Zaretta Hammond's work in Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain shows us that culture operates on three distinct levels, and the deepest level literally shapes how our students' brains process new information. Understanding these levels can transform how we reach every learner in our classroom.

Surface Culture: What We Usually See

In her book, Hammond compares culture to a tree. Surface culture includes the branches and leaves—the observable elements we typically celebrate: food, music, holidays, clothing, and customs. This is usually what we see displayed in our schools during multicultural events or heritage months.

But here's the thing: surface culture has the lowest emotional charge. Changes at this level don't create anxiety or resistance. A student can easily adapt to eating different foods or celebrating new holidays without it affecting their learning.

In the classroom: Surface culture shows up in the decorations, the books we choose, the examples we use. It's important for creating welcoming environments, but it's not where the real learning breakthroughs happen.

When we put up flags from different countries or read stories from various cultures, we're acknowledging surface culture. Students appreciate seeing themselves reflected this way, and it builds a sense of belonging. But if we stop here, we're missing the deeper work that actually impacts how students learn.

Shallow Culture: The Misunderstanding Zone

Shallow culture is the trunk of the tree—the unspoken rules for social interaction. This includes expectations about eye contact, personal space, concepts of time, how we show respect, and patterns of conversation.

This is where most cross-cultural misunderstandings happen. A student who looks down when being corrected isn't necessarily being disrespectful—they might be showing respect according to their cultural norms. A student who takes longer to respond isn't slow—they might come from a culture where thoughtful pauses before speaking show wisdom.

Common shallow culture conflicts in classrooms:

• Wait time expectations (some cultures value longer thinking time)
• Turn-taking in discussions (some cultures favor overlapping conversation)
• Eye contact during instruction (direct eye contact can signal disrespect in some cultures)
• Individual vs. group work preferences
• Comfort levels with public praise or correction
• Concepts of punctuality and time

Why this matters: When we misinterpret shallow culture differences as behavioral issues or learning difficulties, we create barriers instead of bridges. The key is recognizing these differences as cultural assets rather than deficits.

Elementary scenario: A teacher notices that several students seem "disengaged" because they don't make eye contact during whole-group instruction. Instead of assuming disrespect, she learns that in their cultures, children show respect to adults by looking down during direct instruction. She adjusts her own cultural lens and finds other ways to gauge engagement.

High school scenario: A teacher initially viewed students' overlapping conversation during discussions as rude interruption. When he learned this was a cultural norm showing engaged listening, he created structured opportunities for this style of discussion alongside traditional turn-taking formats.

Deep Culture: The Brain's Operating System

Deep culture represents the roots of the tree—the beliefs and norms that actually shape how the brain processes information. This is where Hammond's research gets really powerful.

At the deep cultural level, our brains develop mental models (what researchers call "schema") that guide how we make sense of new information. These aren't conscious choices—they're the brain's software that directs its hardware.

Hammond explains that these deep cultural patterns are "baked into how the brain operates and processes new information." They represent the unconscious assumptions that govern our worldview and guide how we learn new information.

Two key cultural archetypes affecting learning:

Oral Tradition vs. Written Tradition

Many of our students come from cultures where knowledge is traditionally shared through storytelling, songs, proverbs, and chants. Their brains are literally wired to process information through interaction, movement, and narrative.

As Hammond notes, oral tradition "places a heavy emphasis on relationships because the process connects the speaker and listener in a communal experience." These students' brains look to connect and interact with the speaker or leader.

Students from written tradition cultures process information more naturally through individual text analysis and silent reflection. Written tradition "does not require much person-to-person interaction or dialogue because thoughts are committed to print."

Important clarification: This doesn't mean oral tradition cultures don't use written text. Rather, it means that as part of how these cultures traditionally pass on and process information, there's a strong emphasis on the spoken word, relationship, and communal experience. Even when using written materials, students from oral tradition cultures often benefit from discussion, interaction, and collaborative meaning-making around those texts.

Collectivist vs. Individualist Orientations

Some students' brains are wired to think collectively—they process information better when they can discuss it with others and build understanding together. Others are wired for individual analysis and competition.

Research shows that about 70% of the world's cultures lean toward collectivist orientations, while the United States ranks among the most individualistic cultures globally. This means many of our students come from cultural backgrounds that prioritize group harmony, shared responsibility, and collaborative problem-solving, while our educational system often emphasizes and values individual achievement and competition.

The crucial insight: These aren't learning styles you can change—they're deep neurological patterns that have been shaped by years of cultural experience. Hammond calls this the "hard-wiring of the brain."

Middle school scenario: During a science unit on ecosystems, a teacher notices that some students immediately want to discuss concepts with peers (collectivist processing), while others prefer to read and take notes individually first (individualist processing). She structures activities to value both approaches.

Why This Transforms Teaching

When we understand deep culture, we stop trying to fix our students and start leveraging the powerful ways their brains are already designed to learn.

This can mean:

• Using call-and-response and music for students from oral tradition cultures (it's brain-based, not just engagement)
• Incorporating collaborative processing for collectivist learners
• Providing individual reflection time for students wired for written tradition approaches
• Recognizing that cultural mismatches can trigger fight-flight-freeze responses
• Building on cultural assets rather than working around cultural deficits

The game-changer: Culturally responsive teaching isn't about being nice—it's about being strategic. And it's about neuroscience. When we align our instruction with how students' brains are wired, we get dramatically better results.

As Hammond puts it, culturally responsive teaching is "an educator's ability to recognize students' cultural displays of learning and meaning making and respond positively and constructively with teaching moves that use cultural knowledge as a scaffold."

The Bottom Line

Culture isn't just about food and festivals—it's about how our students' brains are wired to process information. When we understand the three levels of culture, especially deep culture, we can make strategic teaching decisions that work with students' neurology rather than against it.

This isn't about lowering standards or making learning easier. It's about making learning more accessible by building on the powerful ways our students' brains are already designed to learn.

Our culturally diverse classrooms aren't a challenge to manage—they're an asset to leverage. When we align our instruction with our students' deep cultural wiring, we'll see engagement, understanding, and achievement increase across all learners.

Start with one small change this week. Notice what happens when we work with our students' brains instead of against them. The results might surprise us.