New methods to make mathematics easier to understand

“I think we can all attest that just because somebody is good at math doesn't guarantee that they're good at teaching it,” said Brooklyn Willett, a PhD student in the Mathematics Education program. Willett presented a pilot study of her research exploring new ways of teaching math at the 46th annual conference of the North American chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA). A grant from the Office of Research and Graduate Studies helped fund Willett’s trip to Cleveland, OH, where the conference was held.  

Willett’s research examined problem solving approaches that will be used by future math teachers.  This research was conducted through two sets of interviews with math education students. Willett found that a student’s knowledge on how to teach problem solving skills is influenced by the way their teachers taught them math throughout the years.  

Willett’s project was inspired by her experiences teaching high school before coming to CMU. After hearing students question whether the skills learned in her classroom were useful in real world situations more times than she could count, Willett was determined to provide an answer to them. Her goal was to make sure all students had the right methods to solve problems in their daily lives. 

Willett is currently working on conducting a larger study that includes practicing student teachers to help add additional value to her data.  Willett hopes her framework is used as a knowledge base to improve problem-solving teaching methods that all people can benefit from. After completing her PhD, Willett intends to contribute to schools in mid-Michigan.