What are the Differences Between Cultural Competence and Cultural Sensitivity?

Before you begin this module, you need to consider the differences between being culturally sensitive and culturally responsive. It might seem like we are splitting hairs but there is a tremendous difference and understanding these differences impacts your classroom. It is important to understand that children come from different cultures, but 'understanding' alone is not enough to create culturally responsive classroom.

In the space below, describe what you think are the differences between the meaning of culturally sensitive and culturally responsive. Please know that this question is intended to be a pre-assessment as opposed to an assessment to test if you know the 'correct' answer. Please write what you think at this moment instead of researching an answer. 

What is a Culturally Responsive Teacher?

Most 21^st century classrooms have transformed into places where Racially, Ethnically, and Linguistically Different (RELD) students come together (Merryfield, 2000) to develop citizenship and career skills. Furthermore, many of today’s learning environments take advantage of technologies that allow teachers to connect with cultures and resources outside traditional classroom, thus globalizing instruction. As such, it is essential for teachers to be culturally responsive and teach young people to demonstrate critical thought, reflective judgment, and creative imagination while simultaneously exhibiting cross-cultural competence. Culturally responsive teachers “use cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and learning styles of culturally different students to make learning more appropriate and effective” (Ford, 2010, p. 52).

Before the course begins, define what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher and explain what you need to do in order to create a culturally responsive classroom.