Elana Reiser, Ed.D., director of SJNY’s master’s in mathematics education program, and SJNY alumna Jenna Trusnovec ’21, ’23 M.A., recently presented their published case study, The Thinking Classroom in a College Setting, at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) conference, the world’s largest mathematics education organization, in Washington, D.C.
The case study was a result of a semester-long research project on student-centered teaching. It explores mathematics teaching, thinking classrooms and post-secondary calculus to develop and support teachers’ mathematical pedagogy.
“We spent a semester doing a book study and planning the course, and then the following semester, Jenna sat in on the course and helped me teach it,” said Dr. Reiser. “Jenna ended up using data from the course to write her masters’ thesis and described our experiences.”
The teaching framework they used for the course was designed for K-12 math classrooms that they modified for a college classroom.
“St. Joe’s prepared me for so many opportunities because of the ability to form relationships with professors,” Trusnovec said. “I was able to truly get to know both my professors and peers. I was also able to take on more challenges because I had support when I needed it, so I was in the right head space.”
Trusnovec is in her second year as a high school math teacher. She has taught Algebra I, Algebra II, Intermediate Algebra and Real Numbers. Within the next few years, she plans to pursue a doctorate in mathematics or mathematics education.
“Jenna is a rare student who loves to learn and experience all aspects of mathematics teaching,” said Dr. Reiser. “I am proud of all that she has accomplished and will go on to accomplish in the future.
The NCTM Research Conference brings the research community together to share, build on collective research, and support each other to inform mathematics pedagogy and practice.
