Murphy Award: Signe Kastberg

Signe Kastberg, associate professor of mathematics education. (Purdue University photo) Download image

Five exceptional teachers have been selected as recipients of the 2017 Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in Memory of Charles B. Murphy. This Q&A focuses on Signe Kastberg, associate professor of mathematics education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Years at Purdue: 7.

Teaching interests: Teacher learning associated with children’s mathematics.

On how relational teaching better prepares prospective teachers for interaction in the professional world: Relational teaching involves gaining insights about student experiences, but also having and conveying respect and empathy for students. Having respect and empathy involves knowing that students have insecurities and challenges, but conveying respect and empathy moves a step further to make the successes and problems students share central to what I teach. I hope as we work together, prospective teachers reach beyond the problems of teaching, to build from the successes they have. Building from areas of success is satisfying and motivating in ways that complement the work of building solutions to problems of practice. 

On how math education relates to and benefits from engagement with art, science, engineering, economics, and technology: Exploring and creating outside of mathematics class allows learners to build intuition needed in mathematics. Constructing a mural involves making decisions about space and form that result in insights about the relative position of lines and the shape of white space needed in proportional reasoning. Yet, to gain understanding from such experiences, teachers must ask questions that provide opportunities for reflection and generalization within and across experiences. In this way, teachers work with students to construct mathematics from an experience, in addition to using mathematics as part of an experience.

On the Pen Pal project: Prospective teachers write letters to children that involve mathematics problem situations. The Purdue students have a chance to try out different problem formats and ways of responding to children’s mathematics reasoning. Prospective teachers have an authentic opportunity to see children as people and mathematicians. For elementary children, a key benefit is the excitement of having a pen pal who will read what you write and respond. The children have a chance to share their ideas with an adult who is curious about their thinking and listens to their mathematics.

How Kastberg’s interaction with students is rewarding: Students teach me new things every day. Above all, I love to learn about the thinking of others. I love to ask questions and get excited about ideas. Students love these things too. They are all different, which makes them exciting to be around. Just the other day, talking with a prospective teacher, I learned about her need to build connections with children as people and as learners. I suspected that she had this orientation to learners, but in that moment, I saw her in a new way. She was teaching me about who she is and what she hopes to be. There isn’t anything more rewarding than that.

What her students say: She is so kind and smart and truly has a caring heart. I feel like she wants each of us to succeed and is willing to do what needs to be done in order for us to learn the material. She has been helpful both in and outside of the classroom. … She is incredibly caring and we all know that she truly cares about us! … I really enjoyed the way she involved all students in each class, through facilitating meaningful discussions and asking all students about their thinking.

Writer: Kelsey Schnieders, kschnied@purdue.edu