Effective urban elementary classrooms: A look at culture, styles of learning and effective teaching practices for African-American children

The purpose of the present study was to identify and describe effective instructional strategies and practices that influence the academic achievement of African American elementary children in Boston.;The research on learning styles and culture serves as a framework for this study. This study has three purposes: (1) to identify and describe learning styles of African American children, (2) identify teaching practices that are appropriate for African American children's learning styles and which are used successfully by urban teachers, and (3) to develop and disseminate an appendix of the successful practices.;The study procedures were: observing teachers and students, developing individual case studies on each teacher, conducting interviews, and presenting the cross-interview analysis.;The study was conducted in the fall and early winter of the 1997-1998 school year at five elementary schools, in several Boston communities, with five teachers and students from the five selected classes.;Data obtained through observations and teacher interviews were analyzed using the case study and cross-interview analysis methods. The results were used to describe effective teaching practices.;Results of the study indicate that there are teaching practices that have been used effectively with African American elementary children.;The findings suggest that teachers who use teaching practices that accommodate the preferred styles of learning of African American children will see improvement in the academic performance of African American children.;The five teachers in this study identified the following practices as effective for teaching African American children: (a) Responsive Classroom: A Social Curriculum; (b) Early Literacy Learning Initiative; (c) Puddle Questions; (d) Building Communities; (e) Phonics They Use: P. Cunningham; (f) Family Meetings; (g) Tidbits.