SUM 2019 Keynote Presenters

Robert Berry is president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), a 50,000-member international mathematics education organization. He is a Professor in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, with an appointment in Curriculum Instruction and Special Education. Berry teaches mathematics methods courses in the teacher education program at the University of Virginia. Additionally, he teaches graduate-level mathematics education courses and courses for in-service teachers seeking a mathematics specialist endorsement. He is a former middle school teacher and was twice named Teacher of the Year in Virginia.

Equity issues in mathematics education are central to Berry’s research efforts within four related areas: (a) understanding Black children’s mathematics experiences (mathematical identities and agency); (b) measuring standards-based mathematics teaching practices; (c) unpacking equitable mathematics teaching and learning; and (d) exploring interactions between technology and mathematics education. Berry has extensive experiences in classroom observation and is the lead developer of an observation instrument, Mathematics Scan, which measures standards-based mathematics teaching practices.

Berry has published nearly 100 articles, book chapters, and proceedings. His articles have appeared in the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Journal of Teacher Education, and the American Educational Research Journal. Berry served on the Board of Directors of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2011–2014 and is a two-time recipient of NCTM’s Linking Research and Practice Publication Award. He was recognized as the 2011 Mathematics Educator of the Year by the Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics (VCTM), and received the University of Virginia’s All University Teaching Award in 2011.

Website: curry.virginia.edu/robert-q-berry-iii
Twitter: @robertqberry

Dr. Ruth Beatty is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University in Orillia. As a mathematics education researcher, Ruth’s focus has been how children learn complex math concepts, and the alignment of instruction with developmental trajectories of understanding. She is also interested in multiple representations of mathematical concepts, particularly visual representations. Since 2013 she has collaborated with members of Anishinaabe and Métis communities, and educators from Ontario school boards, to research the connections between Anishinaabe and Métis ways of knowing mathematics and the Western mathematics found in provincial curricula. The goal of this research, funded by a number of grants including a SSHRC Insight Development Grant, is to collaboratively design culturally responsive mathematics instruction and to learn from and incorporate Indigenous pedagogical perspectives in inclusive classroom settings. This work resulted in the Ontario Premier’s Award for Safe and Accepting Schools in 2017, and the 2018 Lakehead University Indigenous Partnership Research Award.

As a proud Algonquin woman of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, Christina Ruddy has spent the majority of her career working to empower Indigenous youth through education, language and capacity-building. She has worked in grass roots movements such as Friendship Centres, in post-secondary institutions such as Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario and with Lakehead University in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Education. Christina is a successful alumnus of the first graduating class of the Native Community and Social Development program from Georgian College and in 2012 received the Board of Governor’s award of Excellence – Distinguished Alumni for her work with Indigenous people. Christina’s invaluable work in the promotion of Anishnaabemowin has added to efforts to preserve this endangered language both within her own community and provincially. She has worked to bring about change in Indigenous education and to make schooling more inclusive and Indigenous-focused through the Indigenous mathematics research study with Ontario teachers to incorporate Indigenous ways of teaching into the Ontario mathematics curriculum. She has collaborated with educators and administrators from the Renfrew County District School Board, and has worked as a mentor with Indigenous artists in other communities who have been part of this work. Christina has shared her experiences as an Algonquin artist researcher at a number of conferences, included four presentations at the Ontario Association of Mathematics Education annual conference. In 2018 Christina, along with Dr. Ruth Beatty, was awarded the Indigenous Partnership Research Award during Lakehead University’s Research and Innovation awards ceremony as a testament to her leadership in this project. Christina’s dedication to the celebration of Indigenous culture has resulted in many successful events and projects. Through empowering Indigenous youth to celebrate their identity, language and culture made visible in their daily lives, she embodies the tradition of passing on culture and the skills needed to preserve it to the younger generations.