Student-Centered Curriculum
The Research Behind CPM’s Curriculum
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.
On this page
CPM’s three pillars
The research behind every lesson
Mathematician and co-founder Dr. Tom Sallee synthesized the three pillars from NCTM standards and constructivist research in the early 1990s. Current research still validates them, and their benefits keep deepening.
“Students learn ideas more deeply when they discuss ideas with classmates.”
“Students learn ideas more usefully for other arenas when they learn by attacking problems.”
“Students learn ideas more permanently when they re-engage with ideas for months or even years.”
Dr. Tom Sallee
Mathematician and CPM co-founder
How the research base started
CPM’s 2024 research base reports
Dr. Tom Sallee reviewed and synthesized the research on math learning for each of the three pillars. These 2024 reports are the most current version of that evidence base.
Research base: Collaborative Learning
How CPM’s collaborative classroom model engages students in mathematical practices, and the evidence behind it.PDF2024 reportResearch base: Problem-Based Learning
How learning through problems prepares students for future classes, careers and life, building mathematical authority.PDF2024 reportResearch base: Mixed, Spaced Practice
How spaced practice prioritizes sense-making and builds fluency as students learn to identify problem types and choose strategies.PDFCPM results
A multidimensional view of impact
CPM results in meaningful math learning for students and supports teachers to deliver high-quality instruction aligned to Common Core content and practice standards. These stories and reports document that impact across very different schools.
CPM & Us stories · experiential impact
Clarkston Community Schools
The benefits of collaborative, inquiry-based learning in in-person and virtual settings.
Read the story (PDF)OhioWorthington City Schools
Shifting teaching toward conceptual understanding and productive struggle.
Read the story (PDF)CaliforniaSanta Ana USD
De-mystifying standards-based teaching for emergent bilinguals.
Read the story (PDF)Performance reports · by school type
For parents, teachers and administrators
Research briefs
Short syntheses of current scholarship in math education, connecting families and educators with how math learning works and why CPM’s approach rests on it.
Designing mathematics instruction in the wake of crisis
Amid “learning loss” and “falling behind” discourse, many teachers feel torn between meeting students where they are and keeping the rigor of their curriculum.
Read the executive summary (PDF)2Brief 02Inclusion and intervention: understanding “disability” in the math classroom
How can we support students with learning and intellectual disabilities to experience productive struggle in collaborative problem-solving on demanding tasks?
Read the executive summary (PDF)3Brief 03Beyond cooperation: building collaborative classroom cultures
Collaborative and cooperative classrooms have different cultures: one shaped by inquiry and argumentation, the other by strategy sharing and reporting.
Read the executive summary (PDF)4Brief 04It’s not I do, we do, you do: CPM’s three-part lessons
CPM’s three-part lesson gives students agency and ownership of their learning, quite different from the gradual release model.
Read the executive summary (PDF)Beyond CPM
Additional research resources
Two outside collections that tackle broader questions in math education, directly relevant to CPM’s approach.
EdResearch for Recovery
Research briefs on recovery from COVID-19, covering student learning, school climate, supporting all students, teachers and leaders, and finances and operations.
Visit the Annenberg websitePersistent Questions of Education
The Answer Lab’s research briefs on the foundational questions that shape how schools operate and how students learn.
Find the full collection on the USC Answer Lab website.
Fund new research
Interested in researching CPM?
CPM funds independent research through the Exploratory Research Award. Applications open annually with a June 1 deadline.
Get started
See the research at work in your classrooms
Explore a free preview of CPM courses and talk with our team about how the three pillars would look with your teachers and students.