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Personal Profile of Prof. Sybilla Beckmann

Prof. Sybilla Beckmann
Department of Mathematics

Home Page: http://www.math.uga.edu/~sybilla/
Biography

Sybilla Beckmann is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Georgia. She has a PhD in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania and taught at Yale University as a J. W. Gibbs Instructor of Mathematics. Beckmann has done research in Arithmetic Geometry, but her current main interests are the mathematical education of teachers and mathematics content for students at all levels, but especially for Pre-K through the middle grades. Beckmann developed three mathematics content courses for prospective elementary school teachers at the University of Georgia and wrote a book for such courses, Mathematics for Elementary Teachers, published by Addison-Wesley, now in a third edition. She is interested in helping college faculty learn to teach mathematics content courses for elementary and middle grades teachers, and she works with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows toward that end. As part of this effort, Beckmann directs the Mathematicians Educating Future Teachers (MEFT) component of the University of Georgia Mathematics Department’s VIGRE II grant. Beckmann: was a member of the writing team of NCTM’s Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics, was a member of Committee on Early Childhood Mathematics of the National Research Council and co-author of its report, Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood: Paths Toward Excellence and Equity, has worked on the development of several state mathematics standards, and was a member of the mathematics writing team for the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Several years ago Beckmann taught an average 6th grade mathematics class every day at a local public school in order to better understand school mathematics teaching. Beckmann has won several teaching awards, including the General Sandy Beaver Teaching Professorship awarded by the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia.

Current/Future Committee Membership
Name Office Start Date End Date
No Memberships

Past Committee Membership
Name Office Start Date End Date
Educational Advisory Committee Mar 01, 2008 Mar 01, 2015
Educational Advisory Committee Mar 07, 2015 Mar 01, 2017
  1. Workshop Critical Issues in Mathematics Education 2014: The role of the mathematics department in the mathematical preparation of teachers

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    Mar 27, 2014
    Thursday
    01:30 PM - 02:30 PM
      Mathematical Education of Teachers: Recommendations of the Mathematical Education of Teachers II
    Sybilla Beckmann (University of Georgia), William McCallum (University of Arizona)
  2. Workshop Critical Issues in Mathematics Education 2007: Teaching Teachers Mathematics

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    May 31, 2007
    Thursday
    10:00 AM - 12:10 PM
      Mathematicians Writing for Educators: Collaboration Accross Disciplines
    Virginia Bastable, Sybilla Beckmann (University of Georgia), Ben Ford (Sonoma State University), Susan Jo Russell, Deborah Schifter, Ana Vaisenstein, Carol Walker
    Jun 01, 2007
    Friday
    11:40 AM - 12:30 PM
      Mathematics for Elementary Teachers: A Focus on "Explaining Why"
    Sybilla Beckmann (University of Georgia)
    01:45 PM - 02:05 PM
      Mentoring faculty and graduate students interested in teaching teachers
    Sybilla Beckmann (University of Georgia)
    03:45 PM - 05:30 PM
      Mathematicians Writing for Educators: Collaboration Across Disciplines II
    Virginia Bastable, Sybilla Beckmann (University of Georgia), Ben Ford (Sonoma State University), Susan Jo Russell, Deborah Schifter, Ana Vaisenstein, Carol Walker
  3. Workshop The Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (K-8): Why, What and How?

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    May 27, 2005
    Friday
    11:30 AM - 01:00 PM
      What Can Mathematics Departments and Schools of Education Do to Help Teachers Develop Such Knowledge?
    Sybilla Beckmann (University of Georgia), Jim Lewis (University of Nebraska), Richard (James) Milgram, Ira Papick
    03:45 PM - 05:00 PM
      Small Group Sessions with Mathematicians and Educators Who Either Develop Materials for Teachers' Learning of Mathematics for Teaching or Who Work with Preservice or Experienced Teachers.
    Scott Baldridge (Louisiana State University), Sybilla Beckmann (University of Georgia), Ruth Heaton (University of Nebraska), Jim Lewis (University of Nebraska), Daniel Maki, Ted Stanford, Kristin Umland (University of New Mexico)