Anti-stereotype threat intervention aims to increase student learning in mathematics
Gilbert Ramirez grew up in the working-class community of Wilmington, California. His grandfather, who did not speak English, worked as a ship scaler on the docks of Long Beach; his father did not finish high school. As one of six Latino children in his family who attended public schools in a low-income neighborhood, he knows all too well the sting of stereotypes claiming that learners like him are not expected to excel in school—particularly in mathematics—stereotypes that fuel low expectations for learning and educational success.
However, Ramirez also personally knows the benefits of consistent encouragement and the power of high expectations. His parents told him and his siblings they would all go to college—and all six went on to attend major universities. Ramirez earned an undergraduate degree at UCLA, followed by a teaching credential, and a master’s degree in education from the University of Phoenix. He became an acclaimed teacher and mathematics coach for other educators. During his rise as a teacher, Ramirez tutored his father and helped him earn his GED.
As an educator, teacher leader, and, at one point in his career, the only Latino math coach in a previous school district, Ramirez would again face stereotypes firsthand, with some colleagues doubting his knowledge and expertise. More troublingly, he saw some teachers openly express racial and gendered stereotypes about student ability—with some suggesting that specific groups were better suited for learning mathematics than others.
“That was unacceptable to me. My wife and I have three Latino children. I cannot be in a world as a father where these stereotypes about my children and their mathematical abilities are perpetuated,” Ramirez says. “I realized something was very wrong. How could these outdated beliefs still persist? My parents instilled in us that all people can learn. Furthermore, I had abundant evidence in support of this, as my students—who were of various racial backgrounds—achieved mathematical success year after year.”
In those moments, a seed was planted, and an idea began to take shape. Ramirez pursued research to explore ways to counter racial and gendered stereotypes in mathematics education. He enrolled in the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies’ Educational Leadership Program, where he recently earned his doctoral degree. His research focused on stereotypes—specifically, developing a unique methodology to disrupt “stereotype threat” in student learning and teaching—culminating in his dissertation, Anti-Stereotype Threat Pedagogy: A Neuroscience-Framed Approach to Closing Differential Learning Outcomes in High School Mathematics.
Stereotype threat occurs when a negative stereotype about one’s group becomes relevant in a particular situation or context. The fear of confirming the stereotype can create anxiety, which may limit students’ confidence in their potential, reduce their engagement in learning, and lead to lower exam performance and overall achievement.
“When someone is under stereotype threat in a math learning context, they may believe stereotypes that link their race or gender to their math ability or potential. Some students and teachers may think, ‘Maybe there’s some truth to that,'” says Ramirez. “That’s an under-addressed problem in the K–12 system. We need a new intervention to dismantle these stereotypes that directly says, ‘These assertions are not viable.'”
Ramirez’s research aims to do just that.
As a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership Program, Ramirez developed the Anti-Stereotype Threat Pedagogy (ASTP) intervention. His dissertation explored its impact on student perceptions of their math potential, engagement, and achievement.
In developing ASTP, Ramirez drew on his undergraduate studies in anthropology and neuroscience at UCLA. His anthropology professors emphasized that while we may recognize and celebrate many ethnicities and cultures, biologically and anthropologically, there is only one race—the human race. In neuroscience, Ramirez learned about “neuroplasticity,” the brain’s ability to change, make new connections and adapt, and “neurogenesis,” the brain’s ability to generate new neurons (brain cells).
“We are all human, and humans have neuroplasticity and neurogenesis,” Ramirez explains. “These neurological abilities demonstrate the brain’s perpetual learning capacity. Humans have the potential for ongoing growth and skill development.”
In his study, Ramirez hypothesized that countering racial or gendered perceptions of math potential with such neuroscientific evidence could alleviate stereotype threat and improve student engagement and achievement. Essentially, he argued that by helping students understand these neurological facts, they could see they have the same potential to learn mathematics as anyone else. Even if they had struggled with math before, their brains could change and improve.
Ramirez had his work cut out for him. Strong perceptions persist in popular culture that only certain types of people excel in mathematics, and many students believe in stereotypes that falsely link math ability to race and gender. Too often, students internalize these messages.
In student interviews, Ramirez observed learners struggle with stereotypes and their beliefs about learning math. “What surprised me was the absolute nature of students’ beliefs. It was very troubling to hear students say things like, ‘I always believed I would never achieve in math. I just thought I was never going to be good at math,'” Ramirez recalls. “They used words like ‘never’ and ‘always.’ Some students were also very absolute in their self-branding as deficient math learners. The heartbreaking part was how deeply ingrained these stereotypes and beliefs remained, despite the growth mindset emphasized by school districts.”
The ASTP intervention developed by Ramirez incorporates several key elements:
- Professional development for teachers to help them understand stereotype threat, its neurological impact, and how it restrains engagement and achievement.
- Interactive student modules and modified lesson cycle activities—derived from neuroscience and stereotype threat research—to support student engagement and positive self-perceptions of math potential.
- Modified lesson structures to optimize gender and racial diversity in student groups as learners collaborate toward learning goals.
“This is the first research that combines multiple anti-stereotype threat strategies in a neuroscience pedagogical framework, to include a teacher training manual, student modules that help learners understand their neurological capacity, and lesson activities to increase engagement through self-affirmations and the inclusion of diverse role models in mathematics,” Ramirez says.
“The goal is to educate teachers on how stereotype threat operates and empower them to help students understand neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. This, in turn, equips students with the neuroscientific evidence to counter stereotype threat.
“We want to shift learners’ perceptions, especially for Latino, Black, and female math learners who may be susceptible to stereotype threat in math. We help students make these connections and ask, ‘What implications does this have for my math ability?’ Understanding that ‘If I have this capacity in my brain, and if I put in the effort, I actually can learn math,’ convinces them their effort isn’t in vain. With the appropriate effort and support, we can all grow our ability, like building muscle in the gym. It’s the same concept,” Ramirez explains.
The research followed four teachers and 75 high school students participating in ASTP. Students completed pre- and post-intervention surveys and participated in focus groups to assess their self-perceptions around math potential and engagement.
Ramirez found that for most students (74%), self-perceptions of their math potential increased. Students and teachers reported a transformative experience, as exposure to neuroscientific evidence led to assurances among participants about the brain’s capacity for continual learning. This challenged—and, in some cases, reversed—deficit-based perceptions of math potential.
Students also increased their overall math engagement, with nearly two-thirds (61.3%) reporting increased engagement after six weeks in ASTP. Additionally, three of the four teachers reported that their students improved academic performance on math exams by the end of the intervention. Notably, teachers and students linked performance increases to engagement shifts driven by changes in self-perception.
“I think this research is important because, for the first time, we are introducing compelling neuroscientific evidence that helps learners and teachers understand that all learners can achieve in mathematics and overtly reject racial or gendered stereotypes to the contrary,” Ramirez says.
“We aimed to present a methodology for addressing racial and gendered differences in math achievement by reshaping perceptions and reinforcing the engagement necessary for academic success. Although my study did not track causality, the findings suggest that psychological factors are just as important as math standards and pedagogy. What students believe about their math potential can have a considerable influence on their engagement and performance. When a student understands how their brain learns, they are equipped with the evidence needed to dismiss stereotypes, re-engage, and achieve more.” Ramirez concludes.
A detailed dissertation brief summarizing Ramirez’s research is now available online. A second brief by Ramirez (forthcoming) will explore teachers’ experiences implementing ASTP and how their participation shaped their beliefs about teaching and learning for diverse students.