Culturally Sustaining UDL: Centering Belonging and Design in Mathematics
Dr. Cathery Yeh
March 3, 2026 (7-8 pm EST)
Description: How can we be responsive? Responsive to whom—and according to whom? This talk invites educators to reimagine mathematics teaching and learning through the lens of belonging and design. Together, we will confront pervasive myths and ideologies that shape mathematics education and center both student and teacher agency and resilience. Grounded in Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), this framework repositions responsiveness not as accommodation but as collective design—co-creating mathematics classrooms and schools where language, culture, and ways of knowing are recognized, sustained, and leveraged to deepen mathematical understanding and human connection.
Dr. Cathery Yeh, an associate professor of STEM Education at the University of Texas at Austin, has led Universal Design for Learning (UDL) implementation globally, partnering with educators across urban, inclusive, special education, and dual-language settings. Her research explores how UDL and culturally sustaining pedagogies foster inclusive classrooms that embrace and leverage students’ multidimensional identities, specifically disability, class, gender, race, and language. A writer for NCTM’s Catalyzing Change policy document and coauthor of Reimagining the Mathematics Classroom and Upper Elementary Mathematics Lessons to Explore, Understand, and Respond to Social Injustice, she has published widely on equitable mathematics teaching. Her favorite place remains the classroom, learning alongside teachers, students, and families.