Reshaping the Curriculum Culturally relevant pedagogy requires teachers to reflect on and reshape the curriculum to meet the needs of the students in their classroom. This student-centered pedagogical focus encourages academic improvement because all students gain cultural knowledge; and therefore learn through cultural diversity. Even if there is a mandatory curriculum, adaptations to outcomes can be made to meet student needs while still achieving those outcomes. Curriculum adaptations can be integrated to improve the academic performance of culturally diverse students. Integrating culture into the curriculum is an important component of culturally relevant teaching. Teachers can use culture to redesign existing outcomes to have a positive, meaningful, and engaging influence on the learning of all students. Research on culturally relevant teaching shows that students learn by building on their prior experiences and knowledge by connecting that background to current classroom content and activities (Morrison et al., 2008, p. 438). Researchers argue that learning is only relevant to students if it is connected to their identities (p. 437). This connection comes from the personal relationship that teachers build with each student (Parhar & Sensoy, 2011, p. 195). When teachers learn about their students' cultures, they can use this knowledge to integrate students' cultural views into the curriculum (p. 199). Integrating students' culture can be “done as a way to value students who are culturally diverse, helping to instill in them a positive sense of cultural identity” (pp. 199-200). Culturally relevant teachers must use students' cultural knowledge to assist them in teaching the curriculum. U...... middle of paper ......sharing personal stories builds acceptance among students and strengthens relationships (p. 111). Stories bridge the cultural gap between students of different cultures, increase listening skills, enhance self-reflection, and improve interactions between students. Storytelling also improves connections and relationships so that students stop segregating themselves within their cultural group. Storytelling helps student engagement, creates new ways of communicating, helps students look at ideas in a different way, and changes their attitudes towards others. Storytelling allows for an appreciation of culture as students learn and understand other cultures in the classroom. This teaching strategy has proven to be a successful, culturally relevant teaching practice. Teachers need professional training and support to effectively implement culturally relevant teaching.