Research on Teaching Mathematics Highlighted at Capitol Hill Exhibition
AERA Participates in CNSF Event for Seventh Consecutive Year

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) joined 32 other professional societies and universities to showcase research and education projects supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) at the 17th Annual Exhibition sponsored by the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF). “STEM Research and Education: Underpinning American Innovation” was the theme for the May 11th event held in the Rayburn House Office Building.

Research presented by Karen D. King, Ph.D., the AERA-sponsored scholar, appropriately illustrated this theme and importantly underscored the significance of effective middle school mathematics teaching for student achievement. Her poster featured an effectiveness study conducted with all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade mathematics teachers in the Newark, New Jersey public schools during the 2008-2009 school year.

King, associate professor of mathematics education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, had the opportunity to share her research with Cora Marrett, senior advisor in the Office of the NSF Director, and with Joan Ferrini-Mundy, assistant director of the NSF Directorate on Education and Human Resources (EHR).

At the Capitol Hill event, these NSF leaders and other NSF staff were joined by five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Penn), Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), and Rep. Glenn W.  Thompson (R-Penn). The representatives and another 280 individuals were informally briefed on an array of   projects that ranged from climate literacy research to the promise of nanotechnology in enhancing energy efficiency.

As principal investigator, King has two NSF-funded research grants center on understanding the mathematical preparation of future secondary teachers and on the way that teachers use innovative middle school mathematics materials and the impact on student learning. She also is co-principal investigator of an NSF-funded Noyce Fellowship grant at NYU. All of her research is supported by NSF’s EHR Directorate.

King is well acquainted with NSF. She previously served as a NSF program director in the former Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education where she managed projects primarily in the Teacher Professional Continuum Program. She also oversaw curriculum projects in Instructional Materials Development and policy for the Education and Human Resources Directorate. At the end of this academic year, King becomes director of research at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, located in Reston, Virginia.