Black Liberatory Algebra I: Black Educators' Perspectives on an Innovative Professional Learning Experience

• In Event: The Exploration of Black Liberatory Education in Practice

Abstract

Little is known about professional learning opportunities designed specifically for Black Algebra I Educators. This paper explores Black Algebra I Educators’ perceptions of an innovative educator workshop, Algebra I Academy, anchored in Black Liberatory Algebra I Pedagogical Practices (Senghor, 2022), as well as its efficacy in shifting their praxis with Black students. Three questions guide this paper: Do Black Algebra I Educators find the Algebra I Academy valuable? Do Black Algebra I Educators feel a sense of community as a result of attending the Algebra I Academy? To what extent do Black Algebra I Educators experience statistically significant gains in their comfort with applying Black Liberatory Algebra I Pedagogical Practices in their work with Black students?

The professional learning experience (Algebra I Academy) examined in this paper is anchored in the Black Liberatory Pedagogical (BLP) framework (Senghor, 2022). This pedagogical framework outlines mindsets, knowledge, instructional strategies, and classroom practices that cultivate a positive racial identity; sociopolitical consciousness; love of learning and intellectual excellence; healing; collective responsibility; high expectations; cultural connectedness; and critical care and love in Black students, while also promoting their academic knowledge and skill development (Senghor, 2022). Critically, Black Liberatory Pedagogy rearranges power by reconceptualizing and centering Black children’s and Black teachers’ ways of knowing within teaching and learning (Senghor, 2022). Applied within a professional learning experience for Black Algebra I Educators, BLP Algebra I equips Black Algebra I Educators with the pedagogical tools they need to make Algebra I a site of learning and liberation for Black students and their communities.

This paper utilizes Likert scale survey data from 18 Black Algebra I Educators (e.g. classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and district-level Algebra I leads) from a large, predominately Black school district in the Metro Atlanta Area. Black Algebra I Educators’ perceptions and experiences with the Algebra I Academy, sense of community, and pedagogical growth were captured. Survey items were averaged to compute constructs (i.e. Workshop Perceptions, Sense of Community, and Pedagogical Growth) averages. To aid in the interpretation of findings, assessments of the mean were conducted.

Preliminary results suggest that the Algebra I Academy met Black Algebra I Educators needs and promoted their acquisition of new knowledge and skills. As a result of the professional learning, Black Algebra I Educators expressed statistically significant gains in perceptions of their ability to implement BLP Algebra I elements in their classrooms. Findings also suggest that Black Algebra I Educators saw, and valued, the Algebra I Academy as a space to collaborate and learn from one another. The ability to heal, apply new skills, and learn new knowledge created a learning context where Black Algebra I Educators could imagine new ways to support their Black students’. As such, A Black liberatory Algebra I professional learning offers Black Algebra I Educators with innovative instructional and relational approaches that can have a positive impact on Black students Algebra I learning.

References
Senghor, H. Pedagogical Framework. Black Teacher Collaborative. Retrieved July 31, 2022, from https://blackteachercollaborative.org/black-liberatory-pedagogy/

Author

• Ayanna Taylor, GirlTrek
  Presenting Author