Karen J. Graham, Ph.D.

Education

Ph.D. in Mathematics Education, University of New Hampshire, 1986
Master of Science in Mathematics, University of New Hampshire, 1983
Master of Arts in Education, State University of New York at Albany, 1978
Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, State University College at Cortland, 1975

Brief Bio

Professor Graham came to UNH in September 1987 from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.  Her prior professional experiences include teaching mathematics at Pine Plains Central School in Pine Plains, NY.  She has served as the PI and/or co-PI for a number of state and federally funded projects. She has given numerous presentations at local, state, regional, and national conferences. She has served as on several national and regional committees/professional boards and as president of the NH Association of Teachers of Mathematics and the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in New England.   In addition, she has served as a documentation consultant on several national research projects designed to explore mathematics education reform efforts, the QUASAR (Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning) Project, the R3M (Recognizing and Recording Reform in Mathematics Education) Project, and the CCH Evaluation and Documentation Project. She has served as the major advisor for 9 UNH doctoral students in mathematics education since 1995.  In 1999, Dr. Graham received the Richard H. Balomenos Mathematics Education Service Award from the NH Association of Teachers of Mathematics. 

Courses Taught

Calculus I and II (Math 425/426), Geometry (Math 657), Geometry for Teachers (Math 622/722), Topics in Mathematics for Teachers (Math 623/723), Teaching of Mathematics 7-12 (Math 791), Higher Geometry of Teachers I and II (Math 905/906), Foundations of Mathematics Education (Math 958), Topics in Mathematics Education (Math 968A/Math 968B)

General Area of Interest and/or Specialty

The teaching and learning of mathematics, mathematics teacher development

Description of Current Scholarly and/or Professional Activities

My current scholarly interests focus primarily on the area of mathematics teacher development.  This work has led to the development and implementation of two curriculum development projects, Making Mathematical Connections in Programs for Prospective Teachers and Seeing the Connection: Promoting Profound understanding of Secondary Mathematics funded by the National Science Foundation. Each project is designed to address a need for programs that provide prospective teachers with the opportunity to make connections between prior knowledge and future tasks, and to enable them to construct new mathematical and pedagogical knowledge by engaging in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Research efforts in the context of these projects focuses how prospective teachers develop their understanding of mathematics.

My professional activities reflect and complement my scholarly interests.  In 2003, I was appointed the inaugural director of the Joan and James Leitzel Center for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education (leitzelcenter.unh.edu). Since 1989, I have served as the co-Director of the Mathematics and Statistics Department’s Master of Science for Teachers (MST) program. The University of New Hampshire's MST Program in mathematics originated in the early 1960's as a National Science Foundation Summer Institute, and has served hundreds of mathematics teachers from around the country and internationally. The program is typically completed in three summers and is designed primarily for experienced teachers of secondary school mathematics. (www.math.unh.edu/~mathadm/mst/)  I am active in several professional organizations including: The New Hampshire Teachers of Mathematics (NHTM), The Assoication of Teachers of Mathematics in New England (ATMNE), The North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA), the Special Interest Group for Research in Mathematics Education (SIG-RME), the Special Interest Group for Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (SIG-RUME), and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). 

Representative Publications

Portnoy, N., Grundmeier, T., and Graham, K. J. (2006).  Students’ understanding of mathematical objects in the context of transformational geometry: Implications for constructing and understanding proofs.  Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 25, 196-207.

Ferrini-Mundy, J. and Graham, K.J. (2002).  The Education of Mathematics Teachers in the United States in the Decades Following World War II: Goals, Programs, and Practicies. In J. Kilpatrick and G. Stanic (Eds.). History of Mathematics Education. Reston, VA:  NCTM. 

Graham, K.J., and Fennell, F. (2001). Principles and Standards for School Mathematics and Teacher Education: Preparing and Empowering Teachers. School Science and Mathematics, 101(6), pp. 319-327.

Graham, K.J., Li, Y., & Curran Buck, J. (2000).  Characteristics of Mathematics Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States:  An Exploratory Study.  The Mathematics Educator, 5(1/2), pp. 5-31. 

Heid, M.K., Ferrini-Mundy, J., Graham, K., and Harel, G. (1998). The Role of Advanced Mathematical Thinking in Mathematics Education Reform.  In S. Berenson et.al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, v.1. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C..

Ferrini-Mundy, J., Graham, K., Johnson, L., and Mills, G. (Eds.), (1998): Making Change in Mathematics Education: Learning from the Field., NCTM, Reston, VA.

Ferrini-Mundy, J. & Graham, K.  (1994). Research in Calculus Learning: Understanding of Limits, Derivatives, and Integrals. Research Issues in Undergraduate Mathematics Learning: Preliminary Analyses and Results.  MAA Notes Number 33. Mathematical Association of America.

COMPLETE VITAE