Rochelle Gutierrez
Professor, Curriculum & Instruction
Contact
392 Education Building
392 Education Bldg (mail code 708)
Champaign (UIUC Campus Mail), IL 61820
Topics
Biography
Dr. Gutierrez' scholarship focuses on issues of identity and power in mathematics education, paying particular attention to how race, class, and language affect teaching and learning. Through in-depth analyses of effective teaching/learning communities and longitudinal studies of developing and practicing teachers, her work challenges deficit views of students who are Latinx, Black, and Indigenous and suggests that mathematics teachers need to be prepared with much more than just content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, or knowledge of diverse students if they are going to be successful. They need political knowledge. Her current research projects focus upon: developing in pre-service teachers the knowledge and disposition to teach powerful mathematics to urban students; the roles of uncertainty, tensions, and "Nepantla" in teaching; and the political knowledge (and forms of creative insubordination) that mathematics teachers need to effectively "rehumanize" mathematics in an era of high-stakes education. She also builds upon Indigenous principles and has argued for a new form of mathematics where humans are no long centered. This form of mathematics is referred to as living mathematx.
Key Professional Appointments
- Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Professor, Latina/Latino Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Professor, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Awards, Honors, Associations
TODOS Iris M. Carl Equity and Leadership Award, TODOS: Mathematics for ALL, 2016
AMTE Excellence in Scholarship Award, Association of Mathemetics Teacher Educators, 2011
Fulbright Scholar Award, United States Department of State, 2003
Research & Service
Dr. Gutierrez' scholarship focuses on issues of identity and power in mathematics education, paying particular attention to how race, class, and language affect teaching and learning. Through in-depth analyses of effective teaching/learning communities and longitudinal studies of developing and practicing teachers, her work challenges deficit views of students who are Latinx, Black, and Indigenous and suggests that mathematics teachers need to be prepared with much more than just content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, or knowledge of diverse students if they are going to be successful. They need political knowledge. Her current research projects focus upon: developing in pre-service teachers the knowledge and disposition to teach powerful mathematics to urban students; the roles of uncertainty, tensions, and "Nepantla" in teaching; and the political knowledge (and forms of creative insubordination) that mathematics teachers need to effectively "rehumanize" mathematics in an era of high-stakes education. She also builds upon Indigenous principles and has argued for a new form of mathematics where humans are no long centered. This form of mathematics is referred to as living mathematx.
Publications
Gutiérrez, R., Myers, M., & Kokka, K. (2023). The stories we tell: Why unpacking narratives of mathematics is important for teacher conocimiento. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 70, Article 101025. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2022). A Spiritual Turn: Toward Desire-Based Research and Indigenous Futurity in Mathematics Education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 53(5), 379-388. link >
Goffney, I., Gutiérrez, R., & Boston, M. (Eds.) (2018). Rehumanizing Mathematics for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Students. (Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education; Vol. 2018). National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Gutiérrez, R. (2018). Introduction: The Need to Rehumanize Mathematics. In I. Goffney, R. Gutiérrez, & M. Boston (Eds.), Rehumanizing Mathematics for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Students (Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education; Vol. 2018). National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Gutiérrez, R. (2018). When Mathematics Teacher Educators Come Under Attack. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 6(2), 68-74. link >
Gutierrez, R. (2017). Living Mathematx: Towards a Vision for the Future. Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal, November 2017(32).
Gutierrez, R. (2017). Political Conocimiento for Teaching Mathematics: Why Teachers Need It and How to Develop It. In S. E. Kastberg, A. M. Tyminski, A. E. Lischka, & W. B. Sanchez (Eds.), Building Support for Scholarly Practices in Mathematics Methods (pp. 11-38). (The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) Professional Book Series). Information Age Publishing Inc..
Gutierrez, R., Gerardo, J. M., Vargas, G. E., & Irving, S. E. (2017). Rehearsing for the Politics of Teaching Mathematics. In S. E. Kastberg, A. M. Tyminski, A. E. Lischka, & W. B. Sanchez (Eds.), Building Support for Scholarly Practices in Mathematics Methods (pp. 149-164). (The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) Professional Book Series). Information Age Publishing Inc..
Gutierrez, R. (2017). Why Mathematics (Education) was Late to the Backlash Party: The Need for a Revolution. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 10(2), 8-24. link >
Gutierrez, R. (2016). Strategies for Creative Insubordination in Mathematics Teaching. Teaching for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics, 7(1), 52-60.
Gutiérrez, R. (2016). Nesting in Nepantla: The Importance of Maintaining Tensions in Our Work. In N. M. Joseph, C. Haynes, & F. Cobb (Eds.), Interrogating Whiteness and Relinquishing Power: White Faculty’s Commitment to Racial Consciousness in STEM Classrooms (Social Justice Across Contexts in Education ). Peter Lang Publishing. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2015). HOLA: Hunt for Opportunities–Learn–Act. The Mathematics Teacher, 109(4), 270-277. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2014). Improving education and the mistaken focus on ‘raising test scores’ and ‘closing the achievement gap’. In Finding Better Solutions for the Future of Public Education (pp. 28-39). Taylor and Francis. link >
D'Ambrosio, B., Frankenstein, M., Gutiérrez, R., Kastberg, S., Martin, D. B., Moschkovich, J., Taylor, E., & Barnes, D. (2013). Addressing racism. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(1), 23-36. link >
D'Ambrosio, B., Frankenstein, M., Gutiérrez, R., Kastberg, S., Martin, D. B., Moschkovich, J., Taylor, E., & Barnes, D. (2013). Introduction to the JRME equity special issue. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(1), 5-10. link >
D'Ambrosio, B., Frankenstein, M., Gutiérrez, R., Kastberg, S., Martin, D. B., Moschkovich, J., Taylor, E., & Barnes, D. (2013). Positioning oneself in mathematics education research. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(1), 11-22. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2013). The sociopolitical turn in mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(1), 37-68. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2013). Why (Urban) Mathematics Teachers Need Political Knowledge. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 6(2). link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2012). Context matters: How should we conceptualize equity in mathematics education? In B. Herbel-Eisenmann, J. Choppin, D. Wagner, & D. Pimm (Eds.), Equity in Discourse for Mathematics Education: Theories, Practices, and Policies (pp. 17-33). (Mathematics Education Library; Vol. 55). Springer. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2012). Embracing Nepantla: Rethinking "Knowledge" and its Use in Mathematics Teaching. Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 1(1). link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2012). Stand and Deliver: The Challenge of Language to the Study of Mathematics. In A. N. Valdivia, & M. Garcia (Eds.), Mapping Latina/o Studies: An Interdisciplinary Reader (Intersections in Communications and Culture). Peter Lang Publishing.
Gutiérrez, R., & Dixon-Román, E. (2011). Beyond gap gazing: How can thinking about education comprehensively help us (Re)envision mathematics education? In Mapping Equity and Quality in Mathematics Education (pp. 21-34). Springer. link >
Dance, L. J., Gutiérrez, R., & Hermes, M. (2010). More like jazz than classical: Reciprocal interactions among educational researchers and respondents. Harvard Educational Review, 80(3), 327-351. link >
Gutierrez, R. (2009). Embracing the Inherent Tensions in Teaching Mathematics from an Equity Stance. Democracy & Education, 18(3), 9-16.
Gutierrez, R. (2008). A "gap-gazing" fetish in mathematics education? Problematizing research on the achievement gap. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4), 357-364.
Gutierrez, R. (2008). What is "Nepantla" and how can it help physics education researchers conceptualize knowledge for teaching? In 2008 Physics Education Research Conference (pp. 231-234). (AIP Conference Proceedings; Vol. 1064). link >
Lubienski, S. T., & Gutiérrez, R. (2008). Bridging the gaps in perspectives on equity in mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4), 365-371.
Gutierrez, R. (2002). Enabling the Practice of Mathematics Teachers in Context: Toward a New Equity Research Agenda. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 4(2-3), 145-187. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2002). Beyond essentialism: The complexity of language in teaching mathematics to Latina/o students. American Educational Research Journal, 39(4), 1047-1088. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2000). Advancing African-American, urban youth in mathematics: Unpacking the success of one Math department. American Journal of Education, 109(1), 63-111. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (2000). Is the multiculturalization of mathematics doing us more harm than good? In R. Mahalingam, & C. McCarthy (Eds.), Multicultural Curriculum: New Directions for Social Theory, Practice, and Policy (pp. 199-220). Taylor and Francis. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (1999). Advancing Urban Latina/o Youth in Mathematics: Lessons from an Effective High School Mathematics Department. Urban Review, 31(3), 263-281. link >
Gutiéarrez, R. (1998). Departments as contexts for understanding and reforming secondary teachers’ work: Continuing the dialogue. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 30(1), 95-104. link >
Gutiérrez, R. (1996). Practices, beliefs and cultures of high school mathematics departments: Understanding their influence on student advancement. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 28(5), 495-529. link >
Teaching
I teach secondary mathematics methods courses to students who are undergraduates in mathematics and seeking a minor in Education. I also teach a large undergraduate seminar on Social Justice, Schooling, and Society that is open to students from all disciplines, not just education.
For practicing teachers and graduate students in the College of Education, I teach courses in sociopolitical perspectives on mathematics and science education, urban education, and the Mathematics Science and Engineering Pro-seminar that prepares graduate students to write research articles and understand the publishing process.
Courses
CI 404: Teaching and Assessing Secondary School Students (CI 404) Emphasizes the practical application of theory and recommended practices for developing curriculum, teaching, and assessing learning in the middle and senior high school years.
CI 508: Urban Schools and Schooling (CI 508) This course is for anyone interested in issues of education in urban settings. It provides an overview of sociopolitical perspectives on teaching and learning for Latina/o, African American, American Indian, English learners, and other marginalized youth. The course explores how issues of identity and power are negotiated by students, communities, and teachers. Participants in the course will develop an understanding on how racism, classism, and the politics of language operate within urban schools. An emphasis of the course is on solutions that address social justice.
CI 547: Sociopolitical Perspectives on Mathematics and Science Education (CI 547) This course is for anyone interested in equity-related issues in mathematics and science education. It provides an overview of sociopolitical perspectives on mathematics and science education, including how issues of identity, power, and equity play out in teachings, learning, and research. Students will develop an understanding of how racism, classism, and the politics of language operate within mathematics and science classroom and in the practice of mathematics and science in society at large. An emphasis of the course is on solutions that address social justice.
EDUC 202: Social Justice, School and Society (EDUC 202) Examines the nature of justice and the dynamics of a pluralistic society to derive a conception of social justice. Working with this conception, it asks how schools function to perpetuate and/or remediate social injustice. The course will consider the history and nature of schooling, issues of access and tracking, and notions of the public and the common. The course is designed for students interested in reflecting on their own educational histories, for those considering careers in teaching, and for all future parents and citizens needing to be able to reflect critically on justice, school, and society.