Curriculum and Instruction

This policy brief, developed by Uma M. Jayakumar through the SERN Midcareer Fellows Program, synthesizes research showing that psychological discomfort is a developmentally appropriate part of learning about race and racism that enables students to grow their cross-racial understanding, empathy, and social responsibility.

This policy brief, developed by Nolan L. Cabrera through the SERN Midcareer Fellows Program, demonstrates the importance of offering ethnic studies in Arizona public schools by summarizing evidence of its positive relationship with student learning.

This policy brief, developed by Sophie Trawalter through the SERN Midcareer Fellows Program, summarizes research showing that critical historical knowledge about race and racism can narrow racial and ideological divisions.

This policy brief, developed by Lara Perez-Felkner through the SERN Midcareer Fellows Program, explains how STEM fields can broaden participation by providing curricular on-ramps and attending to students' financial constraints.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a project led by Sade Bonilla and Thomas Dee, funded through the SERN K-12 Teachers and Classrooms Research Portfolio. The study examines the causal effects of enrollment in San Francisco Unified School District’s 9th grade ethnic studies course among 1,405 students. Previous research found that students in the course had better attendance, had higher grades, and passed more classes during the 9th grade year than students who did not enroll. The current study tests for the enduring impact of ethnic studies on outcomes at the end of high school, including high school graduation and postsecondary enrollment.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a project led by Jamaal Matthews and DeLeon Gray, funded through the SERN K-12 Teachers and Classrooms Research Portfolio. The researchers describe the development and validation of their Belonging-Centered Instruction Observation Protocol, which evaluates the multiple ways mathematics teachers can provide opportunities for active inclusion, learning equity, and empowerment through their instruction and in the social climate they create in their classrooms. They discuss the connections between the protocol and student engagement, mathematical agency, and achievement, as well as how teachers enact the various dimensions of the protocol within lessons.

This interpretive summary by Nicole Williams brings together insights from 10 early career scholars, two faculty contributors, and a network of senior scholars who served as mentors in the Inclusive Mathematics Environments Early Career Fellowship. Research insights are mapped onto the Building Equitable Learning Environments (BELE) framework and levers for systems change are suggested. The summary identifies new possibilities for defining, recognizing, and eliciting success in mathematics environments.

This slide deck summarizes findings from the Inclusive Mathematics Environments Early Career Fellowship about creating inclusive environments for students from minoritized and marginalized groups in mathematics, with a focus on the middle childhood through mid-adolescence developmental stage. Research completed by the fellows suggests five interrelated guiding principles for creating more inclusive mathematics environments: mathematics educators need critical consciousness; mathematics curriculum should reflect a more expansive view of mathematics, including the history of mathematical concepts, the uses of mathematics in different cultures, and the application of mathematics for understanding current events; mathematics curriculum and instruction should be adaptable so that it is relevant to the specific students in the class; mathematics curriculum and instruction should feature meaningful opportunities to engage in collaborative work; and assessment practices and policies should prioritize deep mathematical thinking, exploration, and collaboration. The deck outlines and contextualizes the research underlying these principles and suggests directions for future research.