 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Academic Areas & Divisions
Curriculum & Instruction
Student Profiles: Mathematics Education
Educational Technology | Language & Literacy | Mathematics Education | Multicultural Education | Science Education | Social Studies Education | Teaching and Curriculum
Nicole Bannister
I am a 5th year PhD student in the Learning Sciences program, and have background experiences as a high school math teacher (my first love), math coach, and professional development leader for math teachers. I focus my studies on on secondary 
mathematics education and teacher learning, and am curious about how participation in a teacher community influences teachers’ understanding of critical aspects of teaching.
I'm still working on my ideas, which stem from my ongoing experiences with two 9th grade mathematics teacher teams in urban schools who chose to adopt a progressive pedagogy and curriculum to create better learning opportunities for all of their students, including a purposeful focus on supporting struggling students. Through my work with Lani Horn and the PD3 project, I have been fortunate to have a integral role with the development and support of these teams, including studying their daily collaborative period and continued professional development (Complex Instruction training, Video Club, IMP curriculum training). Most recently I had the opportunity to join one of the teams as a coaching-teaching member by teaching 2 sections of 9th grade math, which gave me insider access to teachers' sensemaking and practices. I am looking forward to better understanding these ideas with my dissertation study, and am interested in chatting with other people about them. I always learn so much from the people around me! When I'm not writing, I enjoy hanging out with my husband and friends, reading for fun, watching movies/TV, cooking, going on road trips, and playing board games.
Sara Sunshine Campbell
Before beginning my graduate work at UW, I was a middle school and high 
school math teacher for 8 years – both here in Washington state and overseas in Kathmandu, Nepal. I am a student in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Mathematics Education. My primary interests are in Teacher Education and teachers’ induction periods (the first few years of teaching). My current research looks at how student teachers implement reform methods of teaching mathematics.
I am a native Washingtonian and I enjoy spending time in the wilderness backpacking, telemark skiing, and hiking with my husband and two children.
Andy Coons 
I’m one of the crazy ones that continue to teach while pursuing my PhD in Curriculum and Instruction. I’ve been a middle school math teacher for over ten years and am heavily involved in National Board advocacy and facilitation. My graduate research focuses on math coaching models of teacher professional development. I’m interested in how district organizational structures as well as individual relational factors such as status and power effect math teacher utilization of coaching resources. I’m currently using a framework based in both Sociocultural and Organizational Learning Theories to study how different district coaching models shape the practice of math coaching work. I want to know what conditions help and hinder math coaching and how districts and individuals address these conditions. Finally, I’m interested in how those involved in the coaching process; math teachers, district leaders and coaches themselves define the effectiveness of their work. All my free time is spent with my family which consists of a one year old, a four year old, a teenage nephew and my very supportive and encouraging wife.
Adrian Cunard
I am beginning my first year in the doctoral program in Curriculum and Instruction in the area of
Math Education. I was a First Grade Teacher for many years, then had a great year in the Danforth Program here at the UW. For the last 5 years, I have worked with a talented group of teachers at Ardmore Elementary in Bellevue developing a coaching model to close the achievement gap. My areas of interest include describing ambitious elementary mathematics instruction and the qualities of pre-service teacher preparation that would lead to such instruction.
I love to read, cook good food, work in the garden and listen to classical music. But as the parents of 5-year old twins, my husband and I would also have to include playing with Playmobil princesses, Star Wars Legos, and dress-up clothes among our current interests.
Joan Davis
I am a Learning Sciences doctoral student and a graduate research assistant in the LIFE Center. In my previous life, I developed software for educational research and development projects and workgroup applications for the corporate world. My research interests include teachable agent environments and the development of reasoning, problem solving, and analytical skills. My other-life interests include running, jazz and traveling (on a budget).
Bill Day
I am entering the first year of my master's program. In addition to my course work, I serve as a research assistant to Lisa Jilk on the Scaling Math project. My research interests include equity issues, professional learning communities, and literacy instruction in mathematics classrooms. Prior to joining the College of Education, I taught high school math in private and charter high schools in Maine and Washington, DC, respectively. Most recently at my charter school in DC, I served as an instructional coach and facilitator of a professional learning community. I earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Bowdoin College. Outside of study and work, I enjoy biking, tennis, reading, bowling, movies, music, and many other activities. I am originally from Minnesota, which makes me a big Twins and Vikings fan.
Teresa Dunleavy 
I am a C&I doctoral student in Math Education. I taught high school math in Minnesota for 6 years, including AP Statistics, Geometry, Algebra 2, Algebra, Integrated 2, and Integrated 3. Before coming to the University of Washington as a full-time student, I started pursuing a PhD in C&I part time at the University of MN, while teaching. I earned an MAT in Math and Physics in 2002 at Duke University in 2002 and a BA in Physics at Lawrence University in 2000. My research interests involve students who typically struggle in mathematics. I am interested in how identity, status, and equity play into success in mathematics.
Allison Hintz
Hi! If you're reading this page, we know we all have something in common... our interest in mathematics and math education. I am in the final stages of the PhD program in Curriculum and Instruction. My dissertation focuses on students' experiences in inquiry-oriented classrooms where they share their ideas. As a former elementary teacher for ten years, I grew to learn how hard teachers work as we strive to cultivate rich mathematical discussions amongst our students, and I came to wonder... if this is so complex for me, what is this like for children? Through the children and teachers in my dissertation, I'm learning about what a student needs to be able to do mathematically and socially in order to participate in strategy sharing. As a student at UW, I have also had the opportunity to teach a math methods course in collaboration with my advisor, Elham Kazemi, and help gather research in a collaborative study of designing methods courses. Outside of the university, I facilitate professional development with teachers as we learn alongside each other and build our understanding of, and enthusiasm for, students' mathematical ideas and the mathematics we teach. While studying mathematics education is a huge part of my life, the other way I get to be a student is going to music and gym classes with my husband and our baby girl.
Mandy Hubbard
I am a doctoral candidate in the Learning Sciences program, and currently work part time at a local independent school as a 1st and 2nd grade teacher/math specialist.
I also serve as a mentor for Reel Grrls (an after school program teaching media literacy and film production), and lead professional development with the Mathematics Education Project. Through my facilitation and research I seek to better understand and support teacher learning across the career trajectory, particularly through practice-based professional education in elementary mathematics. I am also interested in how P-12 students negotiate participation across multiple contexts and subject matters. This line of inquiry places concerns about equity at the center of my work and explores how school subjects, particularly mathematics, can provide access to ways of critically engaging with the world.
Sheldon Levias
I am a Ph.D. student in the University of Washington’s Learning Sciences program. Previously, I worked in the Seattle School District as a middle school math and science teacher, and as a science resource teacher. I have also done freelance video work, including running camera for Comcast On Demand in Snohomish County, and as a lead researcher for a PBS television series
As a graduate student, my research focus is qualitatively studying mathematical practices in informal settings, specifically consequential financial decisions that families make. In order to do this work, I am integrating my other main interest, which is the use of video as a tool for learning. I use video both as a means for capturing interviews and family interactions, and then as an object for analysis.
Becca Lewis
I am working on a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in the area of Elementary Math
Education. Before coming to UW, I spent five years teaching 4th & 5th grade in Tacoma, WA. My interests include: how students construct mathematical knowledge, how students communicate about mathematics, and educators' professional learning in the area of mathematics. When I'm not in class or writing papers, I can be found skiing or riding my bike.
Megan Kelley-Petersen
I am a former elementary classroom teacher and elementary math coach in Seattle Public Schools for 6 years, and now find myself working on completing my Ph.D. in Curriculum 
and Instruction in the area of Elementary Mathematics Education. My current research projects include working with my advisor, Elham Kazemi, and other colleagues both at the University of Washington and at institutions across the country in the following areas: studying the learning of leaders of mathematics professional development, and considering the potential areas of learning for both teachers (pre- and in-service) and elementary students through the use of instructional routines geared at building and supporting computational fluency. When not offering professional development to local school districts or working on research projects, I am enjoying learning how to be a new parent!
Lauren Persky
I am in my first year in the doctoral program having taught high school math in Alamogordo, NM and Toppenish, WA for 12 years before coming to UW. I am interested in issues that affect Mexican American students’ academic and mathematical acheivement. I moved to Renton, WA last summer where I found a house for my two dogs and me.
Nicole Russell
I am a mathematics instructional coach at TAF Academy, a 6th – 12th grade public school in Federal Way. The Technology Access Foundation (TAF) organization
developed a private partnership with Federal Way public schools and provides additional financial and technological support for the student body. The significance of this institution lies within the beliefs and rationale for its creation and embodies my research interests. TAF has over 80% minority student population and the curriculum is project based learning with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) framework. This school was founded to test the notion of the “achievement gap,” which TAF Academy Founder; Trish Millines Dziko believes is really an “access gap.”
I am a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in math education and multicultural education. My primary research interests are in teacher math education, minority parent/student empowerment in mathematics, and examining the Eurocentric nature of mainstream mathematics—its segregated image, content, and pedagogy.
Helen Thouless 
I am a third year student in the Learning Sciences program, with an emphasis in mathematics education. I am interested in studying how to teach mathematics to students with learning disabilities. My current research focuses on what students with language delays can learn by engaging in instructional activities that encourage the communication of mathematical ideas. As well as studying at the university, I also teach mathematics to 2nd and 3rd graders in a Seattle Public School. Prior to this job I taught students with learning disabilities and other special needs. I have also taught English and science at a primary school in Tanzania. When not working or studying, I can be found at the local fencing club or hiking.
Maria Zavala
Maria is a fourth year doctoral student in the learning sciences, with an emphasis on K-12 mathematics education. Although this is her fourth year in Seattle, she still misses the large sunny skies of northern California, but is comforted by the quality of coffee and people in the big northwest. She has been a teaching assistant in the elementary teacher education program in multicultural education and math methods. This year, she is teaching a section of the math methods course and loving it! Her dissertation study will focus on the mathematical identities of Latino/a students. When not diligently working on her dissertation study, Maria plays water polo, rides her bikes, takes pictures, and travels.
Recent Mathematics Education Graduates
Andrea S. Levy, Ed.D.
I am a tenured mathematics professor at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC) where I teach developmental math and math for elementary school teachers. At SCCC, I am actively involved in the Transition Math Project, working with the Seattle Schools to improve the transition of students moving from applied math at the high school level into workforce training programs at the community college level. At my work website, http://seattlecentral.edu/faculty/alevy/, you will find a link to my dissertation, curriculum vita, and teaching philosophy and professional development plan.
I earned my doctorate in curriculum and instruction at the University of Washington in December of 2005. My dissertation examined math methods course curriculum and the pedagogy used to train secondary math teachers. Prior to working on my doctorate, I taught math at the junior high and high school levels in both the Lake Washington and Bellevue School districts.
Curriculum & Instruction
