Dr. Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, Professor of Mathematics Education, College of Education, Michigan State University will give two presentations while on campus at Appalachian State University on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
First she will give a talk integrated with small group discussion titled “Power and positioning in professional development, mathematics classrooms and research” from 3-5 p.m. in the Reich College of Education, Room 124A. The group discussion will be organized around critical issues in mathematics education research. Readings for the discussion can be found at http://bit.ly/2S6KBkw. To set the stage for this discussion, Herbel-Eisenmann shared this set of articles and book chapters that illustrate some of the ways power and positioning have surfaced in her work collaborating with teacher-researchers, through their work in the classroom and in mathematics education research. She highlights how these pieces relate to her story as a teacher, educator and researcher.
“I ask participants, in particular, to consider how the theories/concepts, suggestions and findings relate to their own stories and work,” said Herbel-Eisenmann.
Secondly, she will give an evening lecture from 7-8 p.m. in Reich College of Education, Room 124B/C titled “Using action research to counter the deprofessionalization of teachers, improve classroom discourse and humanize students.” This event is free and open to the campus and community.
In this talk, Herbel-Eisenmann will highlight the work of a group of teacher-researchers she has collaborated with over the past seven years. She will explain how action research, as a form of professional development, counters the deprofessionalization of teachers and how she has worked together to change classroom discourse practices to position students as intellectual contributors, attend more deeply to students’ perspectives and work to counter implicit bias.
“I argue that this kind of work is imperative to countering the kinds of practices that deprofessionalize teachers and changing practices that can inadvertently dehumanize students,” said Herbel-Eisenmann.
A former junior high mathematics teacher, Herbel-Eisenmann is currently a professor of Mathematics Education at Michigan State University (MSU), where she has served as Elementary and Secondary Mathematics subject area leader, taught teacher preparation programs and the PhD program in Mathematics Education. She has spent most of her academic career working in collaboration with secondary mathematics teachers who have used action research to become more purposeful about their discourse practices and better support students’ opportunities to learn.
“In my work, I draw on ideas from sociolinguistics and discourse literatures to research written curriculum and classroom discourse practices as well as the professional development of secondary mathematics teachers. I am especially interested in issues of equity that concern authority, positioning and voice in mathematics classrooms and professional development,” said Herbel-Eisenmann.
This event is sponsored by the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Please contact Travis Weiland weilandtj@appstate.edu for more information or questions.
###
About the Department of Mathematical Sciences
The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers undergraduate degrees in actuarial science and mathematics, with concentrations in business, computation, life sciences, physical sciences, secondary teaching and statistics, plus a general, self-designed concentration. The department also offers the Master of Arts in mathematics, with concentrations in college teaching and secondary teaching. Learn more at https://mathsci.appstate.edu.
Feb. 27, 2019
By Ellen Gwin Burnette
BOONE, N.C.
Dr. Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, Professor of Mathematics Education, College of Education, Michigan State University
Dr. Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, Professor of Mathematics Education, College of Education, Michigan State University