The Mathematics Teaching and Learning to Teach project investigates the mathematical knowledge, sensibilities, and skills entailed in the work of teaching, studying the interplay of mathematics and pedagogy in the teaching of elementary school mathematics. By looking closely at the mathematical and pedagogical work of teaching—for instance, managing discussions, asking questions, interpreting students' thinking—the project aims to identify mathematical insight, appreciation, and knowledge that matter for teaching and to analyze and articulate ways in which it might be entailed in practice. The MTLT project believes that such analysis is needed to extend what we currently know about the mathematical resources required for teaching, the role of such resources in practice, and, by implication, what learning opportunities teachers and prospective teachers need to develop in order to teach mathematics. Other analyses explore the role of talk in mathematics teaching and learning, the nature of mathematical reasoning, and the relational work involved in teaching mathematics.

Elementary Mathematics Laboratory

The Elementary Mathematics Laboratory (EML) is a mathematics program class that takes place every summer for approximately 30 rising fifth graders. The students are recruited with the assistance of the partner school district whose enrollment is predominantly Black, with a smaller proportion of Latin@ and few White students. Families live in two adjacent communities, both of which have experienced significant economic decline in the last years, including rising unemployment and homelessness. Mathematics achievement is a broad concern in the district, drawing as evidence students’ scores on the state assessment.

Many of the participating students have developed a lack of confidence with mathematics in school. The instruction in the EML seeks to turn this around and to set the students on a path to success in school mathematics and is specially designed to develop strong and positive academic identities in the students. The overarching goal of the EML is to strengthen our ability to teach mathematics in order to improve outcomes for children.

In the two-week program, the children work on mathematics for 2½ hours each day. In the afternoons, they engage in different forms of art and work with a college student mentor. The mathematical content of the instruction includes work on fractions (definitions, representations, placement on the number line), as well as on reading, interpreting, and solving equations. The students also encounter and are supported to solve complex and unfamiliar mathematics problems. Mathematical practices and techniques include explaining, representing, proving complex claims, presenting in public, and listening to others’ mathematical ideas attentively, respectfully, and critically.

The EML also provides educators with an opportunity to engage deeply with public teaching. This public teaching is the centerpiece of the EML professional development program. Workshop attendees—education professionals, researchers, and classroom teachers with diverse expertise and perspectives—start each day with the instructional team in a “pre-brief” session before the class, in which they examine, discuss, and refine the day's lesson plans and strategies for the instruction. Attendees then observe the instruction in the classroom or remote viewing rooms. The group gathers after the class to debrief the class, ask questions, and review daily student work before attending afternoon workshops.