Improving the Life Course of Black Boys: A Comprehensive Model of Generative Change

Arnetha F. Ball Stanford University

• Why it is critically important to link reading and writing

• Why teachers are not doing a good job of teaching reading and writing to African American boys

• What teacher education programs must do to solve this problem

• Close with some suggestions of the role that you can play

The role of education:

• Consumers of knowledge

• Producers of knowledge

• Critical period:

• Pre-K to 2nd grade

• Why teachers are doing a poor job?

Must account for student differences • -Differences in interests: All students

want to see themselves & people like them in the curriculum.

• -Differences in SES: Unemployment & loss of Black wealth affects student achievement.

• -Differences in gender: Most teachers are white, female, middle class, monolinguals… -feel inadequately prepared to teach African American males 80% of 6th and 8th grade teachers are female; most are White…

-While Only 1% of US teachers are African American males.

I propose that we: “Reform Teacher Educ Programs using A Comprehensive Model of Generative Change.” To Do This:

• We must see a new vision that centers on competency, efficacy, & generativity as basic requirements for every classroom teacher. First is competency:

• Since language, reading & writing are the building blocks of every content area, every teacher must receive the training to become a competent literacy teacher.

Second is efficacy: Plain and simple In order to change low levels of achievement for

African American males: • We must 1st change the attitudes of many of the

teachers who are working with these students. • Before teachers can hold high expectations for

student achievement… they have to believe that the students can learn.

• And teacher efficacy is all about the belief that every child can learn.

• As teachers move toward a sense of efficacy, they can move toward generativity.

“Model of Generative Change” Arnetha F. Ball (2009)

• Generativity: a teachers’ ability to continually add to their teacher education knowledge by connecting their personal and professional knowledge with the knowledge they gain from their students in context… in order to produce new knowledge that is useful to them in pedagogical problem solving and in meeting the educational needs of their students.

“Model of Generative Change” Arnetha F. Ball (2009)

• “…[K]nowledge becomes generative when the learner sees the need to integrate new knowledge with existing knowledge and to continually reconsider existing knowledge in light of the new knowledge that they are learning from their students.”

(Franke, Carpenter, Levi, and Fennema, 2001, p. 655-6).

• a process of self-perpetuating change

What we must do to improve literacy: • Promoting literacy through social approaches,

introducing visual strategies (like graphic organizers and story mapping);

• Not fixating on ‘control’ & discipline; • Use writing: a pedagogical tool for thinking; • draw on the linguistic and rhetorical traditions of

African American culture that students bring; • Holding high standards; • Dev supportive networks: partners and mentors; • Use contrastive analysis & Multiple drafts; • Provide culturally responsive literacy instruction

& Link classroom content to students’ real lives.

Example: 7 Part Pilot Program • Reconceptualize teacher education programs as

“Learning Organizations” • Collaborate with the Principal’s Program • Enhancing the Teacher Educators

– Reward innovation, generativity, and efficacy – Book Club & Scholars’ Research Program

• Pre-service Program: Leading Teacher Program in Urban Education – Work with Master Teachers

• Establish African American Male Mentoring Prog • High School Pipeline Program: Growing our own

next generation of excellent urban teachers • 6th grade mentoring program

• Teacher Education Candidates

• Students in Culturally and Linguistically Complex Classrooms

• Teacher Education Program - Urban Programs

• The need for Organizational Learning within the University and School of Education content

which must internalize and practice the 4

stages of my model in order to impact

the teacher education program in generative ways

which must internalize and

practice the 4 stages of my model in

generative ways in order to impact the teacher candidates

to become generative thinkers

who must internalize and begin to

practice the 4 stages of my model in generative ways in their classrooms in order to impact their students to

become generative thinkers

who must internalize and begin to

practice the 4 stages of my model in

generative ways in their communities in order to impact change in urban

communities and in their lives