ABSTRACT

Responding to Disproportionality of Students of Color Through Addressing Teacher Practice

by

Judy Jaramillo Argumedo

Doctor of Education

University of California, Berkeley

Professor Bernard Gifford, Chair

The Acquiring Common and Collaborative Educational Systems and Strategies (ACCESS) is a design dissertation which provides a professional learning experience for teachers that builds awareness of how the deficit mindset of students of color lead to inequitable practices. The learning model is based on using instructional coaches to facilitate discussions about race, model effective strategies and provide experiential learning. The learning sequence will also focus on professional competence that highlights how teachers can intervene and utilize best practices with students in the classroom. Shifting teacher mindset is challenging and difficult to accomplish, but, with a focus on professional competence, teachers may change practice as they realize it is within their domain to act. With the focus on changing specific teacher practices, teachers may see improvement in the classroom environment shifting their thinking.