Pitvorec wins Wagreich STEM Eduction Award
Research Assistant Professor Kathleen Pitvorec has been named the winner of the 2021 - 2022 Phillip Wagreich STEM Education Award.
“Kathleen is part of the fabric of mathematics education reform locally and nationally,” said LSRI founding co-Director Dr. Susan Goldman, who nominated Pitvorec. “For over thirty years, she has been contributing to improvements in how teachers teach and how students learn mathematics through hands-on involvement in curriculum development, creating and researching teacher professional learning opportunities and observing and analyzing students’ mathematics learning.”
Pitvorec holds a B.A. in Anthropology, an M.S.T. from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences (Math Ed focus) from UIC. She is one of the principal authors of Everyday Mathematics, the Pre-K through Grade 6 program from the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project. Pitvorec has worked on a variety of research projects related to mathematics education, including projects focused on preservice teachers making sense of mathematical ideas, and on exploring how curricular materials can support English Language learners. More recently she has been using her multifaceted knowledge of mathematics classrooms, teachers, and students to mentor researchers just entering the field of Learning Sciences and Mathematics Education.
The Phillip Wagreich STEM Education Award is given in recognition of an individual’s contributions to the improvement of STEM education through scholarship and service. The award was established by the LSRI in memory of Dr. Phillip Wagreich, a distinguished mathematician and educator and a role model for the substantive involvement of research mathematicians nationally in pre-college mathematics education. Dr. Wagreich was also a co-founder of the Mathematicians and Education Reform Forum, a national clearinghouse that built a program of interconnected K-12, undergraduate and graduate-level educational activities for mathematicians.
“What becomes apparent in working with Kathleen is her profound understanding of how students learn mathematics, what it takes to support their learning, and how to use what they say and do as evidence of how they are understanding the mathematics,” added Goldman. “She’s a true leader in the field and one that Phil Wagreich would be exceptionally proud of."