Understanding urban students through self-exploration

The need for effective urban educators follows the landscape of P-12 students that includes an increasingly urban population with immense racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity. This paper will share the research and practice of using autobiographical and biographical narratives to create cognitive dissonance within pre-service teachers and current educators. Adapted from the Schmidt and Finkbeiner model (2006), this research uses the ABC's of Cultural Understanding and Communication. Through discussions and activities, teachers begin to question their own knowledge and assumptions, and try to understand how these fit into the context of teaching and learning in an urban setting.