Announcing the Summer Teacher Lab!

Introducing the Summer Teacher Lab: A Transformative Week of Learning for Teachers and Students

In June 2026, Math Medic Foundation, in collaboration with Math Medic, will launch the Summer Teacher Lab, a powerful, weeklong professional learning experience in the Grand Rapids, MI area. Inspired by the groundbreaking Elementary Mathematics Lab developed by Deborah Loewenberg Ball at the University of Michigan, this program gives teachers a rare opportunity to study teaching practice as it happens with real students, unpacking real mathematics, with real opportunities to shift instruction toward equity and deep understanding.

Why Teachers Will Love This Experience

Most professional development tells teachers what strong instructional practice looks like. The Summer Teacher Lab lets you see it, analyze it, and practice it.

Across five days (Monday–Friday), 15-20 teachers from across the country will observe live math instruction by Sarah Stecher, model teacher and Chief Content Creator for Math Medic. They will:

See what strengths-based, conceptually rich instruction looks and feels like.
Analyze student thinking, instructional decisions, and active learning routines.
Study how equitable teaching moves shape student math identity.
Learn how to apply teaching principles observed in the lessons to their/your own classroom.

Teachers receive 30-32 hours of intensive in-person PD, plus three virtual follow-up sessions during the school year to support long-term implementation. Teachers selected for this experience will receive a $1,000 stipend for their work upon completion of the program.

The Teacher Lab centers teacher growth in four core outcomes:

1. Developing a strengths-based mindset.
2. Understanding the impact of equitable teaching on student identity.
3. Shifting from an emphasis on procedures to teaching for conceptual understanding.
4. Sustaining new practices that influence generations of students.

Student Learning: Identity, Confidence, and Collaboration

While teachers observe, 20-25 rising 9th and 10th graders participate in rich mathematics tasks built around collaboration, communication, and reasoning. Students engage in 12 hours of instruction (Tuesday-Friday) that help them:

Strengthen their math identity and sense of belonging.
Build confidence in seeing themselves as “math people.”
Develop problem-solving skills and collaborative habits.
Share reasoning clearly and engage with classmates’ thinking.

This is not a remediation program. Students are selected through teacher recommendation and parent consent, with an emphasis on those who demonstrate potential and perseverance but may lack confidence in their identity as a doer of mathematics.

Grounded in the ICUCARE Framework

The program is guided by Dr. Pamela Seda’s ICUCARE Framework, which emphasizes Identity, Criticality, Usefulness, and Care. ICUCARE shapes:

Student selection
Teacher learning sessions
Survey design
Daily reflection structures

The result: a learning environment where both students and teachers experience mathematics as meaningful, humanizing, and intellectually rich.

Learning That Lasts Beyond the Week

To understand impact and sustain growth, students and teachers complete surveys at the beginning and end of the week, and again at 3- and 6-month intervals. These surveys include measures of math identity and belonging for students, and instructional strategies and mindsets for teachers.

Why This Matters

Math identity gaps remain wide across the country. Nationally, only about 30% of low-income students report high confidence in math, and pandemic-related gaps continue to disproportionately affect high-poverty communities. Traditional professional development has rarely addressed these realities effectively.

The Summer Teacher Lab is different. It brings together students and teachers in a shared space that centers equity, identity, and meaningful mathematics, creating visible, tangible examples of what is possible when instruction honors students’ strengths and voices.

Applications Open Early 2026

If you’re ready for a summer experience that aims to truly develop you as a teaching professional, stay tuned. Applications for teachers and student nomination forms will be released in early 2026.

Math Medic Foundation looks forward to welcoming educators from across the nation to this exciting new professional learning experience.


Pete Grostic Executive Director	Sarah Stecher Board Secretary

Please join Math Medic Foundation in our mission to improve math outcomes for all. You can contact us to get involved or donate here.

11/17/2025