Jo Boaler

British mathematics educator

Jo Boaler
Jo Boaler, 2013
Born1964 (age 59–60)
England, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Alma materLiverpool University
King's College London
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics education
InstitutionsStanford University
Doctoral advisorPaul Black
Mike Askew

Jo Boaler (born 1964[1]) is a British education author and Nomellini–Olivier Professor of mathematics education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.[2] Boaler is involved in promoting reform mathematics[3][4] and equitable mathematics classrooms.[citation needed] She is the co-founder and faculty director of youcubed,[5] a Stanford centre that offers mathematics education resources to teachers, students and parents. She is the author, co-author or editor of eighteen mathematics books, including Limitless Mind,[6] Mathematical Mindsets,[7] The Elephant in the Classroom,[8] and What's Math Got To Do With It?.[9]

Early life and education

Boaler grew up outside of Birmingham, England. Her mother was a secretary, and her father was a technical draftsman.[10] Her mother attended Open University to study to become a teacher and in this way Boaler experienced "cutting-edge, play-based educational ideas of the day".[11]

Boaler's early mathematics classes were largely mundane until an iconoclastic teacher introduced her class to a more nurturing and collaborative way to learn math.[10][attribution needed] Boaler received a Bachelors in Psychology from Liverpool University in 1985.[2][12]

Career

Boaler began her career as a secondary education mathematics teacher in urban London secondary schools, including Haverstock School, Camden.[12][failed verification] After her early career, Boaler received a master's degree in Mathematics Education from King's College London with distinction in 1991. She completed her PhD in mathematics education at the same university and won the award for best PhD in education from the British Educational Research Association in 1997.[13]

During the early part of Boaler's career, she conducted longitudinal studies of students learning mathematics through different approaches. Her first three-year study in England was published in 1997 as "Experiencing School Mathematics: Teaching Styles, Sex, and Setting".[14]

Emigration to the US

In 1998, Boaler became an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University in the Graduate School of Education.[12] She became an associate professor in 2000 and left as a full professor in 2006.[12]

In 2000, she was awarded a Research on Learning Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a longitudinal study in California.[15][10] Boaler's NSF funded study would come to be known as the Railside study about the outcomes across three schools in northern California. The goal of the study was to compare the impact of traditional math curriculum with the reform curriculum. The findings were published in 2008.[16] The findings were promising and were used to support further reform efforts.[10]

Return to England

In 2006, Boaler left Stanford for the United Kingdom. She was awarded a posting as the Marie Curie professor at Sussex University by the Marie Curie Foundation.[17] While in England, Boaler authored two books, What's Math Got To Do With It? and The Elephant in the Classroom.[9][8]

In 2006, Stanford mathematician R. James Milgram accused Boaler of research misconduct.[10] In 2008, Stanford mathematician R. James Milgram, Wayne Bishop CSULA, and statistician Paul Clopton investigated Boaler's claims and wrote an essay stating that her claims were exaggerated.[16][18] Stanford's investigation concluded by acknowledging ongoing debates in mathematics education and absolving Boaler of scientific misconduct, stating that "Dr. Boaler's responses to the questions put to her related to her report were thorough, thoughtful, and offered her scientific rationale for each of the questions underlying the allegations. We found no evidence of scientific misconduct or fraudulent behavior related to the content of the report in question. In short, we find that the allegations (such as they are) of scientific misconduct do not have substance".[19][10]

Return to California

In 2010, Boaler returned to Stanford and resumed her position as Professor of Mathematics Education.[12] In 2013, Boaler taught the first Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on mathematics education, called "How to Learn Math".[20][21] Its purpose was to educate teachers and parents about a new way of teaching math to help students overcome their fear of math while improving their academic performance.[22] Over 40,000 teachers and parents participated, with about 25,000 completing the full 2-to-16-hour course.[23] At the end of the course, 95% of survey respondents indicated that they would modify their ways of teaching math.[20][24]

In addition to focusing on inquiry-based learning,[19] Boaler's research has highlighted the problems associated with ability grouping in England and the US.[25][26][27] In 2012, Boaler published articles on the links between timed testing and math anxiety.[28] Boaler had conducted research on mathematics, mistakes, and growth mindset.[29] In 2012 Boaler published an article on her Stanford homepage, accusing Milgram, Bishop (and others) of harassment, persecution, and suppression.[30] Bishop and Milgram each issued rebuttals.[31][32]

In 2013, Boaler founded youcubed.org with Cathy Williams, former director of Mathematics in the Vista Unified School District[5] to offer inspirational mathematics resources for mathematics teachers.[33]

In 2014, the San Francisco Unified School District updated its math program, including removal of algebra from their public middle schools. The effort removed honors classes and accelerated math, placing all students into the same curriculum based on grade.[34] The replacement curriculum was heavily based on Boaler's work, and had groups of students work through a series of math tasks.[34] In an Op-Ed signed by Boaler and several colleagues, the group praised the effort, claiming the repeat rate for 9th grade algebra dropped from 40% to 8%.[35] However, a school district spokesperson reportedly later clarified that those numbers were not related to curriculum changes, but rather it was a "one-time major drop" that occurred when placement testing wasremoved.[10]

As Common Core was being launched in 2015, Boaler pointed out that fluency is often taken to mean memorization and speed.[11] This ignited a controversy in England, prompting Charlie Stripp, director of England's National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics to respond in an op-ed.[36][37]

2021 California mathematics framework

Boaler is one of the original authors[38][39] of the California Department of Education's 2021 mathematics framework.[40] Based on the work of Boaler and youcubed, among others,[10][41] the framework faced considerable criticism and pushback.[42][43] Following years of delays,[44] the framework was approved in July 2023 by the state board of education[45] after changes recommended by WestEd were integrated into the document.[39][further explanation needed]

Amid controversy over private consulting fees she received, Boaler's home address was posted to Twitter; she says she has also received death threats.[46] In March 2024, an anonymous complaint was sent to Stanford's dean of research alleging Boaler had violated the research policies of the university.[47] As with the earlier complaint from 2006, the university declined to investigate the matter, stating that the allegations were reviewed and they "reflect scholarly disagreement and interpretation."[48]

Awards and honors

  • 2014 NCSM (National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics) Kay Gilliland Equity Award[49]
  • 2016 The California Mathematics Council Walter Denham Memorial Award for Leadership[50]
  • 2019 The Nomellini–Olivier Endowed Chair[51][2]

See also

  • Math wars – Debate over modern mathematics education, textbooks and curricula in the U.S.

Notes

  1. ^ "Boaler, Jo, 1964-". Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress; Linked Data Service; LC Name Authority File. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c GSE News 2019.
  3. ^ Boaler 2002.
  4. ^ Stanford 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Our Team". youcubed. Stanford Graduate School of Education.
  6. ^ Boaler 2019.
  7. ^ Boaler & Dweck 2015.
  8. ^ a b Boaler 2010.
  9. ^ a b Boaler 2009.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Lee 2023.
  11. ^ a b Scott 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Jo Boaler". Stanford Profiles. Stanford University. n.d. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Jo Boaler". Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. Stanford Graduate School of Education. 8 October 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
  14. ^ Boaler 1997.
  15. ^ NSF 2000.
  16. ^ a b Boaler & Staples 2008.
  17. ^ Boaler, Jo. "Profile Page". University of Sussex. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  18. ^ Bishop, Clopton & Milgram 2012.
  19. ^ a b Jaschik 2012.
  20. ^ a b Boaler 2013a.
  21. ^ Johnston 2014.
  22. ^ Rabinovitz 2013.
  23. ^ Stanford 2013.
  24. ^ "How to Learn Math". Stanford Lagunita. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019.
  25. ^ Boaler 2013b.
  26. ^ Benn 2011.
  27. ^ Boaler 2005.
  28. ^ Boaler 2012a.
  29. ^ Rushowy 2013.
  30. ^ Boaler 2012b.
  31. ^ Bishop & Milgram 2012.
  32. ^ Milgram 2012.
  33. ^ "Our Mission". youcubed. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  34. ^ a b Sawchuk 2018.
  35. ^ Boaler et al. 2018.
  36. ^ Barshay 2015.
  37. ^ Stripp 2015.
  38. ^ Hong 2021.
  39. ^ a b Fensterwald 2023.
  40. ^ Aleksey 2022.
  41. ^ Reich 2024.
  42. ^ Fortin 2021.
  43. ^ Blume & Watanabe 2023.
  44. ^ Fensterwald 2022.
  45. ^ Miolene 2023.
  46. ^ Tucker 2022.
  47. ^ Lee 2024.
  48. ^ Reich 2024b.
  49. ^ "Kay Gilliland Gallery of Awardees". NCSM. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  50. ^ "Walter Denham Memorial Award". California Mathematics Council. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  51. ^ "Carnegie Announces the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Chair". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2022.

References

  • Aleksey, Allyson (19 December 2022). "SFUSD is controversial case study for statewide proposed math guidelines". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  • Barshay, Jill (9 February 2015). "Should We Stop Making Kids Memorize Times Tables?". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  • Benn, Melissa (8 August 2011). "Streaming primary school pupils labels them for life". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2019. Academic Jo Boaler followed two groups of young adolescents in the mid-90s, one separated into rigid ability groups, the other taught in mixed-ability groupings. Not only did the mixed-ability students outperform those who had been put into separate groups in national examinations, but when Boaler tracked down a representative sample from both schools, she found the mixed-ability group had achieved more social mobility, in relation to their parents, than their streamed peers.
  • Bishop, Wayne; Clopton, Paul; Milgram, James (2012). "A Close Examination of Jo Boaler's Railside Report" (PDF). Nonpartisan Education Review. 8 (1). Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  • Bishop, Wayne; Milgram, R. James (2012). "A Response to Some of the Points of: When Academic Disagreement Becomes Harassment and Persecution". Nonpartisan Education Review. 8 (4). Archived from the original on 24 March 2017.
  • Blume, Howard; Watanabe, Teresa (13 July 2023). "California approves math overhaul to help struggling students. But will it hurt whiz kids?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024.
  • Boaler, Jo (1997). Experiencing School Mathematics. Open University Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-335-19962-4.
  • Boaler, Jo (July 2002). "Paying the Price for "Sugar and Spice": Shifting the Analytical Lens in Equity Research" (PDF). Mathematical Thinking and Learning. 4 (2–3): 127–144. doi:10.1207/S15327833MTL04023_3. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  • Boaler, Jo (10 February 2005). "Jo Boaler: Setting by ability does not work". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  • Boaler, Jo; Staples, Megan (2008). "Creating Mathematical Futures through an Equitable Teaching Approach: The Case of Railside School" (PDF). Teachers' College Record. 110 (3): 608–645. doi:10.1177/016146810811000302. ISSN 0161-4681. S2CID 145439516.
  • Boaler, Jo (2009). What's Math Got to Do with It?. Penguin Books. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-14-311571-7.
  • Boaler, Jo (2010). The Elephant in the Classroom: Helping Children Learn and Love Maths. Souvenir Press Ltd. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-285-63875-4.
  • Boaler, Jo (3 July 2012a). "Timed Tests and the Development of Math Anxiety". Education Week. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  • Boaler, Jo (October 2012b). "Crossing the Line: When Academic Disagreement becomes Harassment and Abuse". people.standfor.edu. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  • Boaler, Jo (12 November 2013a). "The Stereotypes That Distort How Americans Teach and Learn Math". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  • Boaler, Jo (2013b). "Ability and Mathematics: the mindset revolution that is reshaping education". Forum. 55 (1): 143–152. doi:10.2304/forum.2013.55.1.143. ISSN 0963-8253. S2CID 147018963.
  • Boaler, Jo; Dweck, Carol (2015). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching. Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-470-89452-1.
  • Boaler; Schoenfeld; Daro; Asturias; Callahan; Foster (8 October 2018). "OPINION: How one city got math right". The Hechinger Report. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  • Boaler, Jo (2019). Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers. HarperOne. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-06-285174-1.
  • Fensterwald, John (29 July 2022). "Deep divisions, further delay for California's math guidelines". Palo Alto Online. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Brian Lindaman, faculty co-director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Instruction at California State University, Chico, chaired the five-person committee that drafted the framework
  • Fensterwald, John (10 July 2023). "Next, maybe last, big test for California's controversial math framework". EdSource. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  • Fortin, Jacey (4 November 2021). "California Tries to Close the Gap in Math, but Sets Off a Backlash". New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  • "Three Stanford education professors appointed to endowed chairs". GSE News. Stanford University. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  • Hong, Joe (19 November 2021). "Understanding the debate behind California's new math framework". CALMATTERS. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  • Jaschik, Scott (15 October 2012). "Casualty of the math wars". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023.
  • Johnston, Theresa (20 May 2014). "Math in action: New online courses offer fresh approach to subject". Graduate School of Education News. Stanford.
  • Lee, Stephanie (22 March 2023). "The Divider". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  • Lee, Stephanie (20 March 2024). "Stanford Math-Education Expert Has 'Reckless Disregard for Accuracy,' Complaint Alleges". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  • Milgram, R. James (2012). "Private Data – The Real Story: A Huge Problem with Education Research" (PDF). Nonpartisan Education Review. 8 (5).
  • Miolene, Elissa (28 July 2023). "California has adopted a new plan to teach math. Why are people so riled up?". Mercury News. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. But Jo Boaler, a Stanford math education professor and one of the writers of the state guidelines
  • "CAREER: Advancing Teacher Development and Mathematics Learning Through the Integration of Knowledge and Practice". NSF.
  • Rabinovitz, Jonathan (1 July 2013). "Stanford Experiments With Digital Course Designed To Help Students Overcome Fear of Math". wiredacademic. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014.
  • Reich, Greta (12 April 2024). "California math matters: Stanford looks into complaints on professor Jo Boaler". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  • Reich, Greta (22 April 2024b). "Stanford closes review into complaint on Jo Boaler". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  • Rushowy, Kristin (9 December 2013). "Tips to make math more enjoyable for young learners". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  • Sawchuk, Stephen (12 June 2018). "A Bold Effort to End Algebra Tracking Shows Promise". Education Week. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  • Scott, Sam (27 April 2018). "Jo Boaler Wants Everyone to Love Math". Stanford Magazine. Stanford University. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  • Stanford, Peter (20 October 2012). "Make Britain Count: 'Stop telling children maths isn't for them'". The Telegraph.
  • Stanford, Peter (2 November 2013). "University education: maturing of the Mooc?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023.
  • Stripp, Charlie (22 September 2015). "'It is wrong to tell children that they do not need to memorise their times tables'". Tes. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  • Tucker, Jill (5 April 2022). "California math wars get ugly: Accusations of racism and harassment ignite battle between Stanford and Cal profs". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.

Further reading

  • Barshay, Jill (22 April 2024). "Proof Points: Stanford's Jo Boaler talks about her new book 'MATH-ish' and takes on her critics". The Hechinger Report.
  • Kang, Jay Caspian (15 November 2022). "How Math Became an Object of the Culture Wars". The New Yorker.
  • Koh, Yoree (13 November 2020). "Math Class For Real Life". The Wall Street Journal. p. R2. ISSN 0099-9660.
  • Stanford faculty home page
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