By IFL Math Team
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics says in their position statement on access and equity that
Practices that support access and equity require comprehensive understanding. These practices include, but are not limited to, holding high expectations, ensuring access to high-quality mathematics curriculum and instruction, allowing adequate time for students to learn, placing appropriate emphasis on differentiated processes that broaden students’ productive engagement with mathematics, and making strategic use of human and material resources. When access and equity have been successfully addressed, student outcomes—including achievement on a range of mathematics assessments, disposition toward mathematics, and persistence in the mathematics pipeline—transcend, and cannot be predicted by students’ racial, ethnic, linguistic, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
As we come up on the end of our 4th year of publishing Bridges to Learning, the math team decided to go into the archives and find our top-picks for offering insights and practical suggestions for making math classrooms more equitable learning spaces for students.
Weighing Teacher Choices to Maximize Student Contribution
In this article, we look at different ways of responding to a student’s contribution and weigh the impact the different responses may have on the student, the classroom learning community, and the opportunities for students to reason mathematically.
Agency and Voice: A Push for Greater Equity and What it Looks Like in Math
In this article, we share ways that one of our partner districts worked to build more equitable mathematics classrooms by making space for greater student agency and voice.
4 Go-To Learner-Centered Routines to Bolster Math Discussions, In-Person and Online
In this article, we talk about four of our favorite learner-centered routines that can be used to spur discussion based on student input, support students as they construct understanding, improve how students see themselves as mathematicians, and create opportunities for formative assessment.
Using 4 Learner-Centered Routines to Build Positive Math Identity in Equitable Classrooms
In this article we explore how learner-centered routines can be used to foster a positive math identity in students by creating space for voice, agency, and actually doing mathematics.