LAURIE RUBEL, PhD
KSTF Research Fellowship Alumna
Associate Professor of Education, Brooklyn College – The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Dr. Laurie Rubel often found herself the only girl in advanced mathematics classes. “My success or interest in math was positioned against my gender identity, as if excellence in mathematics stands in opposition with being female.” While she was interested in the logical structures and creativity of math, she was also drawn to teaching and improving mathematics instruction and results. Before joining the faculty of Brooklyn College in 2003, Laurie taught high school math, statistics and computer science for nine years at the Collegiate School in Manhattan and at the American International School of Israel in Tel Aviv. She chaired both schools' math departments where she mentored and collaborated with teachers, a role she continues today through her research.

Laurie holds a PhD in research in mathematics from Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her MA in mathematics education from Tel Aviv University, and a BS in Mathematics from Haverford College. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as part of the Diversity in Mathematics Education Center for Learning and Teaching. With KSTF support, Laurie has been able to extend her research and attract new funding: in 2008, she received the coveted National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award to study the teaching of math to urban youth, an area she began to explore as a 2006 KSTF Research Fellow. “My KSTF Fellowship enabled me to create a two-year pilot project that has now grown into a five-year project, funded by the National Science Foundation.”

Project summary

Laurie’s research keeps her engaged with secondary education. “I work with high school teachers in urban schools. My goal is to help them figure out ways to make math relevant to their students.” Aimed at developing the capacity of teachers to implement culturally relevant mathematics pedagogy (CuReMaP) in urban schools, Laurie’s CuReMaP project consists of teaching math for understanding, including aspects of students’ lives and experiences as contexts for mathematization, and using math for analyzing societal themes in order to develop awareness and math literacy.

The study is designed to better prepare and support high school math teachers by using a culturally relevant framework; and to gain a better understanding of the complexities inherent in the CuReMaP process when students come from a variety of backgrounds, all of which may differ from that of the teacher.

Awards and Recognitions

National Science Foundation Career Award (2008); Brooklyn College Excellence in Teaching Award (2007); Post-doctoral Fellowship at Diversity in Mathematics Education Center for Learning & Teaching (2002)

Publications

• Journal for Research in Mathematics Education
• Mathematical Thinking and Learning
• Mathematics Teacher
• Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School