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Abstract

In an afterschool program at a university literacy center, we piloted the integration of physical activity with multimodal mathematics and literacy exercises. We aimed to incorporate the three tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) including academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness with middle grades participants by utilizing a sports-based youth development model (SBYD), Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR). Participants participated in 30-minute sessions bi-weekly over two months, which included reflective discussions and journaling to begin and end activities, respectively. Participants were invited to suggest activities during sessions and interact cooperatively with facilitators and peers. They also engaged in a focus group toward the end of the pilot program to provide their perspectives and feedback. We detail beginning takeaways from the program initiative and interrogate possible improvements and adaptations for other middle level settings. Finally, we aim to provide educational and community implications related to future implementations of this program or similar ones in diverse contexts.

Author Bio

Dr. Christine Craddock is an Assistant Professor at Delaware State University where she is the Middle-Level Program Coordinator. She has experience teaching undergraduate and graduate level coursework in Literacy, Mathematics, ESOL, Research Methods, and Teacher Education. She was formerly a public high school mathematics educator for 10 years and holds an MA in English with a focus in TESOL and an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in literacy. Her research interests include intersections of mathematics education, culturally relevant pedagogy, critical and disciplinary literacies, and multimodality.

Brittany Pinkerton is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Augusta University. Her research includes a focus on positive youth development and culturally relevant pedagogies. She has been a college instructor for two years and has assisted with youth activity programs for seven years.

DOI

10.20429/cimle.2024.280101

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Erratum

A previous version of this article listed Dr. Christine Craddock's previous institution.

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