Student-Centered Curriculum Research
CPM's curriculum is grounded in over 30 years of education research — synthesized by co-founder Dr. Tom Sallee and continuously updated. Three evidence-based pillars shape every lesson, every course, and every professional learning experience CPM offers.
CPM's Three Pillars were synthesized from NCTM standards and constructivism research in the early 1990s by mathematician and co-founder Dr. Tom Sallee. They remain fully validated by current mathematics education research — their benefits continue to deepen and expand, not shift.
Pillar 01
Collaborative Learning
Students learn ideas more deeply when they discuss them with classmates. Collaborative Learning is a humanizing way to support students to engage in mathematical practices — the skills and dispositions necessary to participate in disciplinary discourse — for the production of mathematical knowledge and skills.
"Students learn ideas more deeply when they discuss ideas with classmates."
Pillar 02
Problem-Based Learning
Students learn ideas more usefully when they learn by attacking problems — ideally from the real world. When students understand how to solve problems rather than how to follow procedures, they develop mathematical authority and are more likely to enjoy and see the value in mathematics.
"Students learn ideas more usefully for other arenas when they learn by attacking problems."
Pillar 03
Mixed, Spaced Practice
Students learn ideas more permanently when they are required to engage and re-engage with them for months or even years. Mixed, Spaced Practice supports students in developing mathematical dispositions in which they strive to make sense of problems rather than mindlessly follow procedures.
"Students learn ideas more permanently when they re-engage with ideas for months or even years."
Dr. Tom Sallee, mathematician and CPM co-founder, reviewed and synthesized the research on mathematics learning in relation to each of the Three Pillars. These 2024 reports represent the most current version of that evidence base. Download each report to read the full research behind CPM's curriculum design.
2024 Report
Research Base: Collaborative Learning
Collaborative Learning is a humanizing way to support students to engage in mathematical practices for the production of mathematical knowledge and skills. This report reviews the evidence behind CPM's collaborative classroom model.
2024 Report
Research Base: Problem-Based Learning
Problem-Based Learning supports students in learning mathematics in ways that will be useful in future classes, careers, and life — developing mathematical authority and a genuine appreciation for the value of mathematics.
2024 Report
Research Base: Mixed, Spaced Practice
Mixed, Spaced Practice supports students in developing mathematical dispositions that prioritize sense-making over procedures — building procedural fluency as they become proficient at identifying problem types and selecting strategies.
CPM Educational Program results in meaningful mathematics learning for students and supports teachers to implement high quality instruction aligned with Common Core math content and practice standards. These reports and stories document CPM's impact across diverse school contexts.
CPM & Us Stories: Experiential Impact
Clarkston Community Schools
Identifying the benefits of collaborative inquiry-based learning in co-present and virtual settings
Download PDFWorthington City Schools
Shifting teaching towards conceptual understanding and productive struggle
Download PDFSanta Ana USD
De-mystifying standards-based teaching for emergent bilinguals
Download PDFCPM Performance Reports
Core Connections
Large Urban Middle School Large Urban High School Medium Suburban Impoverished Public School District Medium Suburban Affluent Public High School Rural Public High SchoolInspiring Connections
Medium Suburban Affluent Public Middle SchoolCPM provides research briefs that synthesize current scholarship on various topics in mathematics education. Each brief connects parents, teachers, and administrators with research about how mathematics education works — and why CPM's approach is grounded in it.
Designing Mathematics Instruction in the Wake of Crisis
In the current moment with crisis discourses of "learning loss" and "falling behind," many teachers are navigating felt tensions between meeting students where they are and maintaining the rigor of their curriculum.
Inclusion and Intervention: Understanding "Disability" in the Mathematics Classroom
How can we support students with learning and intellectual disabilities to experience productive struggle during collaborative problem-solving on cognitively demanding tasks?
Beyond Cooperation: Building Collaborative Classroom Cultures to Increase Engagement and Rigor
Collaborative and cooperative classrooms have different cultures: the former shaped by practices of inquiry and argumentation, and the latter by practices of strategy sharing and reporting.
It's Not I Do, We Do, You Do: Understanding the How and Why of CPM's Three-Part Lessons
CPM's three-part lesson structure supports students to have agency in and take ownership of their learning — quite different from the gradual release method of I Do / We Do / You Do.
CPM connects educators with research beyond our own publications. These two external collections address broader questions in mathematics education that are directly relevant to CPM's approach.
Annenberg Institute at Brown University
COVID EdResearch for Recovery
Research briefs focusing on recovery from COVID-19, with overarching topics covering student learning, school climate, supporting all students, teachers and leaders, and finances and operations.
Visit Annenberg WebsiteUniversity of Southern California Rossier School
Persistent Questions of Education
The Answer Lab at USC's Rossier School of Education has research briefs focusing on persistent questions of education — foundational questions that shape how schools operate and how students learn.
Visit the USC Answer Lab website for the full collection of briefs.
Interested in Researching CPM?
CPM funds independent research through the Exploratory Research Award. Applications open annually with a June 1 deadline.
2.3.4
Defining Concavity
4.4.1
Characteristics of Polynomial Functions
5.2.6
Semi-Log Plots
5 Closure
Closure How Can I Apply It? Activity 3
9.3.1
Transition States
9.3.2
Future and Past States
10.3.1
The Parametrization of Functions, Conics, and Their Inverses
10.3.2
Vector-Valued Functions
11.1.5
Rate of Change of Polar Functions
This professional learning is designed for teachers as they begin their implementation of CPM. This series contains multiple components and is grounded in multiple active experiences delivered over the first year. This learning experience will encourage teachers to adjust their instructional practices, expand their content knowledge, and challenge their beliefs about teaching and learning. Teachers and leaders will gain first-hand experience with CPM with emphasis on what they will be teaching. Throughout this series educators will experience the mathematics, consider instructional practices, and learn about the classroom environment necessary for a successful implementation of CPM curriculum resources.
Page 2 of the Professional Learning Progression (PDF) describes all of the components of this learning event and the additional support available. Teachers new to a course, but have previously attended Foundations for Implementation, can choose to engage in the course Content Modules in the Professional Learning Portal rather than attending the entire series of learning events again.
