Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

In the article Culturally Relevant Mathematics Teaching in a Mexican American Context (Gutstein et al., 1997) the idea that teachers use their knowledge of students' culture to advance learning of mathematics is highlighted through a rich dialogue of classroom examples, field notes and teacher reflection. In this article you really get a sense that students knowledge, culture and beliefs are valued.

For the past few weeks you have been working on three instructional activities that engage learners from multiple perspectives. After reading this article which approach would you most likely implement into your instructional activities and how will you achieve a culturally relevant pedagogy?

Performance Assessment Tasks

Performance assessment tasks are commonly used in mathematics classrooms to provide students with an opportunity to engage in challenging tasks that require mathematical thinking. According to O'Daffer and Thornquist, (1993) mathematical thinking "involves using mathematically rich thinking skills to understand ideas, discover relationships among the ideas, draw or support conclusions about the ideas and their relationships, and solve problems involving the ideas" (p. 43).

What are the potential benefits and/or drawbacks of using Performance Assessment tasks ? Share an experience from the perspective of teacher or student.