2026 AMTE Dissertation Award - Honorable Mention
Sheila Orr
Saginaw Valley State University
CRITICALLY CONSCIOUS MATHEMATICS MENTORING: A PRAXIS STUDY WITH MENTOR TEACHERS WORKING FOR JUSTICE
Biography
Across her career as a high school mathematics teacher, Sheila Orr not only taught high school students but also mentored prospective teachers, working to create classrooms where every student felt represented and capable of engaging in high level mathematics. These experiences deeply ground her work as a researcher and mathematics teacher educator, where she seeks to disrupt the systems of exclusion in mathematics education by positioning teachers, students, families, and communities as co-creators of knowledge. In her dissertation, Sheila offers a theoretical construct, refined through praxis-oriented methodologies, to examine how mentor teachers seek to support prospective teachers to engage in justice-oriented pedagogies.
As an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education: Middle and Secondary at Saginaw Valley State University, Sheila continues supporting prospective teachers in enacting justice-oriented mathematics pedagogies. Building on this work, she is exploring how teachers (both prospective and practicing) can use project-based learning as a space where mathematics, sociopolitical inquiry, community engagement, and student agency are intentionally integrated across secondary mathematics contexts. Additionally, she plans to continue to collaborate with mentor teachers to explore their practices related to reflection, relational accountability, and action aimed at disrupting inequitable structures within mathematics classrooms.
Sheila is deeply grateful to the phenomenal mentor teachers who generously share their stories and experiences as part of this work. Additionally, she wants to thank her advisor, Dr. Sandra Crespo, and dissertation committee, Dr. Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, Dr. Dorinda Carter-Andrews, and Dr. Alexandra Allweiss, for their guidance and mentorship throughout her doctoral journey.