By Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News Great teachers are not
born — they’re taught. That philosophy is the impetus behind a
two-week teaching lab held annually at the University of
Michigan’s School of Education, where the teacher and her
methods are under study by educators, policymakers and others
who hope to learn more about what makes a great educator. Every
day for two weeks, a special mathematics class for
underperforming upper elementary students from Ypsilanti Public
Schools is taught by Deborah Loewenberg Ball, an experienced
elementary school teacher who is also dean of the U-M School of
Education. The 2 1/2-hour class is conducted in a format similar
to a surgical theater, where Ball performs a live teaching
lesson with about two dozen students who have been asked to
solve math problems individually and as a group. Cameras tape
the experience and microphones record student answers and Ball’s
techniques. A short distance away, adults watch, take notes and
study Ball as she engages children in math.