Equitable Participation

Equitable participation in elementary math classrooms relies on evidence-based teacher reflection. Collecting, reflecting, and taking action on data about students’ participation and on practices that might affect it can help teachers bring about more equitable participation in their classrooms.

The Teacher Reflection Tools are designed to help teachers keep equitable participation at the forefront as they plan for and facilitate whole group discussions and small group/pair work by engaging them in cycles of evidence-based reflection. The tools encourage teachers to consider and reflect on questions such as:

  • Who is or is not contributing to the classroom discourse?
  • How are they contributing?
  • What questions am I asking which students?
  • How am I responding to students’ contributions?
  • How are students responding to/interacting with other students?

Using the ... tool impacted my practice because even when I only had a few minutes to think about it, I was able to take that step back and think about how all kids were included … I was taking the time to pause and really self-evaluate.”

– Classroom teacher