Contents
Foreword Geneva Gay vii
Preface: My Life, My Work ix
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
1 The Foundations of Biography-Driven Instruction 4
The Influence of Politics on CLD Student Education 5
Access Denied: Limiting Programs for CLD Learners 6
What?s Love Got to Do With It? Everything 8
The Foundations of Biography-Driven Instruction 9
Charting the Course Toward Liberatory Practices 9
I Need You, and You Need Me: Learning as a Social Practice 12
Teaching and Learning in the Third Space 14
Research Into How the Brain Learns 14
Making It Happen! How This Book Can Guide Next Steps 17
2 Biography-Driven Instruction 18
Biopsychosocial History 19
Confronting Our Reality: Invisible External and Internal Forces 20
The CLD Student Biography 27
The Sociocultural Dimension 27
Reflections on the Sociocultural Dimension 33
3 Language of the Heart 35
The Linguistic Dimension 35
Reflections on the Linguistic Dimension 46
4 Culture-Driven Thought and Learning 47
The Cognitive Dimension 47
Reflections on the Cognitive Dimension 59
5 Academics: More Than a Test Score or Grade 60
The Academic Dimension 60
Reflections on the Academic Dimension 67
6 Biography-Driven Planning, Teaching, and Assessing 72
Contextual and Situational Processes 72
Contextual and Situational Teaching 75
Biography-Driven Instruction: A Culturally Responsive Method 78
Reflections on Valuing the Student in Teaching 92
7 Activation: A Canvas of Opportunity 93
Socioculturally Speaking 94
Transparency in Teaching 95
Linguistically Speaking: How Vocabulary Fits Into the Picture 99
Cognitively Speaking: Creating a Canvas of Opportunity for Disclosure 106
Reflections on Activating What Students Know 110
8 Connection: Navigating From the Known to the Unknown 112
Transformative Comprehensible Input 113
Activities Versus Strategies 117
Navigating Socioemotional States of Mind 121
Scaffolding From Student Words/Thoughts to New Learning 129
Students Negotiate Meaning 133
Reflections on Connecting Lessons to Our Students? Lives 136
9 Affirmation: Evidence-Based Celebration of Linguistic and Academic Learning 137
Emotion, Cognition, and Assessment 137
Formative Assessment 140
Learning Strategies as a Bridge to Summative Assessment 146
Review, Rehearsal, and Retrieval 147
Reflections on Affirming Student Learning Through Assessment 151
10 Biography-Driven Pedagogical Action: Voices of Care, Hope, and Academic Achievement 153
A Different Type of Agenda 154
BDI and Research-Based Standards 154
Action and Transformation: The Schoolwide Impact of BDI 158
Voices From the Field 161
Through the Eyes of a Student 167
Final Reflections 168
Glossary 177
Appendices 181
Appendix A: Critical Reflection Using the Reflection Wheel Journal 182
Appendix B: CLD Student Biography Card: Template 184
Appendix C: DOTS Strategy (Determine, Observe, Talk, Summarize) 185
Appendix D: Mind Map 186
Appendix E: Vocabulary Quilt 187
Appendix F: Ignite, Discover, Extend, Affirm (IDEA) 188
Appendix G: Thumb Challenge 189
Appendix H: Uncover, Concentrate, Monitor, Evaluate (U-C-ME) 190
Appendix I: Quick Guide to Biography-Driven Instructional Concepts 191
List of Instructional Aids Available Online (tcpress.com) :
Discussion Guide, Templates, Rubrics, and Checklist 192
References 193
Index 201
About the Author 208
