Sarah Sword, mathematics education expert and senior research scientist, has extensive experience in research, instructional design, professional development, assessment design, and strategies to improve the quality and equity of K–20 mathematics learning and teaching. She co-leads an initiative with Iowa State to study the experiences of successful doctoral students and PhD graduates from underrepresented groups in mathematics.
As principal investigator for the Center for Inquiry and Equity in Mathematics and the Center for Scholarship of School Mathematics, Sword created a fellowship model that supports faculty in deepening their practice of mathematics and thinking about equitable practices in mathematics. As a co-director of research for Designing for Equity by Thinking in and about Mathematics, she advanced knowledge of how to shift secondary teachers’ thinking about mathematics and equity.
Sword co-authored Mathematical Learning and Understanding in Education and has published numerous chapters and articles. She also co-developed the CME Project, a four-year high school curriculum.
Sword holds a PhD in Commutative Algebra from Michigan State University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Maryland.