Jump to Main Content
Decrease font size Reset font size Increase font size
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto Home| OISE| U of T| Portal| Site Map
INSPIRING EDUCATION | oise.utoronto.ca
CTL
Go to selected destination


Indigo Esmonde

phone: (416) 978-0117
email: iesmonde@oise.utoronto.ca  
website: http://individual.utoronto.ca/esmonde

Departments:
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning

Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
Secondary Education


Academic History

Ph.D. Cognition and Development, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, 2006
Thesis: "How are we supposed to, like, learn it, if none of us know?": Opportunities to learn and equity in mathematics cooperative learning structures
Supervisor: Dr. Geoffrey B. Saxe

M.A. Cognition and Development, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, 2001

M.Sc. Mathematics, McGill University, 1999

B.Sc.H. Mathematics, Queen‟s University, 1997

Research Overview

Dr. Indigo Esmonde is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at OISE. Dr. Esmonde's research is situated at the intersection of two fields of study: the learning sciences, and equity studies. Broadly speaking, researchers in the learning sciences consider the process of learning in a wide variety of contexts, while those in equity studies consider the ways in which schools and other institutional contexts perpetuate inequitable relations of power in society, and how to subvert and challenge these injustices. Dr. Esmonde's research at the intersection of these two fields has focused on learning mathematics across a variety of contexts, both inside and outside schools, and has considered issues of power and identity in mathematics teaching and learning.

Current projects:
Learning to teach mathematics for social justice. This project involves action research with secondary mathematics teachers, who are learning to teach more equitably.

Balancing the equation: Mathematics and social justice. This project focuses on how community-based organizations that do social justice work rely on mathematics in their work. The research investigates how mathematics is used and how the organizations support staff in learning and using mathematics for social justice.


Teaching Overview

Dr. Esmonde has taught the following graduate course at OISE:

• CTL 1218H Culture and Cognition in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
• CTL 1219H Making Secondary Mathematics Meaningful
• CTL 1220H Sociocultural Theories of Learning


Professional Activities

Invited Academic Lectures:

• Esmonde, I. (December, 2009). Identity and mathematics learning in heterogeneous classrooms. Center for Mathematics Education Colloquium, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
• Esmonde, I. (January, 2008). What counts as math? Stories from families and from popular media. Fields Institute Mathematics Education Forum, Toronto, ON.

Professional Community Service:

• Director, Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, OISE, 2010-present
• Conference planning team, Diversity in Mathematics Education Summer Retreat, Northwestern University, Evanston IL, July 2009
• Board Member, Research in Mathematics Education, Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association 2009-2011
• Member, Editorial Board, Canadian Journal for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 2008-present
• Member, Review Board, Division G, and SIG-Research in Mathematics Education, American Educational Research Association, 2009-2011
• Member, Review Board, Division C, Section 3 (Mathematics), American Educational Research Association, 2007-2008

Representative Publications

Book Chapters
Edwards, A. R., Esmonde, I., & Wagner, J. (2010). Learning mathematics. In R. E. Mayer & P. A. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Learning and Instruction (pp. 55-77). New York: Taylor and Francis.

Hand, V., Quindel, J., & Esmonde, I. (2010). Status and competence as an entry point into discussions of equity in mathematics classrooms. In M. Q. Foote (Ed.), Mathematics Teaching & Learning in K-12: Equity and Professional Development (pp. 151-166). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Refereed Journal Articles
Esmonde, I., Takeuchi, M., & Radakovic, N. (2011). Getting unstuck: Learning and histories of engagement in classrooms. Mind, Culture and Activity. 36 pages. (Uncorrected manuscript published online, http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/10749031003790128)

Esmonde, I., & Caswell, B. (2010). Teaching mathematics for social justice in multicultural, multilingual elementary classrooms. Canadian Journal for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education. 10(3), 244-254.

Esmonde, I. (2009). Explanations in mathematics classrooms: A discourse analysis. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. 9(2), 86-99.

Esmonde, I. (2009). Ideas and identities: Supporting equity in cooperative mathematics learning. Review of Educational Research. 79(2), 1008-1043.

Esmonde, I. (2009). Mathematics learning in groups: Analyzing equity in two cooperative activity structures. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 18(2), 247-284.

Esmonde, I., Brodie, K., Dookie, L., & Takeuchi, M. (2009). Social identities and opportunities to learn: Student perspectives on group work in an urban mathematics classroom. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education. 2(2), 18-45.

Saxe, G. B., & Esmonde, I. (2005). Studying cognition in flux: A historical treatment of Fu in the shifting structure of Oksapmin mathematics. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 12(3&4), 171-225.

Research Grants and Contracts

Dr. Esmonde has been awarded several grants for education research:

Year: 2011-2013
Type: Standard Research Grant, New Scholar
Role: Principal Investigator
Source: Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Government of Canada
Amount: $28, 336
Description: Changing the equation: Mathematics and social justice
The study broadens traditional views about learning, equity and mathematics by considering how out-of-school contexts might support equitable mathematical learning, and how they might use mathematics to support broader global equity. The two major research questions are: How is mathematics used outside of schools to analyze, educate about, and take action towards broad social justice goals? How is the learning and doing of mathematics supported in these contexts, and what issues of equity arise?

Year: 2009-2011
Type: Research Fellowship
Role: Principal Investigator
Source: Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (www.kstf.org)
Amount: $110,000 USD
Title: Learning to teach mathematics for social justice
Purpose: This research project investigates an inquiry-based PD program in which secondary teachers will develop a community of inquiry around teaching mathematics for equity and social justice.

Year: 2009-2010
Type: Inquiry into Practice grant
Role: Principal Investigator
Source: OISE/UT
Amount: $27,000
Title: Learning to teach mathematics for social justice
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to study an inquiry-based PD program in which elementary teachers learn how to teach mathematics for equity and social justice. The co-investigator for this grant is one of my graduate students, Bev Caswell. Bev‟s dissertation (for which I am faculty supervisor) will draw from this data.

Year: 2008-2009
Type: Government Grant
Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Cathy Bruce, Trent University)
Source: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat Grant, Ontario Provincial Government
Amount: $168,300
Title: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat Mathematics Professional Development Program Evaluation (CIL-M)
Purpose: This research project is an external evaluation of an inquiry-based professional development program for elementary mathematics teachers, developed by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat.

Honours and Awards

• Research Fellowship, Knowles Science Teaching Foundation. 2009
• Outstanding Dissertation Award, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley. 2007
• University Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley. 2002-3, 2003-4, 2004-5 and 2005-6
• Diversity in Mathematics Education Fellowship, NSF/Centers for Learning and Teaching funded research group. 2002-2006

Curriculum Vitae

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/Curriculum_Vitae/Indigo_Esmonde_CV.pdf


Equity, Diversity & Social Justice Lifelong & Transformative Learning Math, Science & Technology Students (including Student Experience, Student Engagement & Students At Risk) Urban Schooling Anti-Racism Feminist Studies Gender & Queer Studies Teacher Education & Development