ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan education professor Edward Silver has won the 2007 Iris Carl Memorial Leadership and Equity Award for helping improve the quality of mathematics education provided to Latino/Hispanic and other minorities.

Silver, the William A. Brownell Collegiate Professor of Education, teaches mathematics education and currently serves as associate dean for academic affairs at the U-M School of Education. The award is presented annually by TODOS, a national organization of mathematics educators.

Silver has been a leader in the field of mathematics education by initiating programs in urban schools that addressed the needs of underserved learners. Silver was also recognized for his groundbreaking research in equity.

For much of the 1990s, Silver directed the QUASAR project, an ambitious experiment that stimulated and studied efforts to improve math instruction in urban middle schools.

As the project’s director, he led the field of math education in new directions toward equity for all students by initiating programs that addressed the achievement gap in urban schools. The project supported teachers’ efforts to enhance math instruction by emphasizing reasoning and problem solving.

Results demonstrated that such instruction could lead to substantial gains in the math achievement of all students.

QUASAR’s legacy has provided a framework that has been used by educators working to close the achievement gap among underserved populations, the judges concluded. The project was also considered a fertile field for the development of leaders of subsequent initiatives related to equity in math education in universities and schools across the nation.

The Iris Carl Memorial Leadership and Equity Award was established by TODOS: Mathematics for All in 2005 to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions to the quality of mathematics education provided to Latino/Hispanic and other minority students. The award is named in honor of Carl, a former president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, who throughout her career worked steadfastly to champion the cause of excellence and equity in mathematics education.

TODOS is an Affiliate-at-Large of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

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