I joined the mathematics department at Ithaca College in 2005. I teach a wide range of undergraduate mathematics courses, including introductory statistics and calculus, courses about the history and philosophy of mathematics, and classes for students who are aspiring teachers. In all of my classes I design activities and projects that have students exploring, discussing, and collaborating.
My research interests are in mathematics education, which is a field that uses tools from psychology, philosophy, history, sociology, and literary criticism (and more!) to investigate how people learn and understand mathematics and statistics. I love working with students on research projects, and have co-authored several papers with students.
I am currently investigating the ways students use and interpret various mathematical texts—textbooks, video lectures, and (live) lectures. As teachers adopt new types of pedagogies—in particular, "flipped" classroom techniques—it is increasingly important to understand how we can help students use these text materials effectively. To investigate this, I draw upon ideas from semiotics, embodied cognition, sense-making theory, reader-oriented theory, and narratology to describe what—and how—students learn from experiencing and interacting with these texts.