Main duties of my work
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching & Learning and the Associate Dean in the College of Education at UCCS. I teach undergraduate courses in Early Childhood and Elementary Mathematics Education in teacher licensure programs, and I oversee the graduate programs in gifted education and in mathematics education leading to additional certifications for in-service teachers. As an associate dean, I also direct all program assessment and accreditation activities, and I am responsible for promoting partnerships and outreach within the P-12 and higher education communities. My research interests include the use in virtual manipulatives and classroom discourse in mathematics instruction and apprenticeships as a solution to strengthen the teacher pipeline.
Recent accomplishments
College of Education Outstanding Teacher Award, 2019
International outreach
- Selected as a college representative to attend a symposium on international exchanges for teacher education in Kanazawa, Japan (2024)
Funded grant projects
- Building a Mentor Teacher Cadre (2023-24): $75,020 (Colorado Department of Education)
- Student Educator Stipends (2022-24): $2,665,791 (Colorado Department of Higher Education)
Selected recent publications
- Virtual manipulatives: Making effective instructional choices in Colorado Mathematics Teacher, 2020
- Leveraging tutorial instructional software to enhance classroom mathematical discussions: An exploratory mixed-methods study in Educational Research: Theory and Practice, 2020 (collaboration with graduate students)
Service to SSMA and other professional organizations
As a doctoral student in 2010, I attended and presented at my first SSMA convention. Since then, I have presented several times at the annual conventions. Soon after beginning my first faculty appointment, I served as a member of the Policy Committee (2014-2017), and I currently serve on the Awards and Endowment Committee (2023-2025). I have reviewed articles for School Science and Mathematics and proposals for the SSMA annual conventions.
As for service in other professional organizations, I regularly serve on accreditation review teams for the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). I sit on state-level working groups for Stackable Credential Pathways. I served on the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association (NRMERA) Executive Board as the Colorado representative (2017-2020), and on an NCTM Regional Conference Program Committee (2018-2019). I also serve as a reviewer for several professional publications (e.g., Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Mathematics Teacher: Learning & Teaching PK-12, Teaching Children Mathematics, and Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School).
My Vision for SSMA
Ever since I held an alligator at my first SSMA convention in Ft. Myers, FL, I knew this organization had the “secret sauce”. SSMA is a premiere organization for promoting STEM education, and it has always been supportive in mentoring graduate students and early career faculty. While attending recent conventions, I have noticed a growing number of undergraduate students accompanying their professors. I love this! I envision a more concerted effort to foster relationships with those entering the teaching profession. In this way, SSMA can have even more impact on implementing equitable STEM educational practices. I would also like to see SSMA focus on how to help even more people feel welcome at the conventions. This will increase the number of diverse practitioners and professors who chose to participate in formal and informal conversations. The heart of SSMA is its community of teachers, researchers, scientists, and mathematicians, whether in-person at conventions or intellectually via the School Science and Mathematics journal. They ARE the “secret sauce”! I look forward to my continued association with them.
RETURN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OTHER CANDIDATES
|
