In this K-12 professional learning course, you will collaborate as a professional community of math educators to investigate, experience, and implement research-based teaching practices that promote equity in math education. You will consider ways to not only attend to students’ deep conceptual understanding of mathematics, but also to students’ agency, competence, and identities as mathematicians and humans.
The Math Equity Project is a one-week online summer institute followed by online monthly meetings on weeknights during the school year for continued collaboration. Summer programming can be scheduled as early as June.
We are currently not offering Math Equity Project for individual teachers. For schools & districts interested in year-long partnerships, please contact place@education.wisc.edu for pricing and registration inquiries.
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- Defining success in mathematics
- Advancing justice and equity
- Who should enroll?
- A Story of the 2020-21 Math Equity Project
Historically, mathematics education has narrowly defined what it means to be successful, often assigning competence to only the select few who could repeat a solution strategy quickly and accurately. Supported by research on equity in mathematics, we push back on that narrow definition of success. We are constantly seeking new ways to support students and allow access to the role of mathematician. When facilitated thoughtfully, the practices for equitable mathematics teaching can position all students as capable and can assign competence to students who have been historically marginalized. We encourage supporting students with additional resources while maintaining our expectations for rigor. Finally, we use student work and student contributions as data that allow us to know more about what students know and are able to do with mathematics.
We support, investigate, and implement these teaching practices for advancing justice and equity:
- Foster students’ math identities as math thinkers and doers
- Provide every student with challenges that leverage their strengths while pushing them to grow
- Promote meaning-making through discourse and justification
- Support students to see each other as capable, valuable learning partners
- Connect students’ math learning and doing to their lives through “windows and mirrors”
- Notice and name racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and other biases—and sit with our own discomfort as necessary for learning and transformation
The Math Equity Project is for K-12 math educators.
Read the Math Equity Blog by Skylar Primm
Math Equity Participant Testimonials
I find myself more intentionally thinking about each learner as a PERSON (not a student) while I plan; I am more deliberate in going beyond teaching strategies vs. encouraging abstract thinking, reasoning, and perseverance; I am constantly asking questions and digging for resources because I understand there is no one, right way.
I was inspired by the supportive, kind atmosphere. That inspired me to strive to create a similar environment for my students, since I know how good it made me feel and allowed me to do my best work. I also learned to take risks and try things with my students if it meant that it could make things better for them, either socially, emotionally, or academically. And I learned that it was ok if things didn’t turn out the way I anticipated. It is never too late to change things, or tweak them for the best interest of the students.
Faculty Partners
Contact
If you have questions about the Math Equity Project, please email Yorel Lashley at lashley@wisc.edu.