John (Jack) P. Smith III
Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley
Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education
513 Erickson Hall
(517) 355-6682 ( office )
Email : jsmith@msu.edu

Jack Smith is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in CEPSE. His principal research interests concern the nature and development (i.e., long-term learning and change) of people's mathematical understandings, particularly around topics that students typically encounter in the middle years, grades 5 through 9. A special interest is understanding algebraic notation and statements. Other interests include mathematics use in workplaces, the relation of epistemology to learning, the role of intuitive understanding in learning mathematics and science, the design of advanced technology for learning mathematics, and the nature of teaching mathematics. Among his current projects is a study of junior and high school students' mathematical transitions engendered by their movement between traditional and reform (Standards-based) curricula and teaching.