NSF grant funds research on how KY elementary teachers present mathematics to students

News from NKU...

Monday - August 1, 2011
For immediate release...


HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University's Dr. Jonathan Thomas, assistant professor of mathematics education, and Dr. Sara Eisenhardt, elementary/mathematics education, have been awarded a $60,475 grant from the National Science Foundation to research the way in which elementary teachers are prepared to present mathematics to students across Kentucky.

The two-year project, titled "Noticing Numeracy Now (N3)," is a collaborative research effort including NKU and other Kentucky universities. The results of this research have the potential to shift the paradigm of undergraduate teacher preparation to a focus on mathematics teaching practice that is consistently informed by children's mathematical thinking and the complexities of mathematics content.

"My colleagues from several universities in the state and I have been working together for nearly two years to develop and pilot our Noticing Numeracy Now module," Thomas said. "The Kentucky Center for Mathematics and our respective universities, including our Research and Sponsored programs personnel and our consulting colleague, Dr. Teri Murphy of NKU, have been supportive over the two years. Now, to receive funding from the National Science Foundation to continue our work is quite encouraging, especially in light of the current budget situation."

Research will use a module developed by Thomas and Eisenhardt, along with Edna O. Schack of Morehead State University, Dr. Molly Fisher of the University of Kentucky, Dr. Margaret Yoder of Eastern Kentucky University and Dr. Janet Tassell of Western Kentucky University. It will be based on professional literature in the areas of professional noticing and the Stages of Early Arithmetic Learning (SEAL). NKU's Dr. Lenore Kinne will serve as external evaluator.

Learn more about KCM at http://www.kentuckymathematics.org.

### NKU ###