University Scholarship
Publications and Grants

William Zahner

bzahner@sdsu.eduorcid.org/0000-0002-2823-0436

Appointments

  • Professor, 2014-Present
    Mathematics and Statistics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, US
  • Assistant Professor, 2011-2014
    Education, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, US

  • PhD, 2005-2011
    Education, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, US

Profile updated October 8, 2026.

Grants

CAREER: Designing Learning Environments to Foster Productive and Powerful Discussions among Linguistically Diverse Students in Secondary Mathematics
William Zahner
National Science Foundation - Directorate for Education and Human Resources, 2016 - 2021, USD 168,486.00
Education, Secondary Educational technology Inclusive education Student-centered learning
Partnering for Success: The Sweetwater/SDSU Mathematics Readiness Challenge
William Zahner
California Department of Education, 2016 - 2018, USD 1,280,000.00
Academic achievement Education Mathematics Universities and colleges
Collaborative Research: Investigating How English Language Learners Use Dynamic Representational Technology to Participate in Middle School Mathematical Practices
William Zahner
National Science Foundation - Directorate for Education and Human Resources, 2015 - 2018, USD 1,078,378.00
Educational technology Middle school education
Research and Evaluation: Boston University's Noyce Scholarship Programs
William Zahner
National Science Foundation - Directorate for Education and Human Resources, 2014 - 2015, USD 99,563.00
Boston University Evaluation Research Scholarships
Research and Evaluation: Boston University's Noyce Scholarship Programs
William Zahner
National Science Foundation - Directorate for Education and Human Resources, 2012 - 2014, USD 200,000.00
Boston University Education Research Scholarships

Scholarship

Academic Publications

Examining community cultural wealth of a transfronteriza multilingual student in mathematics classrooms
Kevin Pelaez; Ernesto Daniel Calleros; Jose Parra; William Zahner
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2026, journal article
Art in mathematics education Association for Borderlands Studies Bilingualism Language and culture
The Paradox of Throughput: Mathematics Instructors’ and Administrators’ Clashing Perspectives on the Success of Gateway Mathematics Reforms
William Zahner; Mary E. Pilgrim; Amelia Stone-Johnstone; Brinley Poulsen Stringer
Community College Review, 2026, journal article
Educational change
Transforming learning opportunities in linguistically diverse secondary classrooms through promoting discussions: results of an intervention
William Zahner; Ernesto Daniel Calleros; Lynda Wynn; Kevin Pelaez
Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 2026, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 1
Classroom environment Education, Secondary Linguistics Multilingual education
What is Ambitious (Mathematics) Teaching? Clarifying a Key Concept in Education Research and Practice
William Zahner; Kristin Tenney; Kevin Pelaez; Jeffrey Choppin
Journal of Education, 2026, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 7
Mathematics Research in education series
Mathematics teacher educators’ navigational expertise when designing multimodal representations of practice: a semiotic analysis
Gil Schwarts; Patricio Herbst; Daniel Chazan; Orly Buchbinder; Lawrence M. Clark; Rob Wieman; William Zahner
Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 2025, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 2
Critical pedagogy Mathematics teachers Semiotics Teacher educators

Catalyzing teacher moves in small-group problem solving: a quantitative discourse analysis
Isabel White; William Zahner; Alexander White
International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2025, journal article
Discourse analysis Group problem solving Problem solving Quantitative research
Demands, tensions, and resources when implementing ambitious mathematics
Jeffrey Choppin; Christine Green; William Zahner
Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2024, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 2
Educational change Exploring issues in mathematics education Implementation science Mathematics
More than Steepness: Introducing Slope Quantitatively with Interactive Dynamic Representations
Lynda Wynn; William Zahner; Carren Walker
Digital Experiences in Mathematics Education, 2024, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 2
Art in mathematics education Geometry Quantitative research
Rethinking Learning Trajectories in Light of Student Linguistic Diversity
William Zahner; Lynda Wynn
Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 2023, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 11
Bilingualism Language acquisition Language and education Multilingualism
Are the words as important as the concepts? Using pedagogical language knowledge to expand analysis of mathematics teaching with linguistically diverse students
William Zahner; Cristian R. Aquino-Sterling
Mathematics Education Research Journal, 2022, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 11
Academic language Critical pedagogy Linguistics Multilingualism
Designing for Mathematical Literacy: Introducing Exponential Growth Using Critical and Meaningful Problem Contexts
William Zahner; Chauncey Monte‐Sano
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2021, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 4
Critical thinking Educational technology Problem solving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Society
Designing learning environments to promote academic literacy in mathematics in multilingual secondary mathematics classrooms
William Zahner; Ernesto Daniel Calleros; Kevin Pelaez
Zdm – Mathematics Education, 2021, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 23
Classroom environment Education, Bilingual Language and education Second language acquisition
Using the academic literacy in mathematics framework to uncover multiple aspects of activity during peer mathematical discussions
Judit Moschkovich; William Zahner
Zdm, 2018, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 42
Academic achievement Education Exploring issues in mathematics education Literacy
Coordinating multiple representations of polynomials: What do patterns in students' solution strategies reveal?
William Zahner; et al.
Learning and Instruction, 2017, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 5
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Pattern recognition systems Polynomials
Reconciling Representations
William Zahner; Nick Dent
The Mathematics Teacher, 2015, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 1
Knowledge representation (Information theory) Knowledge, Theory of Semiotics
The rise and run of a computational understanding of slope in a conceptually focused bilingual algebra class
William Zahner
Educational Studies in Mathematics, 2014, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 26
Bilingualism Education, Bilingual Educational technology Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Society
ELLs and Group Work: It Can Be Done Well
William Zahner
Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 2012, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 11
Group work in education Language and education Learning strategies
Mathematics teaching practices with technology that support conceptual understanding for Latino/a students
William Zahner; Griselda Velazquez; Judit Moschkovich; Phil Vahey; Teresa Lara-Meloy
The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 2012, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 42
Educational technology Mathematics Minority students Multicultural education
Validating a Learning Progression in Mathematical Functions for College Readiness
Diana Bernbaum Wilmot; Alan Schoenfeld; Mark Wilson; Danielle Champney; William Zahner
Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 2011, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 62
Academic achievement Education, Higher Educational tests and measurements Mathematics
Talking while Computing in Groups: The Not-So-Private Functions of Computational Private Speech in Mathematical Discussions
William Zahner; Judit Moschkovich
Mind, Culture, and Activity, 2010, journal article, Cited by: OpenAlex: 13
Artificial intelligence Communication in small groups Educational technology Human-computer interaction

Data and Process

Spatial Ability, Coordinating Multiple Representations, and Performance on Calculus Problems: (561172014-001)
Jennifer G. Cromley; Julie L. Booth; Theodore W. Wills; Briana L. Chang; Thomas F. Shipley; William Zahner; et al.
Psycextra Dataset, data set

Other

The Social Organization of a Middle School Mathematics Group Discussion
William Zahner; Judit Moschkovich
Modeling Students' Mathematical Modeling Competencies, 2013, other
The Social Organization of a Middle School Mathematics Group Discussion
William Zahner; Judit Moschkovich
Modeling Students' Mathematical Modeling Competencies, 2009, other