Geneva Gay

• Culture refers to a dynamic system of social values, cognitive cods, behavioral standards, worldviews, and beliefs used to give order and meaning to our own lives as well as the lives of others (Delgado-Gaitain & Trueba, 1991 as cited by Geneva Gay)

• Teachers carry into the classroom their personal cultural background. They perceive students, all of whom are cultural agents, with inevitable prejudice and preconception. Students likewise come to school with personal cultural backgrounds that influence their perceptions of teachers, other students, and the school itself. Together students and teachers construct, mostly without being conscious of doing it, an environment of meanings enacted in individual and group behaviors, of conflict and accommodation, rejection and acceptance, alienation and withdrawal. (George and Louise Spindler (1994))

• McCarty, Wallace, Lynch, and Benally (1991) found that the image of Navajo children as silent and passive students was totally destroyed by teaching that connected school learning with cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. When their social experiences were incorporated into curriculum and instruction, and their cultural and linguistic resources were used to solve academic problems, the Navajo students became physically energized, intellectually engaged, and verbally fluent in the classroom.

• Boggs, Watson-Gegeo, and McMillen (1985), Tharp and Gallimore (1988), and Au (1993) report similar results from using culturally familiar content and styles of teaching on the academic achievement of Native Hawaiian students.

• Krater, Zeni, and Cason (1994), as well as Lee (1993) have done likewise for African Americans;

• Escalante and Dirmann (1990) as well as Sheets (1995a) with Latinos; and

• Philips (1983) with students on the Warm Springs Reservation and Greenbaum (1985) with Cherokee elementary school students.

• "Matching the contextual conditions for learning to the cultural experiences of the learner increases task engagement and hence increases task performance" (B. Allen & Butler, 1996, p. 317).

Zaretta Hammond

• Research finds that unconsciously teachers reinforce learned helplessness among low performing student of color

• Relationships became so important to our survival, the brain created an entire social engagement system to ensure we stay connected and in good standing with the tribe (Porges, 2011).

• Empowerment through validation is a critical feature of culturally responsive teaching because it helps restore students' sense of hope (Ladson-Billings, 2009)

• Children learn about themselves and the world around them within the context of culture (Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University, 2002).

• Students from minority cultures may feel pressured to disavow themselves of their cultural beliefs and norms in order to assimilate into the majority culture. This, however, can interfere with their emotional and cognitive development and result in school failure (Sheets, 1999). (source)

• "According to education researchers Hattie and Timperley (2007), feedback is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve learning. The brain needs feedback or it will keep doing the same thing over and over even if that move doesn't result in improved skill or performance. The very act of reviewing and applying feedback stimulates the growth of neurons and dendrites in the brain. This action grows more grey matter,"