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Math professor receives NSF research grant

By Kyle Schut '13
August 30, 2012

St. Olaf College Assistant Professor of Mathematics Ryota Matsuura will use a grant from the National Science Foundation to collaborate with researchers at Boston University and Education Development Center, Inc. on a project examining how secondary educators think about mathematics and approach the teaching of the subject.

The project, titled Assessing Secondary Teachers' Algebraic Habits of Mind, will look at teachers' own mathematical thinking, how that relates to their teaching of the subject, and whether it has an impact on student understanding and achievement. The National Science Foundation is funding this research with a $2.4 million grant to the three collaborating institutions.

"As someone who's been working in teacher development for the past decade, I'm passionate about the preparation and professional development of secondary teachers," says Matsuura, who directs St. Olaf's mathematics education program and has experience teaching math at the high school level. "It is my hope that this newly funded project can make significant contributions to understanding effective secondary teaching and, more generally, to the field of mathematics education."

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.