September 2023

CPM’s Teacher Research Corps is a powerful form of teacher-driven professional learning that CPM funds as part of its mission to recognize and foster teacher expertise and leadership in mathematics education. Is TRC a good fit for you or for teachers you support? The answer might be yes if:

• You are a teacher looking to broaden your community of like-minded teachers to collaborate with.
• You are a coach looking to support teachers to develop a reflective practice. 
• You are an administrator looking to support teachers’ learning and leadership within your mathematics department. 

Do not let the idea of doing “research” scare you: teachers who join TRC come back year after year and report it as some of the best professional learning they have ever participated in. Maybe this is because TRC is teacher-driven professional learning: teachers reflect on their classroom practice and articulate challenges they are facing. They find like-minded colleagues in TRC who are interested in investigating those challenges together. They meet monthly with their team and with the TRC Leadership Team. Everyone in TRC works collaboratively to troubleshoot challenges and document progress. 

We would like to share some reflections from this year’s TRC cohort to share about the power of this form of professional development. 

We asked Teacher Researchers: Why did you choose TRC?

On the first of TRC’s three-day summer institute, Teacher Researchers reflected on what motivated them to participate in TRC. These thoughts are from one investigative team that formed this June at the TRC 10.0 Institute. They titled their group “Asset-based collaborative assessments” to reflect their topic of investigation for the year. They posed their focal question as

“How can we approach assessment in a way that is asset-based, aligned with collaborative classroom practices, and focused on understanding over time?” 

There are four Teacher Researchers on this team, they come from widely different contexts, with experiences ranging from newer to more veteran teachers, and from being new to TRC to TRC veterans. Each teacher has their own reasons for joining TRC. Which reasons resonate with you?

TRC continues to be the best form of PD that I have ever had the opportunity to participate in. I come back to TRC each year because I enjoy collaborating with teachers from around the country. I also enjoy working with the TRC leadership team who help me find ideas to bring math to students who do not see themselves as a math person. I feel rejuvenated every summer coming into the new school year after TRC with a plan of ways to improve my own teaching for my students, as well as every month when I get to discuss ideas and solutions with my teammates. It has made me a far better teacher than I could have been without the collaboration!

Laura Bell
Laura is a 17-year teaching veteran. She teaches 7th (IC2) and 8th grade (CCA) math at a rural middle school with 37% free and reduced lunch.

I am here because I believe that TRC makes me a better teacher not only for my students, but for the other teachers in my district. My classroom experience contributes to this because I believe that my students deserve to have the very best education that I can provide, and I believe that in the 12th grade, they are on their way to the rest of their lives.

Janine Scott
Janine is a 20-year teaching veteran. She teaches 11th (CCA2) and 12th grade (PreCalc) math at an urban high school with 82% free and reduced lunch. 

I am here because I want to improve my practice of teaching and I know that CPM’s TRC is a place to work with like-minded (in terms of the core beliefs of CPM teachers) but a diverse group of teachers and supporters. I hope that what I do here and over the course of the year will lead to a better experience for my students and better learning outcomes for them, not just this year but in their futures. I am hoping to improve how I implement Building Thinking Classrooms and incorporate authentic real-world problem solving to help students learn how to be better citizens.

Carrie Velasco
Carrie is a 13-year teaching veteran. She teaches 11th and 12th grade (INT3) math at a suburban high school with 16% free and reduced lunch. 

I am doing TRC to become a better teacher for my students. My intention is to learn more about learning, and my hope is to support all students in their curiosity and creativity. CPM professional learning is always something that I come back to. I am excited to work with like-minded teachers.

Brooke Nixon
Brooke is a 5-year teaching veteran. She teaches 7th (CC2) and 8th grade (CC3) math at a suburban middle school with 16% free and reduced lunch. 

Want to learn more? 

CPM’s Teacher Researchers earn an annual stipend to support the extra work that they do during the school year. Their travel and lodging to TRC Institute are covered by CPM. Applications for the 2024-25 school year open in January 2024-March 2024. To learn more, contact TRC’s Program Manager, Mark Coté, at markcote@cpm.org. 

Keep an eye out for insights from Teacher Researchers: 

• in CPM’s Newsletter from Teacher Researchers. 
• at CPM’s Annual Teacher Conference.