PRIME Welcomes 9 New Doctoral Students in Fall 2023
PRIME is delighted to welcome nine new outstanding mathematics education doctoral students this fall: Jose Contreras, Maria Cruciani, Catherine Davis, Ahmad Wachidul Kohar, Miguel Rodriguez Mejia, Sasha Rudow, Ishan Santra, Valerie Sosnowski, and Samantha Wald.
Front row: Maria Cruciani, Samantha Wald, Valerie Sosnowski
Back row: Jose Contreras, Catherine Davis, Sasha Rudow, Miguel Rodriguez Mejia, Ishan Santra, Ahmad Wachidul Kohar
Read about their educational background and current mathematics education research interests below. We will be featuring each student individually in a spotlight post throughout the fall semester. Stay tuned!
Jose Contreras has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from California State University,
Los Angeles and a master’s degree, also in mathematics, from California State Polytechnic
University, Pomona. His research interests are in equitable practices, ethnomathematics, and first-generation
students in first-year undergraduate math courses. Jose wants to research the impact of public policy on learning environments and experiences
of students who are often marginalized in math; equitable practices in K-16 mathematics
education, governmental policy and its effect on math curriculum, non-western pedagogies,
and ethnomathematics.
Maria Cruciani completed bachelor's degrees in applied mathematics and statistics
from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in May 2023. Maria’s research interests
include the teaching and learning of statistics, student-centered teaching, and inquiry-based
learning. She would like to conduct research which measures the effects of these interventions
for undergraduate mathematics and statistics students, as well as research that supports
development of new curricular materials for K-16 statistics students.
Catherine Davis completed a double major in mathematics and dance from Smith College in 2021, and
then taught 9th and 10th grade mathematics on an island off the coast of Georgia. Catherine’s research interest is in researching, developing and teaching transition
to proof curriculums. They also have a secondary interest in designing and teaching
more accessible early undergraduate mathematics courses.
Ahmad Wachidul Kohar has two degrees in mathematics education from Indonesian universities: a bachelor’s
degree from Universitas Negeri Surabaya, and a master’s degree from Universitas Sriwijaya.
He most recently was a lecturer in math ed for preservice teachers at his undergraduate
institution. Ahmad has been conducting research on teacher knowledge and beliefs in mathematics
and its teaching and learning and has developed teacher professional development programs
on mathematical literacy and creative thinking. He is also interested in the level
of context use in math tasks. He would like to conduct research on developing learning-trajectory-based
interventions that can improve teachers' or pre-service teachers’ problem-posing skills
on context-based math tasks.
Miguel Rodriguez Mejia has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from University de los Llanos in
Colombia, a master of ed tech management from the University of Santander UDES, and
a master’s degree in mathematics education from National Polytechnic Institute IPN
in Mexico (completed remotely). Miguel’s research interests are centered on exploring ways to bring mathematical modeling
to a particular educative context as a rural school or population with differential
social conditions. He is also interested in exploring ethnomathematics, critical mathematics,
socio-epistemological theory of mathematics education, and an onto-semiotic approach
for research in math education.
Sasha Rudow completed a double major in mathematics and integrated science from Central Michigan
University, and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a content specialization
in mathematics from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. She taught high school
mathematics for 6 years just outside of Houston, Texas, and for the past two years
served as an intermediate mathematics instructional coach. Sasha is interested in how students best learn mathematics, how inquiry-based learning
influences mindset, and how a teacher can effect student learning.
Ishan Santra completed a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Serampore College (University
of Calcutta), a master’s degree in mathematics from Jadavpur University and some doctoral
work at Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research)
in Mumbai, India. Ishan is interested in the politics of mathematics education and
society— addressing the critical political and social nature of mathematics school
level assessments, and how they interact and reinforce the existing social structures.
He works with informal learning spaces where 'space' is conceptualized based on certain
practicing principles of care, healing, and freedom (un-)related to mathematics learning
and teaching. His country of origin is and the research spaces he has been a part
of are India. His previous research interests centered around professional practices
of mathematics in different out-of-school setups and engaging with a persisting uneasiness
with methods and methodological paradigms in (mathematics) education research.
Valerie Sosnowski completed a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences as well as a teaching certificate
in secondary math and biology from Wayne State University, and a master’s degree in
mathematics from Eastern Michigan University. She was a high school mathematics teacher
for 9 years and has been teaching as an adjunct math professor at several colleges
on the east side of Michigan for several years. She is currently a full-time lecturer
at Kettering University. Valerie is interested in student-centered approaches to teaching and learning—more
specifically, how the attitude of the student towards the teacher, the subject, their
classmates, and their role or standing in the class all affects their performance.
Samantha Wald completed a bachelor’s degree in adolescent education with a concentration in mathematics
from SUNY College at Oswego and master’s of education in mathematics degree at James
Madison University. She has been a high school math teacher for 7 years. Samantha’s research interests center around how culturally responsive teaching and
equity-based practices impact the student-teacher and student-student relationship
and how that affects motivation and classroom performance. She is also interested
in the impact of these practices on disciplinary infractions in the classroom and
overall student achievement.
Please join us in welcoming our new mathematics education doctoral students to MSU!
First year students at the Fall Gathering at the park in August.
Front row: Miguel Rodriguez Mejia, Samantha Wald, Maria Cruciani, Sasha Rudow
Back row: Jose Contreras, Catherine Davis, Ishan Santra
Not pictured: Ahmad Wachidul Kohar, Valerie Sosnowski
