Panel Discussions

Panelists

Moderator: Dr. Brooke Max, Purdue University, USA

1- Professor Signe Kastberg, Purdue University, USA

2- Associate Professor Enrique Galindo, Indiana University Bloomington, USA

3- Associate Professor Gina Borgioli Yoder, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, USA

4- Associate Professor Betsy Berry, Purdue University Fort Wayne, USA

Brief Biography of our Panelists

1- Prof. Dr. Signe Kastberg;

As a scholar of teaching and learning, Dr. Kastberg explores and contributes to public understanding of mathematics teaching and learning and mathematics teacher education. Dr. Kastberg’s discovery, learning, and engagement activities are undertaken to develop and contribute to understandings of the beauty and complexity of teaching, learning, and learning to teach mathematics-learners.

2- Associate Prof. Enrique Galindo;

Dr. Enrique Galindo is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at Indiana University Bloomington. He is interested in research on teacher education and on learning in technology-supported environments. He teaches courses on mathematics and pedagogy, secondary mathematics methods courses, and graduate courses for teacher educators. He has directed many large-scale funded projects and has many years of experience with professional development. He has conducted professional development projects to help teachers in grades K-12 improve teaching and learning in STEM education, incorporate Project Based Learning, and develop their technological and pedagogical knowledge to improve their teaching.

3- Associate Prof. Gina Borgioli Yoder;

I am interested in issues of equity and educational change in mathematics and language education as they relate to pedagogy, policy, and teacher education. My knowledge and experiences as a middle school ENL teacher, INDOE Language Consultant, ENL teacher educator, and researcher drive my interest in issues of equity for multilingual learners and their teachers. My knowledge andexperiences as a middle and high school mathematics teacher, building administrator, teacher educator, and researcher drive my interest in issues of equity in mathematics teaching and learning.

4- Associate Prof. Betsy Berry;

Research Interests: Portfolio assessment in mathematics content courses, attitude and affect in mathematics teaching and learning, technology in mathematics education, learning through inquiry and group problem solving.

Panelists

Moderator:Dr. Lane Bloome, Culver-Stockton College, USA

1- Associate Professor Dionne Cross Francis, University of North Carolina, USA

2- Associate Professor John Somers, University of Indianapolis, USA

3- Associate Professor Rıdvan Elmas, Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey

4- Assistant Professor Amber Simpson, Binghamton University, USA

Brief Biography of our Panelists

1- Associate Professor Dionne Cross Francis;

Dionne Cross Francis is an associate professor of mathematics education in the Department of Culture, Curriculum and Teacher Education (CCTE) at University of North Carolina. She has a B.A. in mathematics from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Georgia. Her research interests include investigating the relationships among psychological constructs such as beliefs, identity and emotions, and how the interplay between these constructs influence teachers’ instructional decision-making prior to and during the act of teaching mathematics. Cross Francis is the recipient of the K-12 Promotion of Education Award from the 2014 Women of Color STEM Conference for educators with a demonstrated commitment to enhancing STEM career opportunities for women and minorities through promotion of STEM education programs and exemplary teaching and outreach activities.

2- Associate Professor John Somers;

John Somers is an associate professor of Teacher Education and coordinator of graduate programs at the University of Indianapolis. John completed his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. He teaches courses in STEM, engineering, and special education for elementary education candidates and graduate students. He has served as PI on several national and regional grants including Next Generation
Communities of Mathematical Practice; Using Apps, Animation, and Games to Explore Children’s Mathematical Thinking; Constructing a Virtual Community of Mathematical Practice amongst Teacher Candidates, Practicing Teachers & Teacher Educators; Creating a Mathematics Game Lab; and Creating and Co-constructing Accessible Makerspaces.

3- Associate Professor Rıdvan Elmas;

Ridvan Elmas is an associate professor in Science Education Department at Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey. He graduated as a chemistry teacher with a master’s degree in an integrated teacher education program. He completed his Ph.D. in chemical education at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, in 2012. While carrying out his Ph.D., he was a visiting researcher at the University of Utrecht FISME, The Netherlands, for six months. He worked with Prof. Dr. Albert Pilot on designing contextual teaching and learning environments. From 2012 to 2013, he worked as an Education Strategies Expert in a private company that creates an online adaptive learning management system for high school students. He was appointed as an assistant professor of science education at Afyon Kocatepe University in 2013. Between 2017-2018 he performed his first post-doctoral studies with Prof. Dr. George Bodner on inquiry-based learning and STEM education at Purdue University. Besides, he worked as a senior post-doctoral researcher on a STEM Education Project at Charles University Prague, The Czech Republic, between 2018-2019. He has several roles as a writer to several high school chemistry textbooks to as a researcher and PI in several research projects funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey or EU. Since then, he has constantly been working on designing STEM Modules, Learning in context, and Science curriculum.

4- Assistant Professor Amber Simpson;

Amber Simpson joined the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership in 2017. She received her undergraduate degree in Mathematics, Secondary Education from East Tennessee State University, and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Specialist degree in Education Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University. Simpson spent five years as a high school mathematics teacher in Tennessee before returning to Clemson University to receive her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, Mathematics Education. She is interested in examining maker education in adolescent learning of STEM-related practice skills as well as ways to engage families within the process of making. Simpson is interested in understanding one’s STEM identity: specifically female identification or disidentification in STEM-related degrees and careers. She is interested in exploring how one’s STEM identity is shaped within various learning experiences including formal; informal and out-of-school learning experiences.