Brown Bag: Reimagining ‘Belonging’ within the Complex Systems of Teaching, Learning and Coaching: An Approach toward Establishing Inclusive and Empowering Mathematics Classrooms (4/15/25)

This session was designed to challenge traditional coaching models and offer an innovative approach that intertwines professional growth with relational trust, self-efficacy and explores how centering belonging can transform entire educational ecosystems.

By Jamaal Sharif Matthews | Associate Professor | Marsal School of Education, The University of Michigan

Belonging is often framed as a student-centered goal, yet our research reveals it as a key mechanism for transformative professional learning. The Cultivate Belonging Collaborative (CBC) model redefines instructional coaching by fostering a sense of belonging within the teacher-coach relationship, creating a cascading effect that strengthens classroom instruction for historically marginalized students. Through non-evaluative, justice-oriented coaching, secondary mathematics teachers engage in deep self-reflection and belonging-centered instruction (BCI), that not only shows evidence of improving student outcomes but also enhances their own confidence and instructional agency. Ultimately, researchers discovered that when coaches experience belonging, they are better equipped to cultivate it in teachers—who, in turn, cultivate more inclusive and empowering mathematics classrooms.