Lesa Clarkson
Assistant Professor
STEM Education Center
320 J Learning and Environmental Sciences Building
1954 Buford Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota 55108
Ph.D. University of Minnesota
mathematics education
Areas of Interest
Exploration of mathematics curriculum and instruction in urban classrooms, examination of best practices that engage all learners in mathematics
Research Interests
The foundation of my research agenda is mathematics in urban classrooms. This interest evolved from my initial study which examined a middle school reform mathematics curriculum to determine if mathematics achievement, as determined by the state standardized assessments, is increasing particularly among under represented students. African American students, specifically, are included in the group because historically this group of students has the lowest scores on the national and state assessments. My personal belief is that the color of a student’s skin is not correlated to their achievement in mathematics. This belief has generated two foci that are intertwined with mathematics in urban classrooms: (1) successful strategies that increase student achievement (as demonstrated by the MCA in mathematics) and (2) reducing the achievement gap between students who have “rich, meaningful” mathematics experiences and those students whose mathematics experiences are less than desirable.
The achievement gap is especially problematic in urban classrooms. My research examines best practices that will provide all students with engaging mathematics experiences in addition to the basic “tools” that are essential for students to use in the actual engagement phase.
Selected Publications
Covington Clarkson, L.M. & Taylor, R. (2005). Mathematical leadership needed to close achievement gaps. Journal of Mathematics Education Leadership, 8(2), 4 – 5.
Covington Clarkson, L.M. & Seashore Louis, K. (in press). Leadership for curriculum change: Principals engaged in “closing the gap”. In A. Danzig (Ed.), Curriculum Leadership. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Huffman, D., Lawrenz, F., Thomas, K. & Covington Clarkson, L.M. (in press). Collaborative evaluation communities in urban schools: A model of evaluation capacity building in STEM education. New Directions in Evaluation.
Covington Clarkson, L. (2002). Correlation to NCATE and INTASC. In B. R. Bridges & L. Covington Clarkson, Praxis Guide for Slavin, (pp.40 -74). New York: Allyn and Bacon.
Covington Clarkson, L.M. (2001). Sufficiently challenged: A family’s pursuit of a Ph.D. In R. Obakeng and A.L. Green (Eds.), Sisters of the Academy, (pp 160-173). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publications.
Revised September 2011
