Student & Alumni Profiles

Mara V. Martinez

Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Degrees: PhD in MSTE Education (Mathematics Education), 2008
Current Position: Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois - Chicago

I got my degree in Mathematics and Teaching Mathematics from Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Buenos Aires, Argentina. While studying I became interested in research in mathematics education, especially on how students understand mathematical concepts and how students' understanding might differ from the expert's point of view.

Before my PhD studies, I worked teaching undergraduate mathematics courses at UBA and UNGS, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Also, I worked as a research assistant and I participated in teacher education programs.

My area of interest is Didactics of Mathematics (Theory of Didactical Situations, Theory of Conceptual Fields) at high school and undergraduate levels mainly algebra and topics in relation with proofs. I am very interested in developing new ways of teaching mathematics and designing problems that offer a challenge for students.

For my PhD Dissertation, I designed a sequence of 15 problems, "The Calendar Sequence". The purpose of the sequence was to gain insight on how students produce new knowledge using algebra as a tool (using algebraic expressions, transforming into equivalent expressions and interpreting algebraic expressions). I implemented and evaluated this didactical sequence in a high school setting.