Jennifer Knudsen

Knudsen is an educator who works at intersection of design and research, with a focus on mathematics—its applications as well as its disciplinary practices. She and her team aim to improve access to high-quality educational experiences with a focus on historically marginalized students and their teachers.

She and her colleagues use innovative performatory approaches for learning to teach these practices, in the project Visualize Teaching and prior work. Another current project, MPACT, uses “making” as a way into geometry, spatial reasoning, and computational thinking.

In past work, Knudsen has led over a decade of research and design of professional development to help teachers learn to engage middle-grades students in deeply mathematical discourse. She is lead author of the book Mathematical Argumentation in Middle School: The What, Why, and How. She has also co-authored articles on teaching and learning math through problem-based curriculum and through real-world contexts. She was the curriculum director of Middle-school Mathematics Through Applications Project (MMAP),

Knudsen was a high school math and computer science teacher in New York City public schools, where she learned about teaching from the heart and mind. She holds a BA with a focus on mathematics from the Evergreen State College, where she developed her love for both learning and mathematical argumentation

• Stevens, H. S. & Knudsen, J. (2022). How Teachers Foster Classroom Mathematical Argumentation as a Justice-Oriented Mathematical Practice. The Lighthouse Almanac, The Journal of the Benjamin Banneker Association.
• Bopardikar, A., Knudsen, J., (co-first authors), Silva, C. & Stevens, H. S. (submitted). A coaches’ journey from co-learning in a summer institute to year-round coaching. Journal for Mathematics Education Leadership.
• Knudsen, J. & Stevens, H. S., (2022). 3D Making for Mathematics Learning. The Elementary STEM Journal.
• Knudsen, J. (2022). 3D Making as a Context for Learning Math, Spatial Reasoning, and Computational Thinking. Hands On! Magazine. (Spring 2022).
• Knudsen, J. (2022). Mathematical Argumentation, Open-ended Conjecturing, and Equity. Hands On! Magazine. (Fall 2020).
• Shechtman, N., Knudsen, J., Kim, H., Lara-Meloy, T., Michalchik, V. (2019). An Implementation Study of the Bridging Professional Development Program Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
• Knudsen, J., Stevens, H. S., Lara-Meloy, T., Kim, H. J., & Shechtman, N. (2018). Mathematical Argumentation in Middle School—The What, Why, and How: A Step-by-Step Guide With Activities, Games, and Lesson Planning Tools. Corwin Press.