designed to facilitate intersectional learning with a focus on families and communities.  It includes equity in education.  The OER is intended to be taught by teacher education faculty to teacher candidates in educator preparation programs.  The Equity Rubric for OER Evaluation was also used to guide design:  Key features are access, identities, funds of knowledge, value, meaning construction, perspective, equity & inclusion, empathy, divergence, pluralism, intersectionality, connections, and engagement. 

This unit is designed to immerse teacher candidates in the contentious issues of reading instruction. In the unit, participants will explore the issues in the historical "Reading Wars," consider the arguments for structured literacy, critical literacy and the balanced literacy approach to teaching reading and explore the impact of bilingualism on reading instruction.