RAVES Model
We propose the RAVES Model, a research-based approach, which offers educators guidelines to foster moral character while teaching academics. The aim is to help children grow into intelligent and morally agile adults with high moral quotients (MQ) as well as high IQs.
The RAVES model begins with high expectations for ethical behavior alongside achievement. It also is designed to provide high community support for reaching these ends. RAVES stands for Relationships, Apprenticeship, Virtuous models, Ethical skill development and Self-authorship.
MINNESOTA COMMUNITY VOICES AND CHARACTER EDUCATION Project (CVCE; 1998-2002)
RAVES is rooted in the Minnesota Community Voices and Character Education project. Collaborating with the MN Dept of Education, we had $1 million Character Education Partnership grant funds from the US Department of Education to collaborate with school teams and develop a flexible approach to moral character education (“Community Voices and Character Education“). We aimed to help educators incorporate ethical skill development into regular academic instruction. An earlier version of the guidebooks we developed are downloadable for free from a link here: http://cee.nd.edu/curriculum/ and the later versions are purchasable as noted.
In that project we on the university team compiled the set of skills that comprise the skills toolkit for moral character plus the pedagogical approach that works best (novice-to-expert apprenticeship). We identified skills and subskills and organized them by four levels of expertise development. We also made suggestions for supportive climate elements for each skill as well as student self-monitoring. The teams of educators took this information and adapted it for their own circumstances (selecting which skills to work on and which teachers would implement them). This made it hard to evaluate since every school did things differently and we had troubles with pre-post testing during the evaluation year (I had moved to ND) but we got a publication (Narvaez et al., 2004). Reanalyses were done in Narvaez (2012).Go here to download teacher guidebooks and supportive materials from this project.
CVCE is rooted in the Integrative Ethical Education model (IEE) which developed after I moved to Notre Dame from the U of MN, put everything into five basic steps:
(1) Establish a caring relationship with the learner.
(2) Establish a social climate supportive of ethical character.
(3) Teach the ethical skills (sensitivity, judgment, focus, action) using a novice-to-expert pedagogy.
(4) Foster student self-authorship and self-regulation.
(5) “Restore the village” of community support by forming asset-building communities and coordinated developmental systems.
You can read more about it in publications you can download from this page.
I spoke at the Whitehouse conference on Character and Community hosted by Laura Bush in June, 2002. My five minute talk was published here:
Narvaez, D. (July/August 2002). The expertise of moral character. Education Matters, VIII (6), 1, 6.
