Jo Boaler (born 18 February 1964) is a British education author and Nomellini-Olivier Professor of Mathematics Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Boaler is involved in promoting

reform mathematics Reform mathematics is an approach to mathematics education, particularly in North America. It is based on principles explained in 1989 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The NCTM document ''Curriculum and Evaluation Stand ...

and equitable mathematics classrooms.Boaler, J. (2002). Paying the Price for "Sugar and Spice": Shifting the Analytical Lens in Equity Research. Mathematical Thinking and Learning. 4(2&3),127–144. She is the co-founder and faculty director of youcubed a Stanford centre that offers free mathematics education resources to teachers, students and parents. She is the author of nine books, including Limitless Mind (2019), ''Mathematical Mindsets'' (2016), ''What's Math Got To Do With It?'' (2009) and ''The Elephant in the Classroom'' (2010), all written for teachers and parents with the goal of improving mathematics education in both the US and UK.

Education and training

Jo Boaler received a Bachelors in Psychology from Liverpool University in 1985. Jo Boaler then began her career as a secondary mathematics teacher in urban London secondary schools, including

Haverstock School Haverstock School (formerly Haverstock Comprehensive School), is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located on Haverstock Hill in Haverstock, London, England. It is opposite Chalk Farm Underground station, and bounded by Prince of W ...

, Camden. After her early career in secondary mathematics education, 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 The British Educational Research Association (BERA) is a member-led charity to encourage educational research and its application for the improvement of practice and public benefit. It is an association promoting a researching culture within the ...

in 1997.

Academic career

Early career

In 1998, Jo Boaler became an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University in the Graduate School of Education. She became an associate professor in 2000 and left as a full professor in 2006. From 2000 to 2004, Boaler served as the president of the International Organization of Women and Mathematics Education. In 2006, Stanford mathematician R. James Milgram formally charged Boaler with scientific misconduct, which prompted Stanford University to investigate claims challenging the validity of her research. Stanford's initial investigation concluded by acknowledging ongoing debates in mathematics education and absolving Boaler of scientific misconduct stating that the allegations "do not have substance". Milgram, fellow mathematician Wayne Bishop (California State University) and statistician Paul Clopton published an online paper outlining their complaints about her Railside report. The story was circulated widely on social media and picked up by the national press.

Return to England

In 2006 Boaler was awarded a posting as the Marie Curie professor at Sussex University by the Marie Curie Foundation. While in England, Boaler authored two books, "What's Math Got To Do With It?" and "The Elephant in the Classroom".

Return to Stanford

In 2010 Boaler returned to Stanford and resumed her position as Professor of Mathematics Education. In 2013, Boaler taught the first Massive Online Open Course ( MOOC) on mathematics education, called "How to Learn Math". 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. Over 40,000 teachers and parents participated, with about 25,000 completing the full 2-to-16-hour course. At the end of the course, 95% of survey respondents indicated that they would modify their ways of teaching math. Boaler also provides consultation to other Silicon Valley digital educational institutions, such as Novo-ed, Inner Tube Games, and Udacity. In addition, she teaches workshops on teaching for a

growth mindset Mindset is an "established set of attitudes, esp. regarded as typical of a particular group's social or cultural values; the outlook, philosophy, or values of a person; (now also more generally) frame of mind, attitude, ecte: anddisposition." ...

, drawing upon the work of

Carol Dweck Carol Susan Dweck (born October 17, 1946) is an American psychologist. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on motivation and mindset. She was on the faculty at Columbia ...

, author and developer of the theory of growth mindset. In 2012 Boaler published an article on her Stanford homepage, accusing Milgram, Bishop (and others) of harassment, persecution, and suppression. Bishop and Milgram each issued rebuttals to Boaler's claims.

Research

During the early part of Boaler's career, she conducted

longitudinal studies A longitudinal study (or longitudinal survey, or panel study) is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over short or long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of obs ...

of students learning mathematics through different approaches. Her first three-year study in England was published as "Experiencing School Mathematics: Teaching Styles, Sex, and Setting." In 2000, she was awarded a presidential Early Career Award from the National Science Foundation. This funded a four-year study of students learning mathematics through different approaches in three US high schools. In addition to focusing on

inquiry-based learning Inquiry-based learning (also spelled as enquiry-based learning in British English) is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education, which generally relies on the teache ...

, Boaler's research has highlighted the problems associated with ability grouping in England and the US. In 2012, Boaler published articles on the links between timed testing and

math anxiety Mathematical anxiety, also known as math phobia, is anxiety about one's ability to do mathematics. Math Anxiety Mark H. Ashcraft defines math anxiety as "a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance" (2002, p ...

. Boaler had conducted research on mathematics, mistakes, and growth mindset with Stanford University professors

and Greg Walton.

Youcubed.org

In 2013, Boaler founded youcubed.org with Cathy Williams, former director of Mathematics in the Vista Unified School District. The mission of the site is to offer inspirational mathematics resources for mathematics teachers.

Common Core

Common Core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conc ...

was being launched in 2015, Boaler pointed out that fluency is often taken to mean memorization and speed. 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.

2021 California Math Framework

Boaler is one of five authors of the California Department of Education's proposed mathematics framework.

Awards and honors

* 2000 – 2004 President: International Organisation of Women and Mathematics Education (IOWME) * 2004 Fellow: Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences * 2007 Chair of Excellence: The Marie Curie Foundation * 2010 Invited Lecture at The Royal Society
*2013-2015 Consultant. The

White House Council on Women and Girls The White House Council on Women and Girls was an advisory council within the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It was established by on March 11, 2009, with a broad mandate to advi ...

* 2014 NCSM (National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics) Kay Gilliland Equity Award *2016 The California Mathematics Council Walter Denham Memorial Award for Leadership *2019 The Nomellini-Olivier Endowed Chair * 2022 Honorary Doctorate from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

for "services to education"

References

* Kozlowski, J. (2012). The Mindset Revolution. Kozlowski, pp. 255. *

External links

Stanford faculty home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boaler, Jo British women academics Mathematics educators Mathematics education reform British expatriate academics in the United States Alumni of King's College London Stanford Graduate School of Education faculty Academics of the University of Sussex 1964 births Living people British women mathematicians