Dr. Laura Singletary
Dr. Laura Singletary, assistant professor of mathematics at Lee University, presented research at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Research Conference in San Francisco.
Dr. Singletary presented on how teachers support collective argumentation. This research focuses on how teachers help their students make their mathematical thinking part of classroom discussion. She was joined by her colleague Dr. AnnaMarie Conner from the University of Georgia, with whom she has been working in this research area since 2009.
“We are both fascinated by the role of the teacher in facilitating meaningful classroom discourse,” said Dr. Singletary. “We also think it is important for students to learn how to develop viable mathematical arguments about the claims they make as part of the whole class discussion.”
Other presenters in the same symposium included faculty members from Boston University, Western Michigan University, Michigan Technical University, and Brigham Young University. The symposium was called “Conceptualizing Teacher Discourse Moves Using Different Focal Length,” referring to the metaphor of a camera lens to discuss different theoretical ways to focus researching classroom discourse.
“It was an honor to be invited to participate with these researchers in this symposium on teachers' discourse moves,” said Dr. Singletary. “It was an important dialogue for our field to have, and I think the conversations we had about our various theoretical perspectives helped each of us think about our own research in a new way."
Dr. Singletary joined Lee’s faculty in fall 2012. She earned her doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Georgia and was awarded the Presidential Graduate Fellowship while there. She received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Lee University.
Dr. Singletary has published research in such publications as Mathematical Thinking and Learning, Educational Studies in Mathematics, Mathematics Teacher Educator, Mathematics Teachers, and School Science and Mathematics.
For more information about Lee’s Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, call 614-8275.