The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $2,779,198, five-year grant to Portland State University and the Teachers Development Group (TDG) for a study that aims to improve math teaching and learning.

The project — titled Co-Learning Math Teaching Project: Collaborative Structures to Support Learning to Teach Across the Professional Teaching Continuum — will got underway in November. Experts from West Linn-based nonprofit TDG will lead a research team from five universities: PSU, Oregon State University-Cascades, Montana State University, University of Washington and University of Maryland-College Park. TDG seeks to improve students’ math achievement and understanding through math educators’ professional development. 

This project focuses on the clinical preparation for teacher candidates and professional development for experienced math educators. The project will implement collaborative learning structures that seek to enhance teacher candidate’s learning and collaboration with cooperating teachers (mentors working in the field) to improve outcomes for middle and high school students. Through observation, interviews and other forms of data collection and analysis, the research project aims to create a model that supports mentors and teacher candidates to “co-learn” ambitious mathematics teaching through focusing on justification and generalization. Additionally, the Co-Learning Math Teaching Project will focus on how educators learn to teach more equitably, gaining greater knowledge of the structural oppression and systemic racism that many of their students face.

Senior Instructor, Melinda Knapp, is the OSU-Cascades partner listed in the description.