Knowles at NCTM, October 15-18, 2025
Join Knowles Staff and Fellows at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference in Atlanta, October 15-18! We’ll be presenting and connecting with educators at booth #1319—stop by and say hello!
Thursday, October 16
Project Based Learning: Enhanced by AI, Personalized with Teacher Expertise at 9:45 am.
By Knowles Senior Fellows Sarah DiMaria, Carlee Madis, and Sheila Orr.
Project-Based Learning is a powerful tool for creating equitable classrooms, but it can feel overwhelming to implement. We’ll show you how to harness the power of AI coupled with our PBL Project Planning Pyramid framework and your teaching expertise to plan engaging, discipline-rich math projects more efficiently. Learn strategies to integrate AI tools, save planning time, and focus on what matters most-supporting your students’ success and deeper understanding of math concepts.
Using Inquiry and AI to Uncover Blind Spots and Expand Inclusive Teaching Practices at 2:30 pm.
By Knowles Director, Outreach and Dissemination, Ayanna Perry and Senior Program Officer, Teacher Development, Josh Thurbee.
This presentation explores how inquiry and AI can help teachers uncover blind spots and use more inclusive teaching practices. Through collaborative inquiry, teachers can challenge assumptions and identify areas for growth, particularly in reaching marginalized students. AI serves as a feedback partner, offering ongoing insights that support teachers in assessing their implicit values about mathematics, while helping them recognize what they may need to learn to broaden their perspectives.
Setting the Stage for Belonging: Using Student Success Plans to Increase Access & Overcome Barriers at 2:30 pm.
By Knowles Senior Fellow Sarah DiMaria.
Unlock the power of student success plans to cultivate belonging in your math classroom! This dynamic session will guide educators in harnessing identity-informed strategies to break down barriers and elevate all learners. Participants will engage in interactive scenario analyses, exploring practical approaches to create an inclusive environment for all learners. We’ll build a roadmap for integrating success plans throughout the year, ensuring every student will thrive in math.
Our Math Roots: Let’s Hear from the Students – Student Created Ethnomathematics Secondary Lessons at 2:45 pm.
By Knowles Senior Fellow Rebecca Guarino, with colleagues Benjamin Rubenstein, Carol Kinney, and Brittney Cook.
Non-European identities are underrepresented in mathematics curricula and research has shown students engage more fully when their identities are represented. After taking an ethnomathematics elective students created ethnomathematics lessons for core classes in order to foster more inclusive spaces for students to see themselves as mathematicians. Come engage in student produced lessons, learn about why students value ethnomathematics and reflect on your own teaching practice.
Critically Conscious Math Mentoring: Work with Future Teachers to Advocate for Equitable Classrooms at 4:00 pm.
By Knowles Senior Fellows Sheila Orr and Sarah DiMaria.
Are you mentoring prospective teachers (PTs) and are looking to learn more about how to support them to create a more equitable mathematics classroom? This session explores strategies to guide PTs in fostering reflection on sociopolitical conditions, building empathy, and taking action to challenge oppressive systems. Together, mentors and PTs can advocate for change in and out of the mathematics classroom emphasizing how mathematics mentoring can build justice-oriented learning communities.
Friday, October 17
Jo Boaler Presents: Launching Your Math Lesson with Struggly at 11:00 am.
By Knowles Senior Fellow Tanya LaMar.
Struggly: Join Jo Boaler and Struggly to explore research on the importance of struggle and how open, visual tasks can be used to launch math lessons and spark student exploration. Watch classroom video, try Struggly tasks, and discuss strategies for lesson launches. All attendees will receive free access to try Struggly in their classrooms.
Saturday, October 18
Research Report: Critically Conscious Mathematics Mentoring: A Framework For Mentor Teachers Working For Justice at 8:00 am.
By Knowles Senior Fellow Sheila Orr.
Mentor teachers play a crucial yet overlooked role in supporting prospective mathematics teachers, particularly in fostering social and racial justice. Existing research often neglects the diverse strategies mentors use to develop critical consciousness. This research report amplifies the work of exceptional mentor teachers and introduces a framework to identify effective mentoring practices to elevate justice-oriented mathematics education.
Crucial Conversations: Facilitating Lessons with Meaningful Contexts at 8:00 am.
By Knowles Senior Fellow Carlee Madis with colleagues Leandra Fernandez and Rayna Smith.
Join us for a dynamic workshop focused on facilitating lessons with meaningful contexts. Participants will experience a high school math lesson from the Amplify Desmos Math (ADM) curriculum that connects mathematical concepts to meaningful, real-world examples. Together with ADM curriculum developers, attendees will analyze the lesson and discuss teacher moves that engage students and promote deep understanding. We’ll develop strategies for rigorous, affirming instruction and thoughtful discussion of real-world issues.
Promoting Reasoning through Cognitively Demanding Tasks in Algebra Classes at 11:30 am.
By Knowles Senior Fellow Kara Teehan.
The speaker will discuss the process of implementing daily tasks of varying cognitive demand in an as a way to promote reasoning and informal justification of solution proposals and of solving process. The goal of the project was to help students build conceptual images before introducing procedures, in order to create meaning behind procedures.
Math Family Day – Inviting Families to Explore Math with their Students at 11:30 am.
By Knowles Senior Fellow Rebecca Guarino with colleague Sarah Geist.
A school community grows stronger with more involvement from students’ families. Parents may have trouble conceptualizing how different and collaborative math classrooms feel now compared to more traditional math classes they likely experienced when they were kids. Why not host a “Family Day” and invite students’ family members to join them in class? Facilitators will share best practices from their experience of hosting family day and how they engaged a variety of families successfully.