Advancing Teachers of Mathematics to Advance Learning for All

• In Event: Noyce Results: Cultivating Equitable Teacher Preparation Systems for the 21st Century

Abstract

Objectives: What does it mean for secondary teachers of mathematics in urban schools to not only espouse but implement a culturally responsive, critically aware approach to mathematics education? This is the fundamental question driving the past four years of work with a group of twenty teachers of mathematics across two large urban school districts. Through data from self-reports, reflections, observations, and samples of student work, we will share the story of how the teachers have come to rehumanize their work as educators and recognize that teaching mathematics is equity work.
Theoretical Framework: Concerns with addressing inequities in mathematics education have been a voiced for several decades including through equity-focused publications and scholarship detailing the role processes of mathematics placement, teaching, and assessment play in sorting students by race, language, and socioeconomic status (Ellis, 2008; Gutiérrez, 2009; NCTM, 2000; 2014; 2018; 2020; Oakes, 1990). As a result of efforts like these, the mathematics education community has deepened their knowledge of the policies and practices needed to ensure all students have access to high-quality mathematics learning that is relevant and empowering. However, such policies and practices are still seldom enacted in U.S. mathematics education (Flores, 2007; NCTM, 2018; U.S. Department of Education, 2008; Weiss et al., 2003).
Methods and Data Sources: The present study focuses on middle school and early high school level, a pivotal time when students' self-concepts about and interest in pursuing mathematics crystallize. Twenty teachers of mathematics have been learning to implement culturally responsive mathematics teaching (Aguirre & Zavala, 2013), an approach that values students' cultural assets and focuses on their active engagement with authentic and relevant mathematical experiences including the examination of issues of justice. In addition to transforming their own practice, the teachers are using the Teacher Leadership Competencies (NEA, 2018) to set goals for their growth as leaders from the classroom. These efforts include developing and facilitating online micro-credential modules (MCMs) for other teachers of mathematics to attain proficiency with well-defined skills related to CRMT and MTPs and noticing and acting on issues of equity at their school sites.
Results: In this session, we will share examples of program activities and outcomes to illustrate the teachers’ successes as well as the challenges they have encountered. Specifically examined will be a) the arc of activities that provided teachers with foundational knowledge of CRMT and data from self-analyses of their proficiency with implementing elements of CRMT, b) data from observations of the teachers’ instructional practices, c) an example of an MCM and feedback from participating teachers, d) student reactions to tasks and projects with a social justice focus, and e) self-reported data about teachers’ growth as leaders including their efforts to be upstanders for marginalized and underserved students at their sites.
Scholarly Significance: The program serves the national interest in strengthening mathematics teaching and learning for underserved students and communities in urban areas and offers a model for supporting mathematics instructional shifts in schools where students historically have had less access to deep mathematics learning.

Authors

• Mark W. Ellis, California State University - Fullerton

• Armando Martinez-Cruz

• Ruth Yopp-Edwards, California State University - Fullerton