Historical Success of Black Teachers
Effective African American teachers incorporate aspects of African American communicative patterns into classroom events (Hollins, 1982; Ladson Billings & Henry, 1990; Foster, 1987, 1989, Irvine, 1990, 1991). Hollins (1982) found evidence of cultural congruence between aspects of African American communicative behavior and African American teachers teaching style. Familiar participation patterns-call and response, use of analogies, and rhythm-were all important characteristics of the African American teachers.
In a systematic sociolinguistic analysis of successful African American teachers, Foster (1987, 1989) found evidence of code-switching between the teacher’s more standard English used for regulatory purposes and the African American expressive speech found in raps, sermons, and events characterized as performances. Foster’s studies also documented the highly systematic use of metaphors around which teachers structured classroom activities (Heath, 1983). In many cases, the use of Black expressive language, manipulation of metaphors, and code-switching into familiar Black English patterns were conscious and deliberate (Foster 1987, 1989; Ladson-Billings & Henry 1990, Ladson-Billings, 1994; Siddle Walker, 1996, 2000).
Citation
Blackmon, A.T. (2003). The influence of science education professional development on African American science teachers’ conceptual change and practice, (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (Accession Order No. 3080303). Emory Universit
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