Marcelo Almora Rios is a Graduate Student Researcher in the in the Pedagogical Research and Scholarly Teaching Unit where he contributes to research projects related to AI use in classrooms, faculty development program outcomes, and the impacts of classroom modernization on faculty and students.
Marcelo has worked across mathematics education as a researcher, practitioner, college and freelance instructor, software developer, and policy analyst. His dissertation examined the implementation of mathematics policy in the University of California, with particular attention to how placement systems shape access to the calculus pipeline. Prior to his work at UCLA, Marcelo served as a research fellow at Just Equations, a mathematics policy institute in Oakland, California, where he led research examining the California State University’s Executive Order 1110 and the high school-to-college math transition for underrepresented minority students. He also worked as a math specialist at SKIES Learn, an edTech startup in LA Unified supporting LAUSD elementary teachers with math interventions and web-based math problem generators for classroom use.
Marcelo is a graduating Ph.D. candidate in UCLA’s School of Education and Information Studies. He holds an M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Montana and a B.S. in Mathematics from Harvey Mudd College. His broader research interests include secondary and tertiary mathematics education policy, STEM equity, and student flourishing. A first-generation, Peruvian-born college student, Marcelo has been recognized with national and state-level awards, including the 2023 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the 2020 Latinos in Technology Scholarship; in his spare time, he enjoys reading, singing, playing the piano, and hiking