Dr. Marta Magiera

Dr. Marta MagieraMarquette University

Cudahy Hall, 330

MilwaukeeWI53201United States of America(414) 288-6597marta.magiera@marquette.eduPersonal Website

Professor, Mathematics for Secondary School Teachers Director

Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences

Courses Taught

• Problem Solving and Reasoning for Teachers (MATH 2030)
• Number Systems and Operations for Teachers (MATH 2031)
• Algebra and Geometry for Teachers (MATH 2032)
• The Teaching of Mathematics (MATH 4020/MSSC 5020)

Research Interests

• Mathematical Modeling and Problem Solving
• Algebraic Thinking and Reasoning
• Preservice and Inservice Teacher Education

Publications

• Magiera M. T., & Al-younes, M. (2024). Explanatory writing: A window into K-8 prospective teachers’ reasoning about contextual problems. In M. Colonnese, T. M. Casa, & F. Cardetti (Eds). Illuminating and advancing the path for mathematical writing research, (pp. 35-61). Hershey, PA: IGI Global Publishers.
• Magiera M. T., & Al-younes, M. S. (2023). Prospective elementary school teachers’ perceptions of STEM thinking and their orientations for STEM thinking. In T. Lamberg, & D. Moss (Eds.). Proceedings of the forty-fifth annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 1, pp. 167-175). University of Nevada, Reno. PME-NA.
• Jung, H., & Magiera M. T. (2023). Connecting mathematical modeling and social justice through problem posing. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 25(2), 232-251. DOI: 10.1080/10986065.2021.1966713 (on-line first, 2021)
• Magiera, M. T., Zambak, S., & Park, H. (2022). Supporting pre-service teachers’ argumentation-focused visions of mathematics teaching and learning in a teacher education program. In Kartal. O., Popovic, G., & Morrisey, S. (Eds.). Global perspectives and practices in reform-based mathematics teaching, (pp. 161-183). Hershey, PA: IGI Global Publishers.
• Magiera M. T., & van den Kieboom, L. (2021). Exploring prospective 1-8 teachers' number and operation sense in the context of fractions. Journal of Mathematics Education, 14(1), 92-113. https://doi.org/10.26711/007577152790065
• Magiera M. T., & Zambak, V. S. (2021). Prospective teachers’ noticing of student justifications and generalizations in the context of analyzing written artifacts and video records: Implications for sequencing instructional activities. International Journal of STEM Education, 8(7). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00263-y
• Zambak, V. S., & Magiera, M. T. (2020). Supporting grades 1-8 PSTs’ argumentation skills: Constructing mathematical arguments in situations that facilitate analyzing cases. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 51(8),1196-1223. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0020739X.2020.1762938
• Magiera, M. T., & Zambak, V. S. (2020). Exploring prospective teachers’ ability to generate and analyze evidence-based explanatory arguments. International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), 6(2), 327-346. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijres.v6i2.765.

Grants

• NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Directorate for STEM Education (IUSE: EDU). Fostering STEM Thinking in Mathematics Courses for Elementary Education Majors. $300.000. October 2022-September 2024. PI. NSF IUSE #2142646.
• Dr. Marta Magiera received an Early Career Development award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation. Her research project is entitled “CAREER: L-MAP: Pre-service Middle School Teachers' Knowledge of Mathematical Argumentation and Proving.”  This four-year, $791,854 project will examine how middle school pre-service teachers’ knowledge of mathematical argumentation and proving develops in teacher preparation programs. 
  

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  About the award and Dr. Magiera's Project

  The National Science Foundation CAREER is a very prestigious award.  According to the National Science Foundation, “The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.”

  Project abstract:

  The field of mathematics teacher education needs a strong understanding of pre-service teachers' knowledge about the practice of mathematical argumentation and proof, including the development of this knowledge, to effectively move pre-service teachers toward a more sophisticated understanding and enactment of this practice with their own students. The integrated research and educational activities will contribute to the knowledge base teacher education programs need to effectively prepare middle school teachers for meeting the challenges of how to make reasoning and proof an integral aspect of instructional practice. The research results have the potential to guide teacher educators and educational researchers concerned with strengthening pre-service teachers' ability to make reasoning and proving an integral aspect of school mathematics. Consequently, pre-service teachers will be better equipped to develop mathematical reasoning skills in their future students and to support their students in learning mathematics with understanding. Given this country's growing need for a competent STEM workforce, helping all students learn mathematics in a way that supports deeper understanding is a priority. Additionally, the support of early CAREER scholars in mathematics education will add to the capacity of the country to address issues in mathematics education in the future.

  The objective of this program of research is to examine how middle school pre-service teachers' knowledge of mathematical argumentation and proving develops in teacher preparation programs. The project explores the research question: What conceptions of mathematical reasoning and proving do middle school preservice teachers hold in situations that foster reasoning about change, proportionality, and proportional relationships, as they enter their mathematics course sequence in their teacher preparation program, and how do these conceptions evolve throughout the program? This development will be studied along three dimensions:

  pre-service teachers' own ability to formulate mathematical arguments,
  their ability to analyze mathematical arguments, and
  their ability to analyze situations that engage students in mathematical argumentation and proving.

  Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of 60 pre-service teachers' models, or systems of interpretation, of mathematical argumentation and proof in curricular context that foster reasoning about change, proportionality and proportional relationships will be conducted to provide an understanding of the trajectory that captures how pre-service teachers develop their knowledge of mathematical argumentation and proving throughout their university mathematics preparation program and into their student teaching.

• National Security Agency. Marquette University GenCyber Combination Camp. $99.958. April 2018-September 2018. CO-I.
• NSF DRL. CAREER: L-MAP: Pre-service Middle School Teachers’ Knowledge of Mathematical Argumentation and Proving. $791.854. July 2014-December 2020. PI. NSF DRL #1350802.
• NSF CNS: Division of Computer and Network Systems. CS 10K: Priming the PUMP -Preparing Urban Milwaukee for Principles of Computer Science, $1,015,943. August 2015-July 2021.CO-PI. CNS STEM+C #1640217.
• NSF CNS: Division of Computer and Network Systems. CS 10K: CS 10K: Collaborative Research: Priming the PUMP - Preparing the Upper Midwest for Principles of Computer Science. $892,254. September 2013-July 2016. CO-PI. NSF CNS #1339392.