Dr. Missy Cosby is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy at Morgan State University and a part of the Curriculum and Pedagogy pillar at the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology from Michigan State University and she also has over 20 years of high school and community college mathematics teaching experience.

Dr. Cosby’s research focuses on the mathematics learning and teaching experiences of Black girls and women. More broadly, she examines both individual experiences and systemic functioning to understand how social identities (i.e. race and gender) mediate mathematics and STEM learning. She employs both novel and traditional qualitative and quantitative methods alongside Black feminists and intersectional frames to study the sociopolitical nature of mathematics teaching and learning in formal and informal settings and how power related to race and gender are at play.

Selected Publications

Reeves, S. M., Starks, F. D., Cosby, M. D., Price, B., Mahoney, V., & Millunchick, J. (2026). Attending to Teacher Considerations in I-STEM Curriculum Supplementation: The Case of Chip Kids. Education Sciences, 16(8), 1178.

Cosby, M., Dentel, S., & Sawtelle, V. (2026). Lunch & Learn: Fostering Moments that Support Persistence for Community College STEM Students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 50(2), 134-154.

Raygoza, M., Cosby, M. D., Orr, S., King, B., Burris, J. T., & Soni, S. (2026). Cultivating Mathematics Teacher Educators’ Hearts, Critical Consciousness, and Professional Praxis through Book Study. Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 16(2), 120-137.

Starks, F. D., & Cosby, M. D. (2025). Herstory: Exploring Black Women Educators’. Anti-racism in Early Childhood Education: Theory and Practice, 140 – 156.