About Jen Knudsen

My work has centered on what it takes for students — especially those who have been least recognized as mathematical thinkers — to reason, argue, and build real mathematical understanding: through classroom discourse, through making, and through curriculum that uses technology to open rather than narrow the mathematics. I work with schools, districts, and organizations that want professional learning grounded in real mathematics, aligned to their specific goals and students, and designed to make a difference whether it unfolds over a single day or an entire school year.

Expertise

Teacher Professional Learning

• Human-centered AI assistance for lesson planning

• Mathematical argumentation and classroom discourse

• High-cognitive-demand instruction for diverse learners

• Presumption of competence: helping teachers see and build on student strengths, not just address deficits

Curriculum Design & Implementation

• Project-based mathematics learning, including math-and-making

• Curriculum adaptation for language accessibility and neurodiverse learners

• Implementation support for high-quality instructional materials

STEM Equity

• Reviewing curriculum for adoption through an equity lens

• Promoting instructional approaches that ensure genuine opportunity to learn for all students

• Supporting districts in serving students historically underserved in mathematics education

 Background

• Designing and leading professional learning for math teachers, in urban and rural districts

• Curriculum design and research across upper elementary and middle school mathematics and computational thinking

• Directed NSF-funded projects at SRI International and TERC in teacher professional learning, and curriculum design—including mathematics and computational thinking

• Co-author, Mathematical Argumentation in Middle School (Corwin Press, 2018)

• Certified AI Literacy Trainer

• Started as a high school math and computer science teacher, New York City Public Schools