Charles E. Wilkes II

My research attends to the teaching and learning of Black learners in K-16 contexts. One strand of my research has focused on Black learners’ experiences in mathematics classrooms. A second strand of my research attends to how mathematics instruction supports the learning of mathematical content and the nurturing of positive mathematics identities for Black learners. The third and final strand of my research is supporting pre-service teachers’ and in-service teachers’ development of teaching equitable practices through interventions and professional development.

Employment

2024 – Present: Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education; University of California, Davis, School of Education

2021 – 2024: Postdoctoral Researcher, Mathematics Education; San Diego State University, Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education (CRMSE)

Education

Ph.D. Mathematics Education 2022; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Advisor: Deborah Ball, Committee: Deborah Loewenberg Ball, Hyman Bass, Tyrone Howard, Danny Martin, Carla O’Connor. Ordinary Brilliance: Understanding Black Learners’ Conceptions of Smartness and How Teachers Communicate Smartness Through Their Practice.

M.A. Teaching & Learning 2015; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Advisor: Deborah Ball 

B.S. Mathematics 2013; Morehouse College, Atlanta GA. Advisor: Curtis Clark.

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Goffney, I, & Wilkes II, C. E. (Accepted). A Juneteenth Moment for Mathematics Education: The Role of Rights of the Learner and Afrofuturism. Theory Into Practice.

Wilkes II, C. E., & Battey, D. (2024). Disrupting racial storylines about black girls in mathematics through teaching content and building relationships. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 75, 101167. 

Reinholz, D. L., Moschetti, M. G., Camacho, J. T., Fuentes-Lopez, E., Wilkes II, C., & Shah, N. (2024). Equity in practice: Assigning competence to shape STEM student participation. PLOS One, 19(4), e0299984.

Wilkes II, C.E. Student and Teacher Contracts as Tools for Anti-Racist Teacher Practice (2023). Antiracist Mathematics Education: Stories of Acknowledgement, Action, and Accountability TODOS: Mathematics for ALL.

Hernandez, A., & Wilkes II, C.E. Navigating AB705 and a Pandemic: An Investigation of Students’ Experiences With Placement and Advising (2023). Proceedings of the 25th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. Omaha, NE. 

Gatza, A. M., Wilkes, C., Engebretson, K., & Reynolds, T. (Accepted). Developing political and civic literacies. In D. Cross Francis, M. Park Rogers, A. M. Gatza, & K. Engebretson, (Eds.), Math in action: Tasks for building mathematical literacy, grades 3-5. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 

Mathews, C. J., Robinson, D., & Wilkes, C. E. (2022, November). Cultivating Black liberatory spaces in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education: What does it take?. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 7, p. 985455). Frontiers Media SA. 

Wilkes II, C. E., & Reinholz, D. L. (2022, February). Characterizing Community College Instruction in Response to State-Mandated Policy and a Global Pandemic. In Proceedings of the Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. 

Stringer, B. P., Hernandez, G. A., Wilkes II, C. E., & Pilgrim, M. E.  Navigating AB705 During a Pandemic: An Investigation of Students  

Tensions About Equity: Instructors’ Nepantla Attending to Identity and Power in Mathematics (2022). Proceedings of the Forty-fourth Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Middle Tennessee State University.

Shaughnessy, M., Garcia, N. M., O’Neill, M. K., Selling, S. K., Willis, A. T., Wilkes, C. E., Salazar, S. B., & Ball, D. L. (2021). Formatively assessing prospective teachers’ skills in leading mathematics discussions. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 108(3), 451-472.

Gholson, M. & Wilkes II, C.E. (Mis)taken identities: Reclaiming identities of the ‘Collective Black’ in mathematics education research through an exercise in Black specificity (2017). Review of Research in Education, 41(1) 228-252.

Wilkes II, C.E., Ball, D.L. Assigning competence: How can we teach it to preservice teachers (2017). Proceedings of the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Indianapolis, IN: Hoosier Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators.

Wilkes, C. (2016). Sophisticated mathematics: what does it look like for fifth graders. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Congress on Mathematical Education. Hamburg, Germany.

Garcia, N., Selling, S.K., & Wilkes, C. (2015). Standardized assessments of discussion leading practice: Are they valid measures? Proceedings of the Thirty-seventh Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.

Manuscripts Under Review

Reinholz, D.L., Moschetti, M. G., Camacho. T., Wilkes II, C. E., Shah, N. “It was like going out for coffee”: Building trusting relationships to promote equitable mathematics instructional change (2023)

Shaughnessy, M., Garcia, N., O’Neill, M. K., Ball, D. L., Wilkes II, C. E., Willis, A. T., Salazar, S. B., & Selling, S. K. A Formative Approach to Understanding (and Supporting) Prospective Teachers’ Capabilities with Modeling Mathematical Thinking (2023)

Manuscripts In Preparation

Gadd, R., Wilkes II, C.E., Ball, D.L. Making the move: Exploring the work involved in teaching practices to disrupt patterns of oppression 

Wilkes II, C.E., Willis, A., Ball, D. It is true because of Miah’s proof”: Agency, authority, and democratic community in the context of mathematics education 

Working Papers

Wilkes II, C.E. Ball, D.L. How Are Black Learners Positioned in Mathematics Classrooms? What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know? (2020)

Fellowships and Awards

2024: Faculty Scholar of the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS) 

2024 – 2026: Institute in Critical Quantitative, Computational, and Mixed Methodologies (ICQCM) Fellow

2024 – 2025: Project NeXT Fellow 

2023 – 2024: CreatED Fellow

2023: Grew Postdoctoral Research Fellow

2022 – 2023: National Science Foundation (NSF) Quantitative Research Methods (QRM) Scholar

2022: NSF Summer Workshop for Early Career Mathematics Education Researchers

2022: Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) Workshop on Rehumanizing Mathematics 

2015 – 2020: National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) 

2015 – 2020: Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship

2019 – 2020: Inclusive Mathematics Environments (IME) Early Career Fellowship

2013 – 2017: University of Michigan School of Education Scholar Award

 2016: Jones Payne-Coxford Award

 2009 – 2019: Gates Millennium Scholarship Recipient

2013: Magna Cum Laude, Morehouse College; Phi Beta Kappa, McNair Scholar of Year

Selected Academic Conference Presentations

Wilkes II, C. E., (2023, April 13 – 16) Ordinary Brilliance: Understanding Black Learners Conceptions of Smartness as Pushing Back Against Anti-Blackness [Symposium]. AERA Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. 

Hernandez, G., Wilkes II, C. E. (2023, April 13 – 16) What Does it Mean to be Smart in Mathematics at Community Colleges: An Investigation of the Culture of Mathematics Classrooms in Community Colleges from Students’ Perspectives [Paper]. AERA Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.  

Wilkes, C., Reinholz, D. (2022, February 24 -26) Characterizing Community College Instruction in Response to State-Mandated Policy and a Global Pandemic [Poster] RUME Annual Meeting Boston, MA

Wilkes, C., Pilgrim, M. (2022, August 6) Adapting Professional Development to Meet the Needs of Two-Year College Instructors [Presentation] MathFest Philadelphia, PA 

Alexander, N. N., Wilkes, C. & Berry, R. Q. (2020, Apr 17 – 21) A Synthesis of National Data on Black Secondary Mathematics Teachers [Symposium]. AERA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA http://tinyurl.com/se26st3 (Conference Canceled) 

Ball, D. L., DeFino, R., Hickman, L., Mann, L., Robinson, D. D., Willis, A. & Wilkes, C. (2020, Apr 17 – 21) Designing Teacher Education to Disrupt the Reproduction of Oppression in Practice [Structured Poster Session]. AERA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA http://tinyurl.com/y2gq78ag (Conference Canceled) 

Robinson, D., Wilkes, C. (2019, April) Student accusations and conventions: Understanding how students respond to changes in common classroom activities. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto, CA.

Gadd, R., Wilkes II, C.E. (2018, April) How do we teach it? Transforming practice into curriculum for practice-based teacher education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY. 

Wilkes, C. (2018, April) Teacher-student relationships: How to build them through content. Poster presented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Research Conference, Washington, DC. 

Invited Talks

Wilkes II, C. (2023, January) Understanding EQUIP as a Tool and Professional Development for Math Faculty at a Two-Year College. The Joint Mathematics Meeting (JMM), Boston, MA. 

Wilkes II, C. (2023 March) Reimagining Smartness: More Verb Than Noun, NCTM 2023 Virtual Conference [virtual].

Pilgrim, M. E., & Wilkes II, C. (2022, March). Disrupting unproductive narratives in mathematics education through teacher beliefs and practice. The Curtis Center’s 15th Annual Math and Teaching Conference [virtual].

Making Connections: Smartness, AntiBlackness, and Institutional Change, University of California, Berkley, March 17, 2022.

Unpacking Signaling Messages and Methods Through Teacher Practice in the Context of Critical Moments, Cal Poly Pomona, March 23, 2022. 

Unpacking Signaling Messages and Methods Through Teacher Practice in the Context of Critical Moments, Virginia Commonwealth University, April 1, 2022. 

Equity Through the Lens of Building One-one-One Relationships with Students Through Content and Redefining Smartness During Mathematics Instruction. California Mathematics Project at Cal Poly Pomona PD Summer Institute, June 8, 2022

Selected Research Experience

2022 – present: Model for Sustainable Ambitious Mathematics Program in High-Needs Settings (MSAMP) 

MSAMP is an NSF grants that focuses on creating a model centered on demands and resources based on a successful and sustainable ambitious mathematics program at a unique school. The Principal Investigators (PIs) on the project are Jeffrey Choppin, Bill Zahner, Cindy Callard, and Shaun Nelms. The purpose of the project is 1) Create a model based on the selected school site centered around a demands and resources framework 2) Get feedback on the model created and 3) Test the model developed at school sites in San Diego. My role on the project includes co-leading data collection and analysis for the case studies in San Diego, mentoring and supporting graduate students, and working on sub-projects that include writing about aspects of the mode and findings from the project. 

2021 – present: Mathematics Persistence in Inquiry and Equity (MPIE) 

MPIE is an NSF grant that focuses on the impacts of California Assembly Bill 705 (AB705) on a local community college. The Principals Investigators (PIs) on the project from San Diego State University are Mary Pilgrim, Bill Zahner, and Dan Reinholz. The purpose of the project is to 1) study the impacts of AB705 2) develop professional development with a focus on inquiry and equity, and 3) create a PD model that is sustainable and replicable. My role on the project comprises, co-developing professional development, co- facilitating professional development, presenting research, publishing research, and leading sub-projects.

2013 – 2021: TeachingWorks 

TeachingWorks is an organization housed at the University of Michigan whose research and development efforts focus on ensuring that all students have skillful teachers who are committed to and able to support their growth through a focus on the improvement of teacher preparation. (www.teachingworks.org) 

2015 – 2016: Assessing Novices’ Skills in Leading Mathematics Discussions 

The research project used a decomposition of the practice of leading a discussion and a standardized classroom-based assessment for assessing novices’ skills. Analyses focused on the degree to which the assessment elicited and revealed variation in novices’ skill, provided fine-grained details about individuals’ skills, accounted for classroom norms, and corresponded with performances in discussions led as a part of regular classroom practice. Participation included data analysis and writing. 

2014 – 2016: Building Assessments of Teacher Candidate’s Teaching Practice 

The purpose of this project was to build and pilot assessments that measured beginning teachers’ skill to lead a classroom discussion and the practice of making content explicit through modeling. This work included collecting data and refining the assessment tools developed. 

2013 – ongoing: TeachingWorks Mathematics Team Research Group (T.W.M.T.R.G.), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 

The TeachingWorks Mathematics Team Research Group works to support the research of individual members through providing space to share and receive feedback on current research projects. 

2013 – 2020: Elementary Mathematics Laboratory (EML) 

The Elementary Mathematics Laboratory is a project that brings together the study and development of teaching practice with the teaching and learning of students and teaching professionals.  

2017 – 2019: Specialized Content Knowledge (SCK) Project 

The project focuses on identifying SCK as a construct through developing and piloting items that measure specialized content knowledge. The items developed were piloted on mathematicians, expert teachers, novice teachers, and lay persons. My role in the project comprised interviewing participants and analyzing data.  

2017 – 2020: Advancing Critical Consciousness, Methods & Equity (AC2ME) Lab 

This lab is lead by Matthew Diemer focused on projects connected to critical consciousness and equity more broadly leveraging statistical methods which included, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), Psychometrics, Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis among other methods.  

Professional Experience

2020 – 2021: Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) Professional Development  

TeachingWorks had a partnership with Grand Rapids School District to support their instructional practices. In this work I worked with elementary, middle school, and high school math teachers, as well as co-facilitated a summer institute for math teachers in GRPS. I specifically coached three teachers, two middle school and one high school using Pam Harris materials around building numeracy for secondary mathematics.  

2018 – 2020: Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Professional Development  

TeachingWorks had a partnership with MCPS to support them in their instructional practices. We would meet with schools as a group to lead professional development, then provide coaching to teachers in individual buildings. I worked with three teachers in one school using a lesson study approach. Specifically, I met with the teachers in-between meeting in person to discuss their lessons that were implemented and provide feedback for approaches and practices that we discussed forming a small professional learning community.  

Teaching Experience

Winter 2021 EDUC 415: Children as Sense-Makers Winter

2018 EDUC 415: Children as Sense-Makers Winter

2017 EDUC 415: Children as Sense-Makers Winter

2016 EDUC 415: Children as Sense-Makers 

Fall 2015 EDUC 411: Teaching Children Mathematics 

Ongoing Equity Efforts

2022: Park City Math Institute (PCMI) Workshop on Rehumanizing Mathematics Education (WRM) 

The workshop on Rehumanzing Mathematics is led by Rochelle Gutiérrez. During the workshop we learn about the framework she developed and create a project that we will implement after the workshop. The workshops examine each dimension of the framework and brings together different individuals from different racial, gender, nationalities, and positions connected to mathematics education. 

2020 – present: Individual Education Plan (IEP) Simulations 

I have been a facilitator for several IEP Simulations for pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers seldomly get explicit experience with participating in IEP meetings during teacher education programs. My colleague Ebony Perouse-Harvey designed simulations that draw upon race, gender, and disability studies. The simulations include pre-service teachers who act as teachers of subject content. A black woman who is the mother of a black daughter that is experiencing inequity. My role as the facilitator is to record, take notes, intervene if pre-service teachers verbally harm the parent, and debrief with the parent.  

2014 – 2017: Race and Educational Inequality Professional Development Seminar (REIPDS) 

In this seminar we had guest speakers, readings, and workshops that centered on race and educational inequality broadly and attended to research and practice specifically.  

Service

Spencer Review Panelist (2024)

Member of National Council for Research (NCTM) Research Committee (2023 – 2026)

Member of the Equity Pedagogies Working Group (EPWG) of the Committee on the Teaching of Undergraduate Mathematics (CTUM). (2021 – 2022)

NSF Review Panelist (2023 – )

TeachingWorks Organization Culture Taskforce (2018)

Education Diversity Advisory Committee (EDAC) (2015-2017)

Journal and Conference Reviewer

AERA 

PMENA 

RUME 

TEEM 

Reviewer

NSF Review Panelist (2x) (2024)

Spencer Reviewer (2024)

NSF Review Panelist (2x) (2023)