TODOS 2026 Conference

9:00am PDT

Math MUST Say Gay! Creative Insubordination in the time of “Don’t Say Gay” and Other Anti-2SLGBTQIA+ Laws

Thursday June 25, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

In this interactive session, participants will explore how 2SLGBTQIA+ identities are censured in mathematics classrooms and the impact of that censure. Participants will be provided with various prompts/situations to brainstorm how a teacher might counteract the censure of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities using strategies of creative insubordination, both in locales that have adopted “Don’t Say Gay” or other anti-2SLGBTQIA+ laws and in those that have more protections in place for 2SLGBTQIA+ students.

Speakers

Madeline Ramirez

Ziggy Bozigian

B Waid

B Waid (they/them/elle) is an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education at California State University, Fullerton, and a former middle and high school mathematics teacher. As a queer, disabled, Latinx scholar, activist, and educator, their research and teaching focuses on how students... Read More →

Thursday June 25, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
Terrace CD

Breakout Session, Collaborating

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience General Interest

10:45am PDT

Broadening Conversations of Black Girlhood and Agency in Mathematics: Examining Nigerian Girls’ Mathematics Identity and Agency Development

Thursday June 25, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am PDT

Royal CDEF

This session presents how Nigerian middle school girls utilize narratives and comics storytelling to reflect on their lived experiences, reimagine their mathematics identity, and envision future possibilities. Through story circles, enactment of a co created comics narrative, and dialogue, participants will explore intersections of identity and agency development. The session concludes with collective brainstorming of actionable strategies to foster identity and agency development in their mathematics learning spaces advancing equity and affirming the brilliance of students, particularly Black girls globally.

Speakers

Ruth Oliwe

Thursday June 25, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am PDT
Royal CDEF

Breakout Session, Cultivating

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience General Interest

10:45am PDT

Rooted in Story: Mapping Our Mathematical Identities as Acts of Resistance and Renewal

Thursday June 25, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am PDT

Imperial

What stories do we carry about mathematics, and how do they shape the way we teach and lead? In this interactive session, participants will create visual maps of their own educational journeys to uncover how identity, language, and power have influenced their relationships with mathematics. We will explore how reflection and storytelling can transform beliefs and practices in mathematics education. Participants will leave with tools to facilitate journey mapping with students and colleagues, helping reimagine mathematics as a space of belonging, connection, and humanity.

Speakers

Dina Mahmood

Orange County Department of Education

Thursday June 25, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am PDT
Imperial

Breakout Session, Cultivating

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience General Interest

12:45pm PDT

Acts of Rebellion: Finding Purpose and Meaning in Mathematics Education

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT

Terrace AB

In this session, we explore acts of rebellion as a pedagogical innovation and a site of learning to explore how we can disrupt dominant narratives in math education. Through interactive activities, participants will have opportunities to witness and hear about acts of rebellion, reflect on their own individual acts of rebellion, and then shift the conversation toward collective action and solidarity. Our aim is to center humanity in its most complex form, highlighting the ongoing challenges of embodying justice in teacher education.

Speakers

Sandra Zuniga Ruiz

Project Staff, San Jose State University

Mallika Scott

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT
Terrace AB

Breakout Session, Cultivating

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience General Interest

12:45pm PDT

Art for Community and Action: Math Educators Cultivating Joy and Solidarity Through Creation

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT

Regal

In this hands-on session, educators will make reflective zines as a creative way to think about their math teaching practices. With collage materials, folded paper, and prompts, we’ll reflect on the past school year and dream forward into the next. Open to early childhood through secondary educators and preservice teachers, this session invites us to challenge oppressive narratives, honor our journeys, and imagine what it means to root mathematics in humanity. As a cohort of Chicago-based mathematics public school teachers and academics, we hope to offer insights in our particular lived experiences during the 25-26 school year as one of the most targeted places in the nation by ICE and the federal government. We particularly invite trans and queer teachers, teachers of color, and disabled teachers and those who occupy the margins to consider coming to this space.

Speakers

Sara Rezvi

Alexa Lee-Hassan

Graduate Student, University of Illinois at Chicago

I'm interested in critical mathematics, rehumanizing mathematics, and teacher preparation. My research focuses on using a math content course as an opportunity to help preservice elementary teachers develop quantitative political conocimiento—the ability to critically analyze and navigate the high-stakes, quantitative metrics that commonly characterize neo-liberal education... Read More →

Katie Rupe

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT
Regal

Breakout Session, Community Building

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience Preschool/Early Childhood, Elementary School (K-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College

12:45pm PDT

From Reflection to Action: Using Teachers’ Stories to Build Inclusive Elementary Mathematics Classrooms

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT

Royal A

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.

Speakers

Monica Gonzalez

Alesia Moldavan

Assistant Professor, Georgia Southern University

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT
Royal A

Breakout Session, Cultivating

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience Elementary School (K-5)

12:45pm PDT

Positioning Middle Grades Students as Valuable Members of Mathematical Communities

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT

Royal B

Learn strategies to position students as competent math doers and thinkers. We will begin by framing how our (inter)actions create opportunities for students to be positioned as powerful mathematical thinkers, and then we will do math tasks together and analyze an authentic video of classroom math instruction. Through activities and resources shared, participants will leave ready to design and facilitate productive and just learning environments. Tools and resources-- including 40 freely available online modules, each with a classroom video-- shared will help participants exercise their own curiosity to investigate their teaching with new perspectives and implement new practices.

Speakers

Erica Askew

WestEd

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT
Royal B

Breakout Session, Cultivating

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience Middle School (6-8), College, General Interest

12:45pm PDT

SWANA in Mathematics: The Forgotten Founders

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT

Imperial

In this session, participants will explore how the identities of SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) students are erased in the classroom and the effects it has on these individuals. Participants will be presented with methods on how to address and correct the current inequitable, eurocentric approach to math education. In the end, participants will leave with various methods on how to create an environment where their students' identities are valued, respected, and represented in their classrooms.

Speakers

Temorshah Popal

Thursday June 25, 2026 12:45pm - 1:45pm PDT
Imperial

Breakout Session, Cultivating

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience General Interest

10:45am PDT

Digital Storytelling as a Rehumanizing Tool in Mathematics Teacher Education: Voices of Rural, First-Generation, and Low-Income Communities

Friday June 26, 2026 10:45am - 11:15am PDT

Royal B

This interactive session explores how digital storytelling can serve as a rehumanizing tool in mathematics teacher education. Drawing from the experiences of rural, first-generation, and low-income pre-service teachers, participants will examine how storytelling helps pre-service teachers reflect on their mathematical identities, challenge deficit narratives, and connect mathematics to community and culture. Attendees will view authentic teacher-created stories, engage in guided reflection, and design their own short math narratives. Together, we will consider how digital storytelling can transform beliefs, promote belonging, and inspire equitable practices in mathematics classrooms and teacher preparation programs.

Speakers

Theodore Chao

Associate Professor, The Ohio State University

Theodore Chao (he/him/his) is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Professor Chao uses video, photovoice, and technology to engage children, teachers, and community members in telling and sharing their mathematics stories... Read More →

Ruth Oliwe

Friday June 26, 2026 10:45am - 11:15am PDT
Royal B

Breakout Session, Catalyzing

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience College

11:15am PDT

Asset-Oriented Math Instruction: Shifting Teacher Mindsets for Emergent Bilingual Success

Friday June 26, 2026 11:15am - 11:45am PDT

Terrace AB

This session explores how high school math teachers shifted from deficit to asset-based positioning of emergent bilinguals (EBs) through a year-long collaborative professional development focused on mathematical modeling. Using positioning theory as an analytical lens, we examine how classroom discourse shapes student agency and access to mathematics. Participants will engage in interactive activities, including sorting excerpts and reflective discussions, to analyze how language and context influence perceptions of EBs’ capabilities. We share findings from seven teachers working with linguistically diverse students and offer actionable strategies for fostering equity and transforming institutional structures in mathematics education.

Speakers

Jiyeong Yi

Associate Professor, Iowa State University

Associate professor in Math Education at Iowa State University, specializing in mathematics education. My research focuses on supporting teachers in effectively teaching mathematics to Emergent Bilingual students.

Shristi Shrestha

Graduate Student, Iowa State University

PhD student in the Human Computer Interaction program at Iowa State University. I have been doing research about AI in math education.

Friday June 26, 2026 11:15am - 11:45am PDT
Terrace AB

Breakout Session, Catalyzing

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience High School (9-12), General Interest

11:15am PDT

Humanizing the First Years of Teaching: Creating Community to Support Equitable Teaching

Friday June 26, 2026 11:15am - 11:45am PDT

Royal A

Being a new teacher is exciting and challenging. How can new teachers, especially those committed to teaching in equitable and humanizing ways, be supported to thrive (instead of just survive)? Join us as we share how one group of new teachers and their former math education professor supported each other through critical friendship in a monthly community of practice. What are early-career teachers grappling with as they strive to teach in equitable ways? How can you support early career teachers? Come find out and connect with us!

Speakers

Katie Rupe

Amelia Ard

Friday June 26, 2026 11:15am - 11:45am PDT
Royal A

Breakout Session, Catalyzing

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience General Interest

11:15am PDT

Mathematics in Our Lived Experiences: Sharing Stories to Broaden Perceptions and Transform Learning

Friday June 26, 2026 11:15am - 11:45am PDT

Royal CDEF

Many people feel unwelcome in mathematics – a regrettable, but not inevitable, circumstance. In this session, I will share the goals and videos from a project documenting adults’ lived experiences of mathematics. In these videos, participants share how they engage in mathematics in their lives and how these experiences relate – or do not easily relate – to their memories of school “mathematics”. Many participants are members of historically marginalized groups. Session attendees will be invited to reflect on their own experiences and to consider how these stories could help to catalyze collaborative and sustained work to center humanity in school mathematics.

Speakers

Kim Yoak

Mathematics specialist, Summit Mathematics Education Enterprises

I have recently founded the Coalition for Mathematics for Human Flourishing! We will share people's lived experiences of mathematics (in all its forms) and work with individuals, schools, and systems to transform school mathematics experiences for young people. @CMathsHuman on... Read More →

Friday June 26, 2026 11:15am - 11:45am PDT
Royal CDEF

Breakout Session, Catalyzing

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience General Interest, Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College

1:00pm PDT

Rooting Mathematics in Care: Latine Teachers Rehumanizing High School Classrooms

Friday June 26, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT

Terrace AB

This session is led by three Latine high school mathematics teachers who reimagine care as central to rooting mathematics in humanity. Co-authored with a mathematics education researcher who formerly taught high school mathematics, the session bridges classroom practice and research to highlight teachers’ lived expertise. Guided by Keeling’s (2014) framing of an ethic of care and Gutiérrez’s (2018) call to rehumanize mathematics, we share how care manifests through language, relational trust, and student brilliance. Using pláticas (Fierros & Delgado Bernal, 2016), participants will collectively reflect on how care disrupts deficit framings and cultivates belonging and shared humanity in mathematics spaces.

Speakers

Fabian Gutierrez Vidal

Nicolette Capriles

Tania Pelayo

Sabrina Zarza

Friday June 26, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Terrace AB

Breakout Session, Cultivating

Strand Beliefs & Structures
Audience Preschool/Early Childhood, Middle School (6-8), Elementary School (K-5), High School (9-12), College, General Interest

1:00pm PDT

Rewriting stories: Identity work as pathways to belonging and empowerment for students-and ourselves

Friday June 26, 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT

Royal B

What stories do we and our PK-12 students tell about who belongs in mathematics? Let’s break the mold for our students and for ourselves! In this interactive workshop, we will uncover our own math identities so we can help our students uncover theirs, and explore how unproductive beliefs and implicit biases shape pedagogy and assessment. Together, we’ll reimagine teaching practices that center belonging, disrupt inequities, and empower all learners to thrive in mathematics in PK-12 classrooms.

Speakers

Sean Nank

California State University San Marcos

Sean Nank, PhD, received the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). Sean is a Distinguished Teacher in Residence and adjunct professor at California State University San Marcos, a full professor at American College of Education, and works... Read More →