Toni M. Smith

Toni Smith has over 25 years of experience in math and math education. Dr. Smith leads research, development, continuous improvement, and evaluation projects focused on math instruction, student learning, and teacher professional development. She also leads AIR’s math practice area. Dr. Smith’s work has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education and foundations.

Dr. Smith is the principal investigator (PI) on projects in which AIR serves as an evaluator and learning partner to multiple foundations and their grantees to study the impact of innovative math professional development and supplemental programs on student outcomes. These projects involve research and development (R&D) activities as well as program evaluation and, in some cases, used innovative designs (e.g., Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial; SMART) to optimize program features. She also serves as the PI on federally funded evaluation projects, using randomized controlled trials to investigate the impact of math programs on student achievement and other outcomes. One of these projects focuses on understanding how to adapt two math programs that have demonstrated impact on math achievement to expand their use in schools, while maintaining a positive impact on student outcomes. In addition, Dr. Smith designed and conducted R&D on math professional development programs that support teachers in aligning their instruction to state standards and using research-supported math instructional approaches. One of these programs used video-based coaching and an online platform to support teacher reflection and instructional improvement. The other used simulated classrooms in which teachers practiced new teaching strategies with avatar students before using them in their classroom. Finally, Dr. Smith developed and facilitated two foundation-funded networked improvement communities in which math teachers use improvement science to test and refine evidence-based instructional routines with their students.

Dr. Smith regularly presents at national conferences and her work is published in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, AERA Open, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Educational Measurement: Issues and Practices, and Mathematical Thinking and Learning.

In her work, Dr. Smith draws on her strong background in math and math education as well as her experience as a secondary math teacher and assistant professor of math education, where she oversaw the secondary math teacher preparation program and provided professional development to practicing teachers.