Education systems in Guatemala and Ecuador fail to equip students with the skills to engage productively in society, let alone unlock their potential to transform it. Only small percentages of students reach a minimum level of math proficiency:

• 11% in Guatemala
• 29% in Ecuador

In rural and marginalized areas, teachers in our partner schools do not have access to the quality resources that support the development of students’ critical thinking and problem-solving. If a school is fortunate enough to have a few textbooks, math lessons often strictly follow traditional, teacher-centered formulas. Classrooms lack hands-on tools that help students hone their math thinking skills.

Our MathMobile coaches equip teachers with evidence-based teaching resources and how to use them. Teams of educators across schools collaborate on strategies that undergird student learning with concrete math tools. They also develop an understanding of research-based principles of effective teaching.

Hands-on math exploration allows students to build a deep understanding as they make sense of abstract concepts. Teachers receive their own quality manipulatives to use with their students.

Our coaches provide ongoing support so teachers can apply the new tools to different contexts and grade levels. When teachers combine quality resources with evidence-based strategies, math lessons become more engaging and student-centered.

“I learned strategies that I had no idea existed.”

“I applied what I learned in my classroom with two children who had great difficulty. With this resource, both children developed the skills.”

At the beginning of a recent MathMobile series, more than 90% of the teachers were unfamiliar with the resource. By the end, all of the participants reported that they not only were familiar with it but had applied their new knowledge. Some of them had even taught it to colleagues.

The average score across all MathMobile courses on “meeting teacher expectations” is 8.8 out of 10.