Analytical Review of Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning - Classroom Practices for Student Success by Sharroky Hollie

 

This report presents a critical analysis of Sharroky Hollie’s work, Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning: Classroom Practices for Student Success addressing the importance of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching within contemporary, diverse educational environments. Given ongoing achievement disparities and challenges in language and literacy development, CLRT provides educators with a strategic framework to effectively support learners from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The objectives of this review are to summarize the principal concepts of the book, assess its strengths and limitations, examine its practical implications, and consider its relevance to instructional practices. Hollie is an educator with widespread experience and a strong commitment to promoting equity in schools. He specializes in professional development and culturally responsive teaching methods. Designed for K-12 teachers and school leaders, his book incorporates the latest research and practical insights from today’s classrooms. The chapters first explain cultural and linguistic responsiveness, then move into teaching approaches and hands on strategies. Important terms including “culture,” “language/dialect”, and Hollie’s perspective on CLRT are clearly explained to give readers a solid foundation for understanding the book’s ideas. In Chapter 2 of the text he states, “Every classroom should have effective and efficient ways of having students discuss topics and respond to questions and prompts.”[1]

In Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning, Hollie introduces a framework for leveraging students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds in education. Culture includes covering language, beliefs, values, behaviors and communication. Linguistic responsiveness supports students’ home languages and helps them to develop academic language. The VABB process encourages validating and affirming students identities, building on their strengths and bridging them to academic language. Strategies emphasize classroom management, instructional text use, vocabulary development, situational appropriateness, and promoting an inclusive learning environment. The author stresses that teachers must engage in self-reflection, examine their biases, assumptions, and the normativity of the mainstream classroom culture, and adapt their teaching and classroom practices accordingly. The book caters to grades K-!2 and is said to be useful for new and veteran teachers alike. It includes many teacher ready activities and solid tools to implement the framework. The work’s major purpose is to shift intellectual practice so that learners from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds are not marginalized, but rather their home culture and language become foundations for academic success.

Hollie’s framework views culture and language as valuable assets, using the VABB process of Validate, Affirm, Build, and Bridge to help educators link student’s cultural backgrounds to academic achievement. backgrounds to academic achievement. This book highlights situational correctness, guiding students in adapting to varying contexts, and connects pedagogical concepts with practical classroom tools. He addresses classroom management, instructional materials, vocabulary development, learning environment, and appropriateness, offering strategies like cultural responsive, management, literacy scaffolds, and activities such as storytelling. “The importance of students increasing their academic vocabulary skills is one of the few. I consider vocabulary another gatekeeper area for a specific instructional purpose in cultural responsiveness. Without increasing their academic vocabulary as they matriculate through school, students will struggle to achieve academic success.”[2] Reflection prompts and adaptable resources support teacher growth in real world settings. The book’s strengths include its practical slant and its focus on viewing student diversity as an asset. Hollie offers strategies that extend beyond theoretical concepts, warranting the book’s relevance across various grade levels and subject areas. He highlights the importance of a culturally responsive environment by stating, “Understanding the relationship between the environment and behavior enables teachers to organize and to equip the classroom so that optimal learning is more likely to occur. He highlights the educator mindset and believes teachers should adjust their practices rather than expecting students to adapt. Even so, some strategies may require modification to suit particular subjects or context, such as differences between urban and rural settings or differences in available resources. Systemic factors such as standardized testing and rigid curricula may also hamper implementation.

The use of case studies that demonstrate sustained impact would help to strengthen this resource. Also, it presumes a level of readiness and capacity among teachers and administrators that may not be universally present but the implications for practice are significant. Teachers can begin by reflecting on their own biases, auditing classroom culture, and engaging with students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Instructional planning should incorporate test data, vocabulary scaffolding, and situational relevance. School leaders can promote CLRT through professional development and inclusive school culture initiatives. At the policy level, considerations include teacher training, curriculum design, and systemic support for equity. Personally, this book offers valuable insights that can shape a teachers philosophy and classroom approach. An aligned text, Zaretta Hammond’s Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (2015), relates neuroscience to culturally responsive teaching practices. The book provides strategies educators can use to better connect with students from culturally diverse backgrounds by applying principles of brain-based learning. In her book, she asserts ““Culturally responsive teaching is not just about motivating students of color. It’s about building cognitive capacity and intellectual competence.”[3]

My identity is shaped by regional and national cultures that influence my communication style, sense of time, and community involvement. My values and worldview are deeply rooted in Southern and Texan culture which influences me with its rich mix of traditions. I also see academic culture as providing access to broader career choices. While I value all cultures equally, I’m aware that media and stereotypes can form unconscious biases. There have been cases where I have been drawn to cultures with strong communal or artistic traditions that were desirable for their unity and expressiveness. And on occasion, assumptions linked to my background have resulted in misinterpretations of my social views that don’t represent my identity. As a ninth grade social studies teacher, engagement with culture offers access to social networks and linguistic practices that enable successful interactions in academic and professional environments, even when such advantages are not always apparent. Hollie’s scholarship contributes meaningfully to the field of culturally responsive education. It provides a clear framework and practical tools for educators hoping to better serve diverse learners. What stands out most is the emphasis on mindset and the holistic integration of culture and language into pedagogy, although readers should be cautious of implementing strategies without internalizing the core principles. This book is highly recommended for teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders who are committed to equity and inclusion. It should be used not just as a toolkit, but as a catalyst for transformative practice.

Sources

Hammond, Zaretta L. Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2015.

Hollie, Sharroky. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning : Classroom Practices for Student Success, Shell Educational Publishing, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5882180.

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[1] Sharroky Hollie. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning : Classroom Practices for Student Success, Shell Educational Publishing, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5882180. Page 64.

[2] Sharroky Hollie. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning : Classroom Practices for Student Success. Shell Educational Publishing, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5882180. Page 127.

[3] Zaretta L. Hammond. Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2015). Page 14.