Deborah Loewenberg Ball
PROJECT AFFILIATION:
- Learning Mathematics for Teaching
- Roles: Co-PI
- Access: Project Admin
- Research-in-Instruction Lab
- Roles: Co-PI
- Access: Project Admin
PROFESSIONAL ROLES
- Higher Ed: Mathematics, Teacher: Elementary, Researcher
BIO
Deborah Loewenberg Ball currently serves as dean of the University of Michigan School of Education, where she is also the William H. Payne Collegiate Professor and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor. Her work draws on her many years of experience as an elementary classroom teacher.
Ball is an expert on the professional training of teachers. She is leading an effort to develop a comprehensive professional training curriculum that will span pre-service education through at least the first five years of teaching practice, with corresponding assessments that will provide information about teachers' increasing competence as they become more experienced. Her work is informed by strong links to both the arts and sciences and to professional preparation in other domains.
Ball's program of research focuses on mathematics instruction, and on interventions designed to improve its quality and effectiveness. Her research groups study the interplay of mathematics and pedagogy in the teaching of mathematics and seek to identify the knowledge and skill needed for effective practice and how these are both used and developed.
Ball has authored or co-authored over 150 publications and has lectured and made numerous major presentations around the world. Her website is used extensively by scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. Ball's research has been recognized with several awards and honors, and she has served on several national and international commissions and panels focused on policy initiatives and the improvement of education, including the National Mathematics Advisory Panel and the National Board for Education Sciences. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Education.
