Midwest Sociology of Education Conference 2017

Kaitlin Torphy visits Purdue University to present work on teachers' curation of instructional tasks and evidence of culturally representative instruction online.

Teachers engagement within social media may afford an opportunity into their understanding of instruction, professional practices, and their local context—as it evolves, over time.

The resources teachers use in their classrooms may contribute to the opportunities (or lack thereof) for culturally relevant pedagogy, i.e., a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-Billings, 1994).

Though the best measurement of cultural relevance is the enactment of culturally relevant instruction, examining content can provide a partial understanding of the intended substance as it relates to culturally relevant pedagogy. We define cultural relevance as opportunities for all students to experience academic success, opportunities for developing and maintaining cultural competence in relation with oneself or others, and opportunities for developing a critical consciousness (Dominguez, 2016; Ladson-Billings, 1994).