Professional Biography
Jennifer Valerio has served as a math methods instructor in the Urban Teaching Residency Program since 2021 and moved into the Associate Director role in June 2023 after completing her doctoral studies. Valerio earned her Ed.D. at Penn GSE in the Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education program, and her research focused on using practice-based professional development and lesson study to help teachers learn responsive math teaching practices.
Her math education journey began at Villanova University, where she earned dual degrees in mathematics and secondary education before pursuing an additional degree in elementary education and a master’s in mathematics education. Prior to coming to Penn, Valerio spent 16 years teaching math and serving as a mathematics coordinator in Garnet Valley School District.
During her doctoral studies, Valerio served as a research assistant for the Responsive Math Teaching (RMT) Project, providing professional development and coaching to teachers in the School District of Philadelphia and conducting cross-school collaborative lesson design sessions to help teachers bring responsive teaching practices into their classrooms. Drawing on her experiences as a teacher and at work with the RMT Project, Valerio continues to teach math method courses for UTR. She enjoys working with novice teachers as they embark on their teaching careers and particularly values the opportunity to foster responsive teaching practices and a growth mindset toward mathematics and toward students in the next generation of teachers. Valerio also teaches courses in Penn GSE’s Mid-Career Doctorate in Educational Leadership program.
