Yasmin Sitabkhan is a Senior Mathematics Education Researcher with RTI International’s International Education Division. With over 17 years of experience in education, Dr. Sitabkhan provides technical expertise in mathematics and reading instruction, focused on early childhood through Grade 3, to projects around the world, including in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central Asia, North Africa, and Central and South America. She designs, analyzes, and disseminates results from various mixed methods research studies to governments and donors worldwide.
Dr. Sitabkhan has worked on numerous research projects that promote a deeper understanding of teaching and learning at the primary school level, with a focus on current teaching practices and children’s development of mathematics in various countries. She specializes in the development of unique, contextualized approaches to mathematics instruction. Additionally, she provides expertise in early mathematics development in which she focuses on instructional strategies to connect informal and formal mathematical knowledge. Her interests build directly on her experiences as a classroom teacher expounding on research regarding culture and cognition, mixed methods/qualitative research, teacher training and support, and curriculum development.
Prior to RTI, Dr. Sitabkhan’s research included exploring the mathematical competencies of groups of marginalized children in developing countries (Mumbai, India, and Oaxaca, Mexico) through qualitative and quantitative methods and contributing to a design research project at UC Berkeley. She also worked on developing an upper primary mathematics curriculum and instructional methods. Dr. Sitabkhan has disseminated results from these projects through numerous conference presentations and publications.
Dr. Sitabkhan joined RTI in 2013, and currently supports the Okuu Keremet (Learning is Awesome) program in Kyrgyzstan, the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program, and the LEGO Foundation’s Learning through Play initiative.
She is a member of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), American Educational Research Association (AERA), and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).
