I recently had the privilege to work with a small study group of local English teachers. We devoted ourselves to exploring the intersection of inquiry-based teaching and an equity-based stance in schools. Inquiry is a central model of instruction in the MAT program; it differs from teaching as “transmission” of information – by emphasizing active learning and dialogic instruction. Students engage in flexible problem-solving, using big questions, peer to peer talk, and instructional scaffolding.
Many teachers today also seek to recognize the structural workings of power and privilege in learning spaces – to understand the role of race, class and gender in curriculum, instruction, and student experience. How do these two areas, inquiry and equity, relate to each other? What does it mean to promote active and open discourse, while responding to students’ distinct positionalities, to histories of privilege and oppression, in classroom spaces?
Participants in this study group came from a range of local schools, and most were alumni of our MAT program. A few had 10-20 years of teaching experience; others were in their first years of teaching. Our group included::
- Max Anders, Lincoln High School (Tacoma)
- Sarah Brauner, Columbia Junior High (Fife)
- Daniel Cook, Todd Beamer High School (Federal Way)
- Courtney Farver, Foss High School (Tacoma)
- Tom Davidson, Spanaway Lake High School (Bethel)
- Pat McDermott, Lincoln High School (Tacoma)
- Natalia Ross, Chief Leschi School (Puyallup Tribe)
- Christine Snellgrove, Lincoln High School (Tacoma)
- Brianna Williamson, Washington High School (Franklin Pierce)
As a group, we revisited what inquiry is and might be in our classrooms (Kahn et al, 2019). We challenged ourselves to deepen our understanding of culturally sustaining practices (Paris & Alim, 2017). We discussed various routes by which teachers strive to become culturally responsive (Parkhouse, et al, 2023). Among our considerations were the various “costs” students sometimes pay in participating in inquiry activities. For example, inquiry relies on open discourse, yet to what extent are classroom spaces truly open for sharing beliefs and values – and for whom are they safe and for whom not? Grouping practices often directly impact how much students are willing to share. Structurally and historically, certain voices have been granted more space and visibility than others – dynamics that play out in classrooms today.
Our group distinguished between cultural responsiveness with students and culturally responsive knowledge of content. We recognized that both are central – understanding students’ unique and collective identities, assets, and positionalities; and understanding the complexity of what we teach, how knowledge has been produced historically to serve dominant interests, and how specific academic material differentially impacts learners. The latter is seen in how “stereotype threat” emerges in math classrooms (Steele & Aaronson, 1995) – or how particular framings of U.S. history yield skepticism and resistance among youth (Loewen, 2007). As practicing teachers, we asked: How can we deepen our understanding of how students experience content – how they are impacted by what we teach? In what ways can we transform our understanding of and approach to content in light of students’ positionalities, histories, and interests?
Our work was a beginning step. We benefited from the intergenerational nature of our group — learning from highly experienced teachers and new educators working together. I am deeply grateful for the participation of this study group, as we all seek to build and remake our teaching practices and commitments – commitments to active learning, to inquiry, and to culturally sustaining practices with children and youth.
References:
Kahn, E. et al, Eds., (2019). Inquiry Paths to Literacy Learning. Rowman & Littlefield.
Loewen, J. W. (2007). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. Atria Books, Simon & Schuster.
Paris, D. & Alim, H. S. (2017). Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for
Justice in a Changing World. Teachers College Press
Parkhouse, H. et al (2023). Mapping How Teachers Become Culturally Responsive. Journal of Teacher Education. Vol. 74 (4): 383-397.
Steele, C. M. & Aronson J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 69 (5): 797–81.
Fred Hamel is Dean of the School of Education and Director of the MAT program.
University of Puget Sound School of Education 
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