Elizabeth Suazo Flores

University of North Dakota | UND · Teaching Leadership

People often view mathematics as abstract, cold, and irrelevant to real life, and their school experiences likely influence such views. In this case study, we investigated the mathematics experiences of two women who participated in an afterschool girls-only STEM club 30 years ago when they were in fifth and sixth grades. We explored how the partic...

Mathematics education researchers (MERs) use practices unique to the mathematics education discipline to conduct their work. MERs’ practices, i.e., ways of being, interacting, and operating, define the field of mathematics education, are initially learned in doctoral preparation programs, and are encouraged and sanctioned by conferences and publica...

The Building Painted Cubes Task is a groupworthy algebraic task. Students build cubes using linking unit cubes, search for algebraic patterns, and report findings on posters. This task can create spaces for students to see themselves as doers of mathematics.

A mathematics teacher educator’s (MTE) use of self-based methodologies goes beyond developing MTE professional knowledge by contributing scholarly inquiry into MTE work. Existing discussions of MTEs’ use of self-based methodologies have provided descriptions of the methodologies and examples of their use by MTEs to unpack their practice. What is le...

Graphing is a core STEM skill and especially important with the renewed emphasis on teaching science through authentic science practices. Yet there is a lack of research on undergraduate student graphing competencies and how those competencies develop, in part because of a paucity of valid assessments of graph construction. Building assessments of...

The Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Indiana STEM Education Conference are edited by the Center for Advancing the Teaching and Learning of STEM (CATALYST, https://www.education.purdue.edu/catalyst/) at Purdue University. The theme for the 2023 conference is Advancing STEM with Students. This year’s Indiana STEM Education Conference provides opportu...

Mathematics education researchers (MERs) engage in interdisciplinary collaborations that contribute to the mathematics education discipline. MERs' learned forms of work and discourse, i.e., practices, are particular to their mathematics education discipline and might not align with practices needed to conduct interdisciplinary work. We interviewed...

People often view mathematics as abstract, cold, and irrelevant to real-life, and their school experiences influence such views. In this case study, we investigated the mathematics learning experiences of two women who participated in an afterschool girls STEM club 26 years ago. We explored their experiences in and out of school and how such experi...

Mathematics Education Researchers (MERs) contribute to the growth of mathematics education when joining interdisciplinary groups. However, little is known about the ways of work within such groups (i.e., practices). We aimed to enhance our definition of practices by exploring practices reported by an MER in her interdisciplinary group. A transcript...

Mathematics Education Researchers (MERs) contribute to the growth of mathematics education when joining interdisciplinary groups. However, we know little about ways of work and discourse within such groups. We explored practices reported by an MER during a semi-structured interview about her interdisciplinary group experiences. A grounded theory an...

Graphing is an important practice for scientists and in K-16 science curricula. Graphs can be constructed using an array of software packages as well as by hand, with pen-and-paper. However, we have an incomplete understanding of how students' graphing practice vary by graphing environment; differences could affect how best to teach and assess grap...

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The name of “Susan Maruca” is now corrected in the author group.

We describe how a group of eighth-grade students reasoned abstractly and quantitatively after the teacher fostered their engagement by using moves such as inviting students to draw and revoicing talk in a real-world context task.

Background As engineering becomes increasingly incorporated into precollege classrooms, it is important to explore students' ability to engage in engineering practices. One of these practices, engaging in argument from evidence, has been well studied in science education. However, it has not yet been fully explored in engineering education. Purpos...

Mathematics Education Researchers’ work in interdisciplinary research groups can be enriching and challenging in terms of communication, work processes, institutional support, and the translation of findings into viable results for existing disciplines. We contend that there is a need to explore practices (i.e., ways of being, operating, and intera...

As mathematics education researchers (MERs) are encouraged to work in interdisciplinary research groups, they expose themselves to different practices (i.e., established or emergent ways of being, operating, and interacting with others). To explore practices documented by interdisciplinary research groups containing at least one MER, we conducted a...

Engineering design‐based STEM integration is one potential model to help students integrate content and practices from all of the STEM disciplines. In this study, we explored the intersection of two aspects of pre‐college STEM education: the integration of the STEM disciplines, and the NGSS practice of engaging in argument from evidence within engi...

Mathematics Education Researchers (MERs) working in interdisciplinary research groups face challenges as the group members expose themselves to new ways of knowing and operating. To explore collaboration practices containing at least one MER, we conducted an examination of peer reviewed papers. Three common practices were identified: (1) partnering...

Mathematics Education Researchers (MERs) working in interdisciplinary research groups face challenges as the group members expose themselves to new ways of knowing and operating. To explore collaboration practices containing at least one MER, we conducted an examination of peer reviewed papers. Three common practices were identified: (1) partnering...

Graphing is one practice used by scientists to explore and analyze quantitative data sets to test hypotheses, make inferences, and communicate findings. Graphing in the context of biology often brings knowledge of statistics and biological inquiry together with knowledge of representations and visual processing to make meaning. We analyzed 26 under...

Teacher stories/autobiographies have been used by mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) to gain insight into prospective teachers’ (PTs) experience with mathematics, yet stories of MTEs’ motivation for and learning by engaging PTs in creating teacher stories is less understood. We fill this gap by narrating our experiences gaining insight into motiv...

Teacher stories/autobiographies have been used by mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) to gain insight into prospective teachers' (PTs) experience with mathematics, yet stories of MTEs' motivation for and learning by engaging PTs in creating teacher stories is less understood. We fill this gap by narrating our experiences gaining insight into motiv...

Article History The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore how undergraduate students in an applied calculus course used the written curriculum (i.e., textbook, online homework system, and previous exams). The study design included three phases: (a) an online survey, (b) individual observations, and (c) student interviews. Students' sur...

The field of mathematics education is embracing a diversity of research paradigms, which have allowed mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) to research their academic experiences. This has begun to unearth the diversity and complexity of MTEs’ work. Yet, there are few spaces for MTEs to explore and reflect on those experiences. In this working group...

Real-world contexts in mathematics could be used as learning situations that allow students to combine their mathematical and contextual knowledge. This study explores what mathematical and contextual knowledge 15 eighth-graders brought to a packing task. Students worked on the task for three 45-minute periods of class. The classroom teacher led th...

This study is an effort to expand conceptualizations of mathematics teachers' knowledge where teachers' experiences are considered an important source of their knowledge. Using Schwab's (1969, 1983) concept of curriculum and Dewey's (1938) theory of experience as theoretical lenses, the researcher, a former secondary mathematics teacher, explored a...

Using Noddings’s (1984) caring theory, Elizabeth Suazo Flores—a third-year PhD student in mathematics edu- cation—describes how a caring relationship developed between her and an eighth grade mathematics teacher, Lisa. Noddings’s (1984) caring theory provided insights into their community-based experience, which was characterized by trust and open-...