Our Projects
Reimagining Math 3: A Mindset Math and Coherent Math Collaboration
This youth–adult partnership supports Coherent Math Consulting’s design of a customized Math 3 curriculum for Denver Public Schools. Based on actual surveys of Denver students' interests and needs, the district-wide initiative aims to create a customized high school math course that helps students understand the world and their communities through data, modeling, and real-life contexts—aligning mathematics with the decisions and challenges teens navigate every day.
The Mindset Math team's role is to contribute authentic youth perspectives, offering detailed feedback and design ideas that help ensure the course feels meaningful, empowering, and connected to students’ futures. All contributions respect Coherent Math’s intellectual property and support the long-term refinement of the curriculum.
Why this matters
According to analyses by experts like Pamela Burdman, traditional math pathways—often culminating in calculus— act as gatekeepers to opportunities, particularly for underserved students. Despite the costs, research shows that many professionals rarely use advanced math and instead rely more on data literacy and computational thinking (Burdman, 2025). Aside from adopting a context-dependent rather than one-size-fits-all approach to curriculum design, this project aligns with the broader movement to move math education beyond rote symbolic manipulation and toward learning that reflects the realities of the modern world.
MathVoyagers: Imagining the Future of Math Learning with GenAI
Upcoming
In a world where education systems are under pressure to become more inclusive, equitable, and responsive, generative AI presents both a challenge and an opportunity. MathVoyagers explores how we might harness this technology to rethink how students engage with math—through personalized, AI-supported learning. Spearheaded by Dr. Jie Chao, a senior learning scientist at the Concord Consortium and founder of MV Squared, the project invites K-12 students to co-develop and test a platform that guides learners through AMC-style problems with encouragement, feedback, and space for reflection.
Grounded in UNESCO’s call for “a human-centred and pedagogically appropriate interaction” between learners and AI, MathVoyagers emphasizes GenAI not as a replacement for thinking, but as a companion for curiosity, critical reasoning, and collaboration. Together, we are moving closer towards the vision of personalizing and democratizing challenging math learning and competition prep experiences for all students.
Since July 2025, Mindset Math team members have been working in small groups---devoting tens of hours to over 400 problem test runs, engaging friends and family members in user testing, fixing problem rendering issues, conducting AI performance analyses, planning for beta testing cohorts, and drafting independent proposals for improving the platform’s UX/UI design.
Game Changers: (Re)designing Board Games for Student-Centered Learning
Have you ever thought about how a simple board game could help students learn math and science concepts, develop design and problem-solving skills, and spark conversations about real-world challenges?
What if The Game of Life reflected real-world housing prices, or Monopoly began with unequal starting money to mirror economic disparities? What if Jenga modeled a ecosystem where losing several keystone species leads to its collapse? What if a simple card game became a way for students to learn math collaboratively and challenge each other with difficult concepts? In Game Changers, students don’t just play—they design their own games or transform familiar games into hands-on platforms for STEM learning, creativity, and critical thinking.
This project is grounded in Seymour Papert (1980)’s constructionism, which emphasizes that learning is most powerful when it involves creating meaningful, shareable artifacts—“objects-to-think-with”—that help learners construct new knowledge. Aligned with this philosophy, Game Changers encourages student-driven exploration, experimentation, and reflection, repositioning instructors as facilitators and co-learners. Learn more about our approach here.
Mindful Mathletes: Integrating Positive Psychology Into Math Lessons
Image Courtesy of Instructional Coaches Corner
Inspired by Stanford Graduate School of Education professor Jo Boaler's book Mathematical Mindsets, Mindful Mathletes is uniquely designed to foster 4-8th graders' mathematical thinking, problem solving skills, and positive attitudes in math learning. The program aims to nurture growth mindsets and mathematical mindsets in students--positively shaping students' beliefs about their math abilities and their relationship with math. In each meeting, students will collaborate on a fun and challenging math task and explore multiple creative solutions; they will also delve into a fascinating psychology concept behind math learning, such as understanding growth v.s. fixed mindset, depth v.s. speed, etc. The program consists of 14+ detailed lesson plans and presentations.
Learn about our approach to Mindful Mathletes here.
In 2024, Mindset Math partnered with the National Math Foundation to create a kinesthetic version of the Mindful Mathletes curriculum, incorporating playful movements into traditional lessons and further enhancing students' engagement!
STEM & Stitches: Where Yarn Meets Math and Science
STEM & Stitches is a unique science communications and after-school enrichment program weaving together math, crochet, marine biology, and environmental science. Designed for students in 4th grade and up, the program teach various topics, such as the magic of Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, the art of crochet, and the beauty and ecological importance of coral reefs. As a final project, students create posters on their topics of interest and exhibit their crochet work in schools or online galleries, raising awareness about climate change and showcasing the intersection of math, community art, and science. The interdisciplinary program aims to spark students’ interest in STEM and expose them to the interconnections among seemingly unrelated ideas; meanwhile, the program incorporates sustainable development goals (SDGs) into the instruction. The program's design is inspired by the amazing and groundbreaking work of mathematician and artist Daina Taimina and science journalist Margaret Wertheim.
Around the World in 80 Math Problems: Kinesthetic & Interdisciplinary Journeys in Problem-Solving
Around the World in 80 Math Problems (AWI80MP) is a collaborative project between Mindset Math and the National Math Foundation (NMF). This program reimagines math instruction by integrating kinesthetic (movement-based) learning strategies with diverse real-world applications spanning fields like engineering, biology, chemistry, finance, and CS.
Mentored by NMF’s director and other educational experts, high school interns design engaging multisensory math activity guides tied to careers of their interests. This project culminates in one or a series of after-school events where high school interns use their designed activity guides and NMF-funded teaching tools to teach elementary and middle schoolers in their communities.
The project provides a platform for high schoolers to strengthen their teaching and leadership skills and build their expertise in research, reading, writing, and creative communication, ultimate the question of “how do we make math learning more enjoyable and relevant for kids”?
Meetings with Dr. Kirby Schoephoerster, director of the National Math Foundation, to discuss program design and implementation
The list does not end here! We constantly develop new projects or partner with existing ones.
If you are a high school student interested in proposing a project, please fill out the team application form as well as this survey. If you are an educational professional interested in collaboration. please fill out the Contact Us form at the bottom of our homepage. Thank you!