Promoting Equity in Elementary School Mathematics: Vignettes From Virtual Learning Environments

Introduction

The spring of 2020 caused teachers around the world to consider how to effectively teach students from preschool to college through virtual settings. In this chapter we define virtual learning environments (VLEs) as live online synchronous classes. While students from preschool through university-levels participated in VLEs, students also completed academic work on their own time in asynchronous settings, or a combination of synchronous and asynchronous which scholars have labeled as bichronous (Martin et al., 2020). The United Nations (2020) reported that 98.6 of children across the world experienced a shift in their mode of learning. In some instances, national, state, district and school-based leaders provided ample resources and support to teachers, but a majority of teachers had to go into “emergency teaching mode” and determine how to most effectively support their students without adequate support (Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020; Doucet et al., 2020; Martin et al., 2021; United Nations, 2020). Regardless of students’ and teachers’ technological skills and knowledge, their beliefs about virtual learning, and their motivation to participate in online or virtual school, the pandemic forced teachers into that situation.

Prior to the pandemic there had been an increase in the educational opportunities in VLEs for learners from pre-Kindergarten through high school (Martin et al., in press). The origin of these VLEs was to increase access and opportunities to diverse groups learners in underserved communities who may not have access to specific courses, classes, or for individuals who may be unable to physically attend schools (Barbour, 2011; Barbour & Reeves, 2009). Despite the increase in K-12 VLEs most K-12 educators did not teach virtually until the COVID-19 pandemic (United Nations, 2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic came at a time when in the United States there was an intentional focus on equity-based pedagogies, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and including instructional pedagogies that support students who share demographics from those who have been traditionally marginalized, lacked access to effective teaching, and/or been labeled by policy makers and others as at-risk or low-performing (Garcia & Weiss, 2020). Scholars who are experts on equity-based pedagogies advocate that educational leaders and teachers aim to reduce barriers to students’ access to high-quality teaching, resources, and educational support (Gutierrez, 2009; Paris, 2012; Paris & Alim, 2017). In this chapter we posit that equity-based pedagogies are effective strategies for teaching diverse classrooms of learners.

In this chapter we describe the theoretical frameworks of mathematical tasks, equity-based mathematics teaching, and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). We then provide vignettes from both elementary schools and elementary teacher education programs about how equity-based mathematics practices can be established and maintained in VLEs in order to effectively teach diverse classrooms of learners.