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New Award for Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education

New Award for Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education


John and Annie Selden

By Ann Watkins

In November, the MAA Board of Governors approved a new award, the Annie and John Selden Prize for Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. Annie and John Selden gave the MAA funds sufficient to support this prize, which will honor a researcher who has established a significant record of published research in undergraduate mathematics education and who has been in the field at most ten years. The prize is meant to be an encouragement to such researchers and one prize of $500 will be awarded every other year.

Please make a nomination if you know a worthy candidate. The nominee must have a significant record of published research in collegiate mathematics education. The research can be quantitative or qualitative on topics such as cognition, affect, gender, effects of technology, teaching and learning of specific mathematical topics, motivation, writing and reading of mathematics, influence of the social structure of mathematics departments upon teaching and learning, and assessment. The subjects may be post-secondary students, pre-service teachers, teaching assistants, or the faculty who teach them. For more information and nomination forms, go to http:// www.maa.org/Awards/selden.html.

Annie and John Selden worked in topological semigroups before turning to research in undergraduate mathematics education late in their careers. After long careers at various universities in the U.S. and abroad, they are now Adjunct Professors of Mathematics, New Mexico State University. In 2002, Annie Selden received the Association for Women in Mathematics Louise Hay Award for Contributions to Mathematics Education for being “a visionary for the promotion of research in collegiate mathematics education” and for providing “leadership for the professional community of mathematics educators.” In 2003, she was elected a Fellow of the AAAS. Before turning to research in mathematics education, John Selden directed nine Ph.D.'s in mathematics. For samples of their research in undergraduate mathematics education, read “Validations of Proofs Considered as Texts: Can Undergraduates Tell Whether an Argument Proves a Theorem?” Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 34(1), 2003, 4-36 and “Can Average Calculus Students Solve Nonroutine Problems?” (with A. Mason), Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 8, 1989, 45-50.

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3988
News Date: 
Tuesday, January 4, 2005