British mathematics educator
Jo Boaler (born 18 February 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 and equitable mathematics classrooms.[3][4]
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,[6] including Limitless Mind (2019), Mathematical Mindsets (2016), What's Math Got To Do With It? (2009)[7] and The Elephant in the Classroom (2010).[8]
Education and training
Boaler received a Bachelors in Psychology from Liverpool University in 1985.[9][2] Boaler then began her career as a secondary mathematics teacher in urban London secondary schools, including Haverstock School, Camden.[2] 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 in 1997.[10]
Academic career
Early career
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 as "Experiencing School Mathematics: Teaching Styles, Sex, and Setting."[11]
In 1998, Boaler became an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University in the Graduate School of Education.[2] She became an associate professor in 2000 and left as a full professor in 2006.[2] From 2000 to 2004, Boaler served as the president of the International Organization of Women and Mathematics Education.[12]
In 2000, she was awarded a presidential Early Career Award from the National Science Foundation.[13] [14]
The NSF funded study would come to be known as the Railside study. This was a longitudinal study across three schools in northern California. The goal of the study was to compare the impact of traditional math curriculum with the reform curriculum. Findings were released in preliminary form in 2005 and published in 2008. The findings were promising and were used to support further reform efforts.[15]
Stanford mathematician R. James Milgram, CSULA professor Wayne Bishop, and statistician Paul Clopton investigated Boaler's claims and wrote an essay stating that her claims were exaggerated, but did not publish the essay in a peer reviewed journal.[16][17] In 2006, Milgram accused Boaler of research misconduct. 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".[18][15]
Return to England
In 2006 Boaler left Stanford for the UK. She was awarded a posting as the Marie Curie professor at Sussex University by the Marie Curie Foundation.[19] While in England, Boaler authored two books, What's Math Got To Do With It? and The Elephant in the Classroom.[20][21]
Return to Stanford
In 2010, Boaler returned to Stanford and resumed her position as Professor of Mathematics Education.[2] In 2013, Boaler taught the first Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on mathematics education, called "How to Learn Math".[22][23] 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.[24] Over 40,000 teachers and parents participated, with about 25,000 completing the full 2-to-16-hour course.[25] At the end of the course, 95% of survey respondents indicated that they would modify their ways of teaching math.[22][26] Boaler also consulted with other Silicon Valley digital educational institutions, such as Novo-ed,[27] Inner Tube Games,[28] and Udacity.[29]
At Stanford, she teaches workshops on teaching for a growth mindset,[30] drawing upon the work of Carol Dweck, the author and developer of the theory of growth mindset.[31] In addition to focusing on inquiry-based learning,[18] Boaler's research has highlighted the problems associated with ability grouping in England and the US.[32][33][34] In 2012, Boaler published articles on the links between timed testing and math anxiety.[35] Boaler had conducted research on mathematics, mistakes, and growth mindset[36] with Stanford University professors Carol Dweck[37] and Greg Walton.[38]
In 2012 Boaler published an article on her Stanford homepage, accusing Milgram, Bishop (and others) of harassment, persecution, and suppression.[39] Bishop and Milgram each issued rebuttals.[40][41]
In 2013, Boaler founded youcubed.org with Cathy Williams, former director of Mathematics in the Vista Unified School District.[42] The mission of the site is to offer inspirational mathematics resources for mathematics teachers.[43]
As Common Core was being launched in 2015, Boaler pointed out that fluency is often taken to mean memorization and speed.[44] 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.[45][46]
Boaler is one of five writers of the California Department of Education's controversial 2021 Mathematics Framework, approved in July 2023 by the state board of education.[47][48][49]
