This project supports ELs in STEM through making classroom discussions more accessible. We know from prior research that when students engage in classroom discussions, they can learn important mathematical concepts and develop a positive identity as a mathematics student. At the same time, we also know that many bilingual students who are classified as English learners, especially at the high school level, experience mathematics classes characterized by low-level mathematical and linguistic demands. Our goal is to transform this reality through a program of design research, done in collaboration with local teachers at a linguistically diverse school and student researchers from San Diego State University.

Our specific strategy is to research and develop design principles for high school classroom learning environments in which ELs participate in robust discussions. We started by observing mathematics classes during a "business as usual" phase and interviewing a linguistically diverse group of students about mathematics and about their experiences in school mathematics. We have taken what we learned from those observations and we are working with teachers to redesign the classroom learning environment to ensure all students can participate in classroom discussions. Three specific foci of our work are: 1) maintaining a consistent conceptual focus across the units we design, 2) integrating mathematical and language-related goals in each lesson, and 3) incorporating language supports in each lesson to make discussions available and fruitful for all students.

Despite that fact that proof is considered a central mathematical process, and policy documents have consistently recommended that proof be taught in school mathematics, success with proof remains elusive. A preponderance of evidence suggests that proof is challenging for teachers to teach (e.g., Cirillo, 2011; Knuth, 2002) and for students to learn (e.g., Chazan, 1993; Senk, 1985). Factors identified as contributing to these challenges include: impoverished curricula (Otten et al., 2014); teachers’ content and pedagogical knowledge (Knuth, 2002); and the lack of recommendations about how to scaffold proof so that students can be successful (Cirillo et al, 2017).

PISC draws on pilot study data and findings that suggest a promising approach to scaffolding the introduction to proof in geometry. Based on these findings, we developed the Geometry Proof Scaffold (GPS)⁠—a pedagogical framework that outlines eight sub-goals and corresponding competencies that can be taught one at a time. For example, prior to being asked to work on a proof, students learn to draw valid conclusions from given information or assumptions. The eight sub-goals in the GPS are: Understanding Geometric Concepts, Defining, Coordinating Geometric Modalities, Conjecturing, Drawing Conclusions, Using Common Sub-Arguments, Understanding Theorems, and Understanding the Nature of Proof.