ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a “deep dive” into the third dimension of the TRU Framework, Equitable Access to Mathematics, and the Equitable Access targets. We begin by discussing the concept of equitable access. Access to what? Every student must be able to engage productively with meaningful and powerful mathematics. But the issues are subtle. Who participates in classroom activities and in what ways? Do all students have opportunities to engage with important content and contribute to collective discussions? How is diversity valued, and how are students’ widely divergent backgrounds and experiences leveraged to create rich learning opportunities for all students? How are classroom tasks and activities constructed, so that as many students as possible can contribute meaningfully? We then introduce the equitable access targets, showing how they can be used to raise questions about the tasks and activities we use, and make tasks more accessible and meaningful to more students. We then take three tasks, one each at the elementary, middle, and secondary grade levels. For each task we work through the targets, showing how the targets can be used to open up the task so that more students can engage with it productively.
