A bird’s-eye view of research practices in mathematical cognition, learning, and instruction: Reimagining the status quo

•Research on math cognition, learning, and instruction often begins with cognition.•We encourage scholars in this area to make instruction more central in their work.•We suggest scholars consider educators and schools in selecting research questions.•We encourage work with diverse teams, broad samples, and in authentic settings.•We encourage scholars to communicate research findings in accessible ways. Research on mathematical cognition, learning, and instruction (MCLI) often takes cognition as its point of departure and considers instruction at a later point in the research cycle. In this article, we call for psychologists who study MCLI to reflect on the “status quo” of their research practices and to consider making instruction an earlier and more central aspect of their work. We encourage scholars of MCLI (a) to consider the needs of educators and schools when selecting research questions and developing interventions; (b) to compose research teams that are diverse in the personal, disciplinary, and occupational backgrounds of team members; (c) to make efforts to broaden participation in research and to conduct research in authentic settings; and (d) to communicate research in ways that are accessible to practitioners and to the general public. We argue that a more central consideration of instruction will lead to shifts that make research on MCLI more theoretically valuable, more actionable for educators, and more relevant to pressing societal challenges.