Our courses are taught by faculty with diverse experiences in K-12 and college classrooms. Learn more about the faculty who teach in this program:
Chris Austin taught mathematics at the secondary, community college, and university levels prior to earning a PhD in Mathematics Education from the University of Missouri. His scholarly interests include students’ engagement with mathematical practices, and particularly, students’ and teachers’ use of multiple representations of mathematical ideas.
José Contreras is a professor and former high school mathematics teacher. Prior to coming to Ball State in 2010, he taught for 14 years at the University of Southern Mississippi. His areas of expertise include teacher education, teaching and learning with technology, geometry education, theories of learning mathematics, and history of mathematics. Contreras earned his PhD in mathematics education from The Ohio State University.
Andrew Gatza is an assistant professor and former middle grades teacher who is passionate about student thinking as well as positioning each and every student as a doer and learner of mathematics. His research interests include bringing together equity and justice issues with rich mathematical problem sequences to investigate the kinds of reasoning in which students engage in as a result of these problem explorations (i.e., interdisciplinary explorations). Relatedly, he engages in school partnership work and is interested in investigating how to support mathematics teachers to establish discourse-rich, justice-oriented classroom spaces with the aim of creating humanizing mathematics education experiences for students. He completed his doctoral work in Mathematics Education (Bloomington) and Urban Education Studies (Indianapolis) from Indiana University.
Josh Mannix spent several years teaching middle and high school mathematics in and around Indianapolis before pursuing his PhD in mathematics education. His research focuses on math anxiety and mathematical attitudes and beliefs; he also has interests in grading practices, assessment, and math education reform.
Kristi Martin is an assistant teaching professor. Before earning her PhD in mathematics education from North Carolina State University, she taught math for over a decade, mostly to high school and community college students. At Ball State, she primarily teaches courses in the math for elementary teachers sequence. Her research is focused on preparing teachers to teach mathematics and has recently included a focus on cognitive science.
Jenna Menke is an assistant professor and a former high school mathematics teacher. Her research focuses on mathematical action technology, preservice and inservice teacher education, and the potential of video analysis to improve teacher noticing. She earned her PhD in mathematics education from the University of Georgia.
Sam Prough is an assistant professor at Ball State. Prior to joining the university, they worked with elementary teachers in professional learning and was a high school mathematics teacher. Sam's research interests include elementary teachers' use of whole classroom discussion across content areas, students' equitable participation in mathematics learning, and how families engage with informal mathematics practices. Sam earned their PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, with a focus in mathematics education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jonathan Watkins is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and a former high school mathematics teacher. His teaching interests include content courses for prospective K-12 teachers, and his research interests include mathematical knowledge for teaching, educational technology/courseware in mathematics, and equitable teaching practices and strategies in mathematics. Watkins earned his PhD in mathematics education at the University of Louisville in 2018.
Jerry Woodward is an associate professor and has taught in the middle school, high school, and university classroom. His many areas of expertise include additive reasoning, multiplicative, reasoning, algebraic reasoning, learning theory, pre-service and practicing teacher education, inquiry-based pedagogy, and STEM education. He holds an Indiana teaching license in mathematics for grades 5-12 and a computer endorsement for grades K-12. Dr. Woodward earned his PhD in mathematics education from Purdue University.