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The following students are currently enrolled in PhD programs in mathematics education at MSU. They have volunteered to be graduate student Ambassadors, which means that they would be delighted to respond to any questions that you have about our graduate programs or life generally as a graduate student at MSU. Each has provided a short description of who they are, what their background is, and what their current interests are. So please read about our very talented graduate students and feel free to contact any or all of them. You may also contact grad students listed in our directory if you have more specific questions.
Ed Corcoran
I started the Ph.D. in Math Education program in 2007. Before that I worked at the University of Arkansas, which is also where I recieved my B.S. in mathematics, physics and computer science in 2005. Generally speaking, I am interested in undergraduate mathematics education. More specifically, I am interested in developmental mathematics courses, quantitative literacy and the mathematics education of pre-service elementary teachers. At MSU I've been able to work as a research assistant doing curriculum development and also been able to teach Survey of Calculus II.
Greg Larnell
My name is Gregory Larnell, and I am a fourth-year student in the Mathematics Education Doctoral Program in the Division of Mathematics and Science Education. I started my doctoral studies in the Department of Mathematics in the fall of 2004. Over the past few years, I have developed an interest in equity and justice in mathematics education and have worked with a number of faculty members and graduate students at MSU and at other universities to push my thinking and to create community-wide discussions around these issues. Currently, I am working on my own research project focused on students' experiences in remedial mathematics courses in four-year universities to bring some attention to the inequities that persist in the university mathematics pipeline.
As most of our doctoral students will probably agree, I have enjoyed a number of diverse
mathematics education-related experiences with the MSU faculty and graduate students.
Over the past three years, I have been involved in curriculum-related research as a doctoral
fellow of the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum, most notably working on analyses
of state-level mathematics expectations. I have had the opportunity to extend that work through
the Michigan Department of Education and have been able to travel and present for a number
of audiences. I have taught a geometry course for future elementary teachers and, in the spring
semester of this year, will co-teach a new course that we (with an MSU faculty member) have
developed on the history of mathematics for future elementary teachers.
I am very willing to answer your questions about mathematics education at MSU!
Irini Papaieronymou
I am an international student from Cyprus currently pursuing a PhD in Mathematics Education, in the Division of Science and Mathematics Education at MSU. Although 2005-2006 is officially my first year in the PhD program, I have been in the USA for 8 years and at MSU for 5 years. While a student in Cyprus, I was always fascinated by the subject of mathematics. This fascination led me to the decision to become a mathematics high school teacher. As a result, after graduating from high school in Cyprus, I attended Indiana University Bloomington where I received a B.Sc in Mathematics. While studying at Indiana, I became interested in statistics and its applications to other subjects. In August 2002, I came to MSU to continue with graduate studies in Applied Statistics and received my M.Sc in December 2004. While a graduate student in Statistics at MSU, I worked as a Teaching Assistant for an introductory mathematics course (MTH 106 - currently MTH 112) in the Mathematics Department for two years. I am currently teaching MTH 201, a mathematics course at MSU for prospective elementary teachers. I have also been a research assistant for two of the projects on the MSU campus relating to mathematics education: KAT (a project relating to teacher education and secondary school algebra) and TEDS-M (a cross-national study of teacher education). My positive experiences as a graduate student in statistics at MSU along with my interest in mathematics and its teaching, led to my decision to apply for the PhD program in DSME at MSU. I will be happy to answer any questions that you might have about life at MSU.
Samuel Otten
Sam received his secondary teaching certificate in mathematics from Grand Valley State University in 2006 and his master's degree in mathematics from Michigan State University in 2008. He served as a teaching assistant in the mathematics department at MSU for four semesters and is currently working as a research assistant for a discourse project with Beth Herbel-Eisenmann and an induction project with Ralph Putnam. His personal research interests have to do with mathematical processes (e.g., reasoning, proof, problem solving) at the middle school level and their relationship with classroom discourse.
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