At the undergraduate level, I am currently focused on early course experiences, specifically examining students' conceptual understanding and knowledge and beliefs about calculus and how these connect to their past experiences, their course performance and their primary academic interests in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and quantitative social science fields. (See grant project mentioned above.)
In the area of teacher education, I am interested in professional development with mathematics teachers focused on mathematical investigations and mathematical habits of mind. This work is very much in line with the recent Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) which emphasize using and assessing ''mathematical practices" across content areas in the K-12 grades as a way to deepen students' appreciation and understanding of the structure and concepts of math and build their capabilities for problem-solving and communication in mathematics and other fields. This includes the work above and the following:
- From Spring 2011 to 2013, I facilitated a seminar for Master Teachers (from Math for America, Boston and Boston University's Math Teaching Scholars) on current issues in mathematics teaching and education and in particular, the impact of the Common Core State Standards. For more on this work, see slides from my talk at JMM 2012, below.
- Between 2010 and 2012, I co-facilitated a study group for middle and high school math teachers in the Cambridge Public Schools with Jeremy Orloff at MIT, sponsored by the Focus on Math NSF-funded math-science partnership of schools and universities in the Boston area. We've explored various topics related to and going beyond school mathematics, for example Transformations in Geometry, Fermi problems, Symmetries of Polygons and Group Structures, Farey Sequences, Polygonal Numbers, and Conic Sections in Taxi-cab geometry. For examples of materials, please feel free to contact me.
- I also have worked multiple summers as counselor and assistant director with the PROMYS for Teachers program at Boston University where secondary math teachers spend six weeks immersed in elementary number theory.
