Michigan Tech News Archives | Page 5 of 5 | Cognitive and Learning Sciences News

Dr. Stockero is new AMTE Executive Director

Published June 25, 2019

Raleigh NC, June 07, 2019 – The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) is excited to announce the selection of Executive Director Designate, Dr. Shari Stockero from Michigan Tech University, who will begin her term of service as Executive Director in February 2020.

Shari Stockero is a Professor of Mathematics Education and the Director of Teacher Education at Michigan Technological University. She has served AMTE in a variety of ways, including as Associate Vice-President for the Emerging Issues Committee, as a member of the Conference Program Committee, and on the Editorial Panel of the seventh AMTE monograph. She also led the group that formed the Michigan AMTE affiliate (MI-AMTE) and has served as chair of the PME-NA Steering Committee. Her collaborative NSF-funded research project (Building on MOSTs: Investigating Productive Use of High-Leverage Student Mathematical Thinking) focuses on understanding what it looks like to productively use high-potential instances of student mathematical thinking during a lesson to support student learning. She is also co-PI on an NSF Noyce project (Michigan Middle School Master Teacher Fellows Program) that focuses on developing middle school science teacher leaders in Michigan.

We were pleased to receive excellent applications and to interview two outstanding finalists for the position. Persons on the search team were impressed both by Shari’s history of active participation and experience in AMTE activities, as well as her ability to look broadly at the mathematics teacher education landscape and envision how AMTE can continue to be a strong voice in mathematics teacher education. All of the applications we received were from persons who have great organizational skills, strong communication skills, and a deep love for the work of AMTE.

The search process for the new executive director was completed over three months, but included many months prior with discussions and encouragement of members to apply for the position. The formal search was led by Randy Philipp, current Past-President of AMTE, and included the following members of the search team: Mike Steele, current AMTE President; Tim Hendrix, current AMTE Executive Director; Jennifer Bay-Williams, past president of AMTE; Christine Browning, former Vice-President of Publications and former AMTE Board member; Eva Thanheiser, current Board Member-at-Large; Dorothy Y. White, former AMTE Board member;and Trena Wilkerson, former AMTE Board Member and current Associate Vice-President for Conferences. We want to thank these individuals for their service to AMTE in leading this important search process.

Applications for the position were solicited and submitted by the end of February. Review of applications and interview of finalist candidates were conducted in March. In the April Board meeting, the search committee made a recommendation to the AMTE Board of Directors to appoint Shari Stockero. After unanimous approval, the offer of service was extended to Shari, who accepted the appointment with an initial four-year term of service. Discussions then began between Shari, AMTE, and her home institution, Michigan Technological University (MTU), to develop a Memorandum of Agreement, which was approved by the AMTE Board in their May meeting, and has been executed by both AMTE and MTU. AMTE provides the Executive Director with a nominal stipend and support funds to operate the AMTE Headquarters at their home institution, given in the form of a subcontract to the host institution.

Shari Stockero will become the fourth Executive Director of AMTE, following Judith Jacobs (1998 – 2000), Nadine Bezuk (2001 – 2014) and Tim Hendrix (2014 – 2020). Shari will shadow current Executive Director, Tim Hendrix, and continue to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of Executive Director. At the conclusion of the 24^th AMTE Annual Conference in February 2020, Hendrix will step down and Stockero will begin her term of service. AMTE is fortunate to have dedicated members who are invested in the mission and goals of the organization, and who commit their professional time and service to AMTE.

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Dr. Timothy Hendrix, current AMTE Executive Director at 919.760.8240 or by email at hendrixt@meredith.edu.

Copied from AMTE website

Women’s Free Sale

Published February 7, 2019

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Please join us at the Harold Meese Center on Saturday, February 16th to find your perfect career fair outfit! Select from a large variety of styles and sizes of gently used business clothing and accessories, perfect for career fair or interviews. Did we mention that you get to take home your outfit for free?

This event is made possible by donations from MTU faculty and staff, alumni, and the local community.

Alumni Spotlight: Chemical Kim

Published April 23, 2018

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Over the past 10 years I’ve taken my love of teaching chemistry to the community and volunteer bringing hands-on learning to schools, organizations, libraries, the children’s hospital, and television science segments on ABC affiliate stations (WZZM 13 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and ABC7 in Fort Myers, Florida). I present a blend of smart and entertaining hands-on science activities that motivate kids to continually question and investigate their world. My encouragement is to never stop being curious and never stop seeking the answers.

In addition, I utilize mobile technology in my teaching in the chemistry classroom, laboratory, and science outreach. I’ve authored several technology grants and have led several workshops at local colleges and schools teaching on the integration of mobile technology in the classroom.

I started into the education program at MTU as a junior as a result of two friends majoring in mathematics that convinced me to join them. I really wasn’t expecting to go into teaching. I loved chemistry and was planning on a career as a research chemist. Standing in front of a group of people was always so fearful to me. As I got farther into the education program, I started to discover how much I was enjoying my classes. It got me thinking how many college chemistry professors really don’t know how to teach. This motivated me more in the education program at MTU. I started to feel like I could be that change and teach chemistry better than it was taught to me. The education program at MTU gave me that “face your fear and find your passion” moment. I faced my fear of being in front of a group of people and found a passion that made everyday of going to work since, a joy.

My advice to current teachers is to do what you love. If you don’t find a love in your subject or in teaching it, don’t force it. The teaching world is filled with too many who complain about teaching, students, and the hard work for so little pay. Yes, the pay is little and yes, the work is hard… but if you love it, you will not regret a day of your career choice. You will make a difference to the world because you’re giving the good part of yourself, the happy part.

Always be yourself and do not teach a particular style just because that’s how you were taught. Teaching is always evolving and be ready for constant change. The best experiences you can bring to the classroom are your life experiences. Use your personality and life experiences to make the best environment for learning. In the early years of your teaching, keep learning more hands-on about your subject and education. Substitute teach, participate in research, attend workshops and seminars, become active at your school. And if you have time, volunteer in your community.

If you’re enjoying teaching, then your students are probably enjoying learning. And if your nervous, that is good because nerves means you care. The day I’m not nervous or a bit scared to go into a classroom might be the day I might be ready to retire from teaching.

To learn more, check out Chemical Kim’s social media sites: www.youtube.com/scistudio, www.chemicalkim.com

Students Inducted into the National Honor Society in Psychology

Published December 5, 2017

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The Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences inducted seven new members into Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology: Glory Creed, Elizabeth Kelliher, Abigail Kuehne, Mariah Sherman, Kay Tislar, Samantha Verran, and Kira Warner. The induction ceremony took place at the Harold Meese Center on Sunday, December 3. The Michigan Tech Chapter of Psi Chi is led by Halie Hart (President) and Caden Sumner (Treasurer) and advised by Dr. Kelly Steelman.

Dr. Myounghoon “Philart” Jeon Publishes Handbook

Published April 13, 2017

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Dr. Myounghoon “Philart” Jeon, Associate Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences and the Department of Computer Science, published his first handbook titled “Emotions and Affect in Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction” with Elsevier publishing company on April 5th, 2017.

“Emotions and Affect in Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction“ is a complete guide for conducting affect-related research and design projects in H/F and HCI domains. Introducing necessary concepts, methods, approaches, and applications, the book highlights how critical emotions and affect are to everyday life and interaction with cognitive artifacts. The text covers the basis of neural mechanisms of affective phenomena, as well as representative approaches to affective computing, Kansei engineering, hedonomics, pleasurable product design, and emotional design.

Dr. Jeon is the founding director of the Mind Music Machine Lab. He also serves as a Director of the Center for Human-Centered Computing at the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems at Michigan Tech. His research focuses on HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) and HRI (Human-Robot Interaction), including Auditory Displays, Affective Computing, Assistive Technologies, Automotive User Interfaces, and Aesthetic Computing. His research has yielded more than 150 publications across top peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings. His research is currently supported by NIH (National Institutes of Health), DOT (Department of Transportation), FRA (Federal Railroad Association), Hyundai Motors Company, Equos Research Co., LTD., and MTTI (Michigan Tech Transportation Institute). Dr. Jeon teaches Affective Design and Computing, Human Factors, Human Factors II: Multimodal Design and Measures, Human-Robot Interaction, and Human-Centered Design, among others. He serves as an Associate Editor of MIT Press Journal, Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments and Affective Design Technical Committee of International Ergonomics Association (IEA). He has recently guest-edited journal special issues in “subliminal perception” (Presence) and “social cars and connected vehicles” (Pervasive and Mobile Computing), “arts and aesthetics in VR (Presence), and “sonic information design” (Ergonomics in Design). He actively works in international conferences – chairing programs and sessions, organizing workshops, and serving as program committee in AutomotiveUI, ICAD, HFES, CHI, MobileHCI, UbiComp, and PersuasiveTech.