When Melissa Seggelke and her team at Denver Public Schools decided to reconstruct their curriculum audit process with a focus on inclusivity and cultural responsibility, they knew they’d need to draw from expert voices in the field. This list of resources helped inform their perspectives, strengthen their awareness, and prioritize respect for students’ identities. Below, Seggelke explains how each text contributed to the project.
Banks, James, and Cherry A. McGee Banks, eds. Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives, 10th ed. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons, 2019.
This educational textbook examines concepts of culture in relation to education. It informed our understanding of the levels of curriculum development, particularly around moving beyond a “heroes and holidays” approach. Banks’ research helped us think about restructuring the curriculum beyond merely “adding” diverse groups, but thinking about how to move to a transformative approach where students learn about multiple perspectives and how those perspectives enhance our understanding of the past. Banks’ research provided insight into both the philosophy of the rubric and our audit goals of progressing towards a Transformative Curriculum.
Hammond, Zaretta L. Culturally Responsive Teaching And The Brain. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2014.
With its foundation in neuroscience, Hammond’s book offers a unique approach to curriculum design with an emphasis on culturally responsive instruction. This resource served to support the philosophy of the rubric and audit process. In particular, it contributed to our focus on supporting students as they engage in discipline-specific critical thinking (the first criteria on DPS’s rubric) and ensuring that students’ identities are not only respected, but viewed as assets to leverage in curriculum materials and instructions.
King, LaGarrett J. “Interpreting Black History: Toward A Black History Framework for Teacher Education,” Urban Education, 54, no. 3 (February 2018): 368-396.
This article from Urban Education addresses the importance of helping teachers strengthen their own knowledge and understanding of Black History, to provide students with an accurate and culturally responsive education. In particular, Dr. King’s research and his Black Historical Conscience Principles grounded our process and helped inform the development of the rubric. Dr. King’s insights helped us focus on narratives of trauma and oppression, and his framework was pivotal in ensuring we found and used accurate representations of marginalized communities, including narratives focused on joy and daily experiences.
Peoples, Leah Q., Tahia Islam, and Timothy Davis. “Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard – EJ-ROC.” NYU Steinhardt, 2021. https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/ejroc/culturally-responsive-curriculum-scorecards.
The Steinhart Rubric is a tool designed to assess the extent to which STEAM curricula demonstrate cultural responsiveness. The rubric helped us identify and shape specific feedback categories and provided a valuable frame of reference. While the Steinhart Rubric has direct application to ELA curriculum, many of the components have cross-content connections.
Melissa Seggelke is currently the Humanities Manager for Denver Public Schools (DPS). She has been with DPS for over 13 years and has previously supported both educators and students as a social studies teacher, content literacy partner, and curriculum specialist. Melissa saw firsthand the power of inquiry-based learning and CRE when she coached her 7th Grade students for National History Day, where students grappled with complex projects driven by both their passion and research.
Sign up for free monthly resources below:
