Evidence of PBL Effectiveness in Closing the Achievement Gap: Boaler (2002) Math Study

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Boaler, J. (2002)

This remarkable article is full of insights about what it takes to make PBL and related reform practices work in the context of low-income urban schools The study shows that reform-oriented practices in mathematics can be effective with urban poor students in middle school and high school mathematics - to the point of reducing the achievement gap. Boaler provides evidence that the "pedagogy of poverty" can be overcome, but only when well-designed and implemented by teachers. The curriculum itself is only part of solution; what is more important is effective enactment of that curriculum.

The two studies discussed in this article demonstrate that, when approached with sufficient care, reform-oriented approaches can be effective for all students including those who who have traditionally experienced linguistic, ethnic and class inequalities.

Abstract:

Some researchers have expressed doubts about the potential of reform-oriented curricula to promote equity. This article considers this important issue and argues that investigations into equitable teaching must pay attention to the particular practices of teaching and learning that are enacted in classrooms. Data are presented from two studies in which middle school and high school teachers using reform-oriented mathematics curricula achieved a reduction in linguistic, ethnic, and class inequalities in their schools. The teaching and learning practices that these teachers employed were central to the attainment of equality, suggesting that it is critical that relational analyses of equity go beyond the curriculum to include the teacher and their teaching.

Suggested citation:

Boaler, J. (2002). Learning from teaching: Exploring the relationship between reform curriculum and equity. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 33(4), 239-258.

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http://tnl.esd113.org/cms/lib3/WA01001093/Centricity/
ModuleInstance/276/BoalerReformCurriculumandequity.pdf