This interactive session invites participants to use teachers’ stories as tools for reflection on how instructional decisions shape students’ mathematical identities. Drawing on research in identity and equity in mathematics education, participants will collaboratively analyze two 5th-grade classroom stories that reveal instructional dilemmas involving language and culture. Through discussions, participants will critique instances of deficit thinking, consider alternative pedagogical approaches, and explore strategies that affirm students as capable mathematical thinkers. The session concludes with resources and actionable next steps for building networks of critical friends to sustain equity-focused reflection and foster inclusive, identity-affirming mathematics learning environments.
