Dr. Jeffrey E. Barrett
Associate Professor of Mathematics Education
Campus Phone: 438-7849
I am directing a longitudinal study of children's learning of measurement concepts and strategies (PreK through Grade 5). Now in the second year of a 4 year study, we are interviewing, and conducting teaching/learning experiments with students (mostly in Grade 3). Our project aims to answer questions about how children's mathematical and scientific reasoning develop, and how their spatial, number and geometric learning grow.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, our project is a collaborative effort with faculty and students at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, in New York. We are building Learning Trajectories for children's understanding of length, area and volume. Our design engages cycles of task and lesson design in relation to our hypothetical learning trajectory. We check tasks and lesson activities and revise to fit children's strategies, based on success and struggles.
Student Qualities: I would like undergraduate research assistants (2-3) who can collaborate on a research team (working with myself and two other doctoral-level research assistants); students would need to help conduct data collection in elementary school classrooms and interview situations. I need students who would assist in videotaping children's classroom work, be able to learn and use assessment rubrics to categorize students' strategies and who would be able to conduct library research in mathematics education. Students' should be highly motivated, well-organized, and inquisitive!
Dr. Fusun Akman
Associate Professor
Campus Phone: 8-7088
I have created a website to help mathematics faculty incorporate applications of core mathematics courses into their curriculum: http://www.math.ilstu.edu/akmanf (click on MATH DEPOT). This website helps the secondary math education students to build up their senior portfolios, as required by the NCTM/NCATE guidelines.
Student Qualities: I would like to have the help of an Honors student who is very familiar with website design to make my applications website richer and more user-friendly. My research assistant would make Internet and library searches to:
