Equity in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics

Abstract

Many teachers are inadequately prepared to teach ethnically diverse students. The knowledge that teachers need to teach marginalized populations effectively goes beyond mastery of the content knowledge and pedagogical skills often taught in teacher preparation programs. Equitable mathematics teaching practices can position all students as capable and can assign competence to students who have been historically marginalized. This presentation aims to examine equitable teaching practices that support mathematics teachers to acknowledge and modify deficit orientations to students, increase expectations for students and their own teaching, and develop or improve a robust set of equity-direct practices. Systemic equity issues will be explored and literature discussing structural and institutional barriers that marginalized student populations often confront will be examined. An overview of literature about a set of five equity-directed pedagogical approaches advocated for ethnically diverse students will be provided. The equity-directed pedagogical approaches will be synthesized using Gutiérrez’s (2007) Dimensions of Learning Equity framework. Participants will engage in self-reflections, activities, and critical discussions regarding equity in the teaching and learning of mathematics.