1.

Identify and discuss one (or two) disposition(s) in which you believe you've made the most
personal growth this semester:
Sociocultural Consciousness
Affirming Attitude Toward Difference
Value and Affirming Student Background Knowledge
Constructivist Approach to Learning
Responsibility and Capacity to be Culturally Responsive
I feel that I have made the most progress in the area of possessing an Affirming Attitude Toward
Difference. According to the article titled Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers, Teachers
who see their students in an affirming light acknowledge the existence and validity of a plurality
of ways of thinking, talking, behaving, and learning (Villegas and Lucas, 2002). When I
initially began my classroom internship this semester, I had a difficult time interacting with a
specific student due to his frequent disruptions in class. After reading this article, I sought to find
validity in this students different way of behaving and learning. I sought to see why he acted the
way he did, and find good in this, as opposed to simply dismissing him as a bad student. I began
to realize that while he may have been disruptive at times, when given proper direction and
management, he was able to stay on task and even offer great insight to the class. It turned out
that instead of seeking to disrupt others from learning, he was simply not challenged by the
material and was essentially bored in class. After I got to know the student better, the same
person I once saw as a nuisance to have in class become a student who actually had great insight
to offer in class when properly engaged.
2. What will culturally responsive teaching look like in my classroom? How will I embody at
least one of the principles from CRT (Academic achievement, Cultural competence, Critical
consciousness)?
In my classroom, I plan to embody the principle of academic achievement. It is often assumed
that by implementing culturally responsive teaching, student success will be fostered allowing
previously low-achieving students to go to college and leave their community. According to the
session 8 PowerPoint, this misconception can be addressed by understanding that not all students
must go to college and leave their community in order to be considered successful (Bartlett,
2016). While Culturally Responsive Teaching is aimed toward aiding in student success, the true
definition of success needs to be considered. While success for one student may include getting
accepted into a good college and leaving their community, other students may be successful and
benefit their community in other meaningful ways, without going away to college.
3. How will I use professional competencies to drive the relationships that I have with students,
parents, and colleagues? (Please discuss all)
Interpersonal Awareness involves Considering how your words/actions affect others and
seeing the situation from someone elses perspective (Arizona Board of Regents, 2014).
With my students, I will take time to consider how I am affecting not only them, but the
classroom environment as a whole. It is important to create a safe learning environment that
fosters growth. A teachers words and actions when interacting with students can have a
major impact on whether or not students feel comfortable taking risks with their learning,

even when making possible mistakes.

It is important to observe this competency in communication with parents. I will make a
point to consider what I am saying in any written or verbal communication in order to make
sure I am not likely to offend them in any way. It is important for educators to have good
relationships with parents, and this sort of relationship can be destroyed if my words or
actions are perceived negatively.
Around my colleagues, I will make a commitment to acting professional at all times. It is
important to be aware of how I am viewed as a professional by those around me. If I show up
late and unprepared, or make an inappropriate joke, it is possible that those around me will
perceive me in a negative way. This can be very problematic for my job security, especially
in my first few years of teaching.
Suspending Judgment involves Identifying when you might be unfairly judging someone,
pausing to get a read of the situation, & seeking to learn more (Arizona Board of Regents,
2014).. I will make a commitment to learn about my students. By doing this, I am more likely
to be able to understand their needs in the classroom. I will do my best to see the students
fairly, and avoid making judgments prematurely when I do not fully understand a students
behavior or background.
In my interaction with parents, I will seek to suspend judgment in how they handle situations.
For an educator, it can be extremely frustrating when they do not get support when handling
a students behavioral or academic issues. Instead of writing them off as a parent who does
not care about their students success, I will instead seek to understand why they are coming
off as unsupportive. If I am able to find that the root of the problem is the parents inability to
spend the time or academically assist their child, I can find out what else the school can do
on their end to provide additional assistance to support the parent and student such as
tutoring or other resources.
In order to maintain a positive relationship with my colleagues, I will avoid making
judgments about them on a personal level. If I judge those that I work with unfairly, I may
miss out on meaningful connections I could be making with them. If I dismiss a colleague as
someone that I do not wish to interact with, I can miss out on their valuable assets or
resources that may help me as an educator as well.
Asset-based Thinking involves Seeking the positive aspects and strengths that another
brings to the table (Arizona Board of Regents, 2014). I will make a commitment to see the
value in every student, and the positive aspects of having them in class. While this may be
difficult at times, each student has a unique perspective and diverse roles in creating a
learning environment for those around them.
This competency will come into play in my relationship with parents as I discuss their childs
learning with them. While interactions with parents may be frustrating at times, at the end of

the day, they know their student, as well as how to handle certain behavioral issues better
than I would as simply the students teacher. Seeing a parents strengths will help decrease
frustration as certain miscommunications or conflicts arise.
Asset-based Thinking will guide my relationships with my colleagues as I learn their
individual strengths as fellow educators/ administrators. This will come into play when I
learn how I can learn to improve myself from watching them succeed. It will also help me
see gain resources as well as support in areas in their areas of expertise that I may be less
skilled in.
Locus of Control involves Focusing your energy or attention on the things that are within
your ability to control or affect (Arizona Board of Regents, 2014). I will allow this
competency when interacting with students in order to understand what I can and cannot
change in their environment. While teachers are often inspired to change every misbehaving
or struggling students life, this is unrealistic. Teachers can attempt to be a positive influence
in students lives, although it must be understood that some issues are out of the teachers
control, and they cannot necessarily do this for each student they come into contact with.
This competency will guide my relationship with parents as I understand what I can and
cannot change about how parents handle their students. While I may be frustrated by a lack
of involvement or concern a parent shows about their student, this is generally out of my
control. While I may be able to express my concerns to parents, it is at the end of the day
their decision how to address the issues with their children.
I will have to learn how to balance what is inside and outside of my Locus of Control in
regards to my colleagues actions. While I may be given input in certain issues, at the end of
the day, I will have to stand by and support the decisions made by administration or other
teachers in my department. I will be able to voice my concerns, however, at the end of the
day I will have to understand when a situation is out of my control, and when I will have to
follow the decisions that I may not necessarily support.
4. Identify two examples within your content where you can create
learning opportunities consistent with Culturally Responsive Teaching.
I will create an environment that fosters student learning through placing them in communities,
or teams, to work with throughout each quarter. When classrooms are organized into
communities that are designed to encourage academic and cultural excellence, students learn to
facilitate their own learning as well as that of their fellow students (Kozleski, n.d.). By
interacting in groups, students are helping to contribute to the learning of others. They will also
learn to appreciate the similarities and differences among themselves as well as the students
around them. By working with different teams each quarter, students will learn how to negotiate
these differences multiple times throughout the year, as well as be provided with different
opportunities to contribute to their fellow students academic success as they work together on
various tasks. Students will also benefit from these interactions as they are exposed to other
perspectives brought up by their classmates that would not have been considered otherwise.

The Kozleski (n.d.) article also discusses the importance of being able to Share control of the
classroom with your students. If students are given more input, the entire class will be exposed
to multiple perspectives. If I, as an educator, am able to see various situations from my students
perspectives I will be able to better meet their needs and help them learn. I also think it is
important to involve students in things like classroom rules in order to create a meaningful
learning environment for them that everyone agrees to be a part of. For this reason, I plan to
implement a sort of social contract that everyone will sign, where each student has individual
input.

References
Arizona Board of Regents. (2014). Asset-based Thinking. Retrieved from
https://asu-teacherscollege.wistia.com/medias/1580azxdqh
Arizona Board of Regents. (2014). Intrapersonal Awareness. Retrieved
from https://asu-teacherscollege.wistia.com/medias/1a2f7evdgz
Arizona Board of Regents. (2014). Locus of Control. Retrieved from
https://asu-teacherscollege.wistia.com/medias/m5yr9r6r5f
Arizona Board of Regents. (2014). Suspending Judgement. Retrieved from
https://asu-teacherscollege.wistia.com/medias/3a3r58gvv2
Bartlett, A. (2016). Culturally Responsive Teaching [PowerPoint
slides]. Retrieved from
https://myasucourses.asu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-12482482-dt-contentrid-72164916_1/courses/2016Spring-W-SED32213032/Culturally%20Responsive%20Teaching%283%29.pptx
Kozleski, E. (n.d.). Culturally Responsive Teaching Matters. Retrieved
from http://www.equityallianceatasu.org/sites/default/files/
Website_fi les/CulturallyResponsiveTeaching-Matters.pdf
Villegas, A. M., Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing Culturally Responsive
Teachers. Retrieved from
http://jte.sagepub.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/content/53/1/20.full.
pdf