Brilliant Teaching: Using Culture and Artful Thinking to Close Equity Gaps

Think like an artist and design a classroom that works—well—for everyone In Brilliant Teaching, you will come to understand that equity—when we view it from an informed, multi-layered, and artistic perspective—is the essential purpose of teaching. As education thought leader Dr. Adeyemi Stembridge argues, true equity does not need to defend or justify itself against detractors. Teaching for equity means creating student-centered opportunities that match the social, political, and economic context of the learning environment. Informed by both theory and extensive collaboration with K-12 teachers, Brilliant Teaching will help you develop a deep understanding of culture, one that you can leverage in order to be responsive to students. This book draws from a range of disciplines, including but going well beyond the post-modern and critical-theory-based discourse that dominate conversations today. Brilliant Teaching also pulls from art theory, cultural psychology, cognitive science, and learning theory, as well as classic historical texts within education. With this broad foundation, Dr. Stembridge offers an empowering, engaging approach that educators can use to help learners reach their own goals, and to move society onward and upward. Discover practices that you can use to provide vulnerable students with high quality, effective, and meaningful learning opportunities Learn to empathize with and respond to your students in a way that will engage and empower them in rigorous learning experiences Embrace artful thinking and an integrated understanding of culture in your approach to equity in the classroom View the K-12 classroom with a more expansive mindset and fresh ideas from an expert educator For K-12 educators, preservice teachers, parents, school board members, and policymakers, this book is a breath of fresh air and inspiration in a world where culturally responsive teaching is increasingly recognized as a must.

Table of Contents:
Preface xiii Do I, or Do I Not, Take This Picture? xiv What Is This Book About? xvi To Whom Am I Speaking? xx Part One Culturally Responsive Artmaking Teaching 1 One What Does It Mean to Think Like an Artist? 5 What Is Artmaking? 7 Social Learning 15 Notes on Artmaking: Influence and Inspiration 29 Chapter Notes 31 Two Defining Equity and the Problem of Fairness 35 A Problem of Fairness 37 Measured by Outputs 39 Quality and Effective 44 Difference ≠ Deficits 50 What Schools Can Do 60 Notes on Artmaking: The Heart of Equity 61 Chapter Notes 64 Three Shifting Paradigms 69 Equity Problems of Practice 71 Race 76 Nonstarters 83 Notes on Artmaking: Layered Methodologies 88 Chapter Notes 92 Four Artmaking— As an Equity Issue 95 What Does It Mean to Understand? 97 The Role of Culture Relative to Achievement 108 Notes on Artmaking: Composition 127 Chapter Notes 128 Part Two The Culturally Responsive Artmaking Teacher (In) You 131 Five 12 Days of Instruction 135 Seating Charts, Volcanoes, and Different Glimpses of Themselves 137 Week 1: Planning (Structure and Process) 142 Week 2: Superpowers, Not Hacks 149 Week 3: From Compliance to Agency 160 “Something Has to Work Better .” 167 Notes on Artmaking: Ordinary Resurrections 169 Six Improvisation 173 Make It into a Melody 175 Uncertainty 177 Imprint the Memory 179 Notes on Artmaking: Have Students Translate the Melody 181 Chapter Notes 182 Seven Story 183 Our Job Is to Be a Storyteller 185 The Star of the Show 186 The Story Unfolds as a Question 188 Notes on Artmaking: The Power of Story 189 Chapter Note 190 Eight Audience 193 A Captive Audience 195 A Good Classroom Is Supportive of New Ideas 197 In Defense of Incentives 199 Notes on Artmaking: Incentives Are Not the Reward 208 Chapter Notes 210 Nine The Art of Culturally Responsive Assessments 211 A Culture of Responsive Assessments 213 Why Are Performative Assessments More Equitable Than Traditional “Standardized” Assessments? 215 Measure It Performatively 221 Notes on Artmaking: “They Weren’t Taking Cues Off of Me.” 228 Afterword 231 Brilliance 232 Brilliant Teaching is Philosophizing 234 References 237 Index 255

About the Author :
Dr. Adeyemi Stembridge is an educational consultant specializing in equity-focused school improvement. He works with districts around the country to identify root causes of achievement gaps and formulate pedagogy and policy-based efforts to redress the underperformance of vulnerable student populations. Dr. Stembridge holds a PhD in Educational Leadership from the School of Education, Teaching, and Health at American University, a Master of Arts degree in Literature from Old Dominion University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Norfolk State University.