A message we received from a 2025 participant:

"After reflecting on our four days together, I wanted to share with you all what this experience has done for me. If you had asked me a week ago about my math abilities, I would have said, 'I used to be really good at math, but not so much anymore.' In high school, I excelled at page-long algebraic equations, tutored other students in math during my free period, and attempted Honors Physics. What I realized this week is that I was great at memorizing formulas and never really made sense of what that work meant in context. This lack of understanding showed in the math classes I have taught as an educator; even with the youngest students, I struggled to find meaningful ways to imbed number sense concepts with our school's chosen curriculum. I recognized that my teaching was lacking but couldn't identify the issue, so I made stronger math routines my goal for this upcoming year. This is the reason I attended the training.

"Now, if you asked me today about my math abilities, I would say, 'Math is like a really juicy mystery and I'm ready to look for clues.' In four days, you all have planted a seed that transformed my math identity, and probably my mindset overall. My love for math has been reignited by the idea that problems can be multi-faceted and solutions flexible. I feel 'good at math again,' but not because I know the answers. It's because I know my voice has just as much value in a math classroom, no matter what I know or don't know. All I can think about is if this happened in just four days for me, I can't wait to see what will happen to my students in the next 10 months.

"Thank you for all of the work and effort you put into the math project. It's evident how purposefully and thoughtfully designed each moment was, while also allowing for engagement and connection. I wanted to express my full gratitude to you all and let you know that it was a very transformative experience."

The UCSB Mathematics Project is a professional development program in mathematics instruction for in-service K-12 teachers, primarily serving Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. We are one of nineteen sites of the California Mathematics Project, a state-funded program to develop and enhance the content knowledge and instructional strategies of California's teachers. The work of the CMP is aligned with the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and the California Mathematics Framework. The CMP is part of a larger network of professional development programs, the California Subject Matter Project.

The goals of the UCSB Mathematics Project are to provide teachers with rigorous sense-making experiences in mathematics, to guide them in using engaging teaching practices in their classrooms, to ensure that they are providing equitable and accessible instruction for all of their students, and to encourage them to be leaders in their professional lives. We do this at a series of workshops that take place during the summer. We invite all teachers to learn and grow in their understanding of mathematics and teaching practices by participating in our project.

California Mathematics Project Core Values Statement

Ongoing access to an engaging and humanizing mathematical education—a socio-cultural, human endeavor with emphasis on communicating, connecting, and valuing mathematical ideas to describe the world—is a universal right, central among civil rights.

• All students must be provided with a mathematical education that allows them to make sense of the world quantitatively and to appreciate their own power to reason. This includes making sense of mathematics through active engagement in problem solving and grappling with increasingly challenging tasks in an interactive way, where challenging and critiquing the thinking of others is safe and valued.
• All teachers must have their own significant sense-making experiences in mathematics to provide similar experiences for their students. All teachers have the potential to be leaders and a responsibility to advocate for rigorous and relevant mathematics education at all levels. Above all, they must help their students develop an understanding that mathematics is coherent, rooted in cultural beliefs and values, and doable.

California Mathematics Project Goals

• Provide teachers with effective instructional strategies to ensure their students develop a deep, robust understanding of mathematics.
• Provide teachers with significant sense-making experiences in mathematics.
• Develop teachers' leadership potential to advocate for and deliver rigorous and relevant mathematics education at all levels.
• Assess the impact of professional development.