Deborah Schifter

Deborah Schifter is a mathematics education researcher known for her work on mathematical argument, algebraic thinking, and professional development for teachers. She is a coauthor of But Why Does It Work?: Mathematical Argument in the Elementary Classroom, a resource for elementary teachers that offers a structured teaching model to help students justify their thinking and engage with others’ reasoning. Her work frequently focuses on supporting teachers in implementing the Standards for Mathematical Practice and in developing students’ capacity to reason about arithmetic and algebraic structures.

Schifter has held senior research roles at the Education Development Center (EDC), including serving as Principal Research Scientist in the Learning and Teaching Division and as a senior scientist in the Center for the Development of Teaching. She has coauthored and edited several influential works in mathematics education, including Developing Mathematical Ideas, A Research Companion to Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, The Mathematical Education of Teachers, Reconstructing Mathematics Education: Stories of Teachers Meeting the Challenge of Reform, and the two‑volume anthology What’s Happening in Math Class?, as well as work on the K–5 curriculum Investigations in Number, Data, and Space and Connecting Arithmetic to Algebra: Strategies for Building Algebraic Thinking in the Elementary Grades. Schifter holds a BA from Saint John’s College in Annapolis, an MA in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland,