LBC COURSES

LB 117 (Functions & Trigonometry)

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BIOGRAPHY

I am an undergraduate mathematics education researcher focused on the teaching and learning of mathematical practices such as defining and proving. I teach mathematics courses at Lyman Briggs College as well as work with doctoral students in the Program in Mathematics Education. In both my research and my mathematics teaching, I take an inquiry-oriented approach, aiming to honor and build on students’ contributions while also apprenticing them into the larger mathematics community.

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EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Mathematics Education, Portland State University
• Master of Arts, Mathematics, Appalachian State University
• Bachelor of Science, Secondary Mathematics Education, North Carolina State University

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RESEARCH

My primary research interests are in undergraduate mathematics education, with an emphasis on teaching and learning of mathematical practices such as defining and proving. My main purpose in my research program is to transform proof-based courses to center and build on student thinking. I have recently worked on two NSF-funded grants (see below). I continue to work with students and teachers as they engage in disciplinary practices, and specifically defining and analyzing proofs. One focus of this work has been on students’ thinking about and gained fluency with formal mathematical language.

• Advancing Students' Proof Practices in Mathematics through Inquiry, Reinvention, and Engagement (ASPIRE, NSF IUSE #1916490). Leadership team members: Dr. Sean Larsen (PI), Dr. Steve Strand, Dr. Kristen Vroom, and Dr. Mark Yannotta (co-PIs). The grant period is Oct. 2019 to Sept. 2022 with an award of $1,115,961.
• Progress through Calculus (PtC, NSF IUSE #140540) Leadership team members: Dr. David Bressoud (PI), Dr. Jessica Ellis Hagman, Dr. Sean Larsen, and Dr. Chris Rasmussen (co-PIs). The grant period is Jan. 2015 to June 2021 with an award of $2,250,003.

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Vroom, K. (2022). A functional perspective on student thinking about the grammar of multiply quantified statements. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 67, 100992.
• Vroom, K., & Alzaga Elizondo, T. (2022). Students’ Thinking about the Structure of Constructive Existence Proofs. International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, 1-23.
• Melhuish, K., Vroom, K., Lew, K., & Ellis, B. Operationalizing Authentic Mathematical Proof Activity (AMPA) for the Undergraduate Classroom. Journal of Mathematical Behavior. (Submitted)
• Larsen, S., Strand, S., & Vroom, K. How undergraduate students think about summation notation. International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. (Accepted)
• Vroom, K. (2020). Guided reinvention as a context for investigating students’ thinking about mathematical language and for supporting students in gaining fluency (Doctoral dissertation, Portland State University).

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