Sonoma State University

Rajeev Virmani

Associate Professor, STEM Residency Lead, Single Subject Prospective Teacher Advisor

Rajeev Virmani
Rajeev Virmani

Contact

707-664-2495
[email protected]

Office

Stevenson 2201

Office Hours

Dr. Rajeev Virmani is a Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Curriculum Studies and Secondary Education at Sonoma State University. His teaching, scholarship, and service are guided by a commitment to equity and justice in education. Virmani prepares and supports teachers through practice-based and context-specific approaches that integrate modeling, rehearsal, enactment, and reflection. His work emphasizes eliciting and attending to student thinking, affirming students’ cultural and linguistic resources, and creating mathematics classrooms where all learners are positioned as capable sensemakers.

Virmani is a founding faculty leader of the Male Educators of Color (MEC) Communicative Action Group, which strengthens recruitment, retention, and support for educators of color across P–12 and higher education. He also serves as Co-Director of the STEM Teacher Education Pathways (STEP) Center, advancing teacher residency development and cross-college partnerships to prepare STEM educators in the North Bay. Internationally, he has collaborated with the Aga Khan Foundation through the Schools2030 initiative in East Africa, supporting mathematics teacher professional learning and reflective practice. His record of teaching, scholarship, and service reflects sustained leadership in advancing equity-focused, practice-based teacher education locally, nationally, and globally.

Biography

  • Associate Professor, Mathematics Education, Sonoma State University

  • Assistant Professor, Teacher Education, University of Saint Joseph

  • Adjunct Professor, Teacher Education, University of San Francisco

  • Middle School Mathematics Teacher, San Francisco Unified School District

  • High School Mathematics Teacher, Palo Alto Unified School District

Education

  • Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Learning and Instruction, University of San Francisco

  • Master of Education (M.Ed.), University of California, Davis

  • Single Subject Clear Credential, Mathematics, University of California, Davis

  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Mathematics, University of California, Davis

  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology, University of California, Davis

Academic Interests

  • Equity-focused mathematics teacher education

  • Practice-based and school-embedded teacher preparation

  • Rehearsals and approximations of practice

  • Video-based inquiry and teacher noticing

  • Recruitment and retention of educators of color

  • Teacher residencies and STEM pathways

Courses Taught

  • EDSS 444 / 444B: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (Secondary Mathematics Methods)
  • EDMS 474: Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School
  • EDCT 586: Teaching and Learning: Research and Application – Classroom
  • EDUC 571: Research Paradigms in Education
  • EDSS 458: Student Teaching in Multicultural Settings
  • MATH 490: Capstone Seminar: Secondary Mathematics Teaching

Selected Publications & Presentations

  • Virmani, R., Khachatryan, E., & Borko, H. (2025). Facilitating video-based discussions of mathematics teaching: The work of novice teacher leaders. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 13(2).

  • Virmani, R., Suárez, C., & Mason, E. (2025). Male educators of color (re)claiming classroom spaces. In Building Support for Scholarly Practices in Mathematics Methods (AMTE Professional Book Series). Charlotte: IAP.

  • Suárez, C., Mason, E., & Virmani, R. (2024). To belong & be heard: Male educators of color navigating TK–12 school settings. The New Educator.

  • Virmani, R., Taylor, M., & Rumsey, C. (2017). Bringing methods into schools. In S. Kastberg, A. Tyminski, A. Lischka, & W. Sanchez (Eds.), Building Support for Scholarly Practices in Mathematics Methods (pp. 79–92). Charlotte: IAP. 

  • Baldinger, E., Selling, S. K., & Virmani, R. (2016). Supporting novice teachers to lead discussions that reach a mathematical point. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 5(1), 8–28.