¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

Sandy Bakos

Mathematics Education PhD, 2023; C&I Numeracy MEd, 2014

"My experiences as a graduate student transformed my teaching, and wanting to learn more, I decided to pursue doctoral studies in mathematics education. "

I have spent the past 18 years teaching in elementary school classrooms. My original training was in special education and after beginning my career teaching kindergarten, I have since taught special education pre-school and grades 2-6. My experience includes Instructional Coaching and a teacher exchange year in Australia. My interest in mathematics education began after attending an 80-minute session given by Dr. Peter Liljedahl at a teachers' convention in northwestern Alberta. At the time, I remember thinking, "If I had learned math like this, my experience would have been entirely different." Wanting to provide my students the opportunity to engage with and experience mathematics in a way that would empower them as learners, I enrolled in ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV's Master of Education in Numeracy program when it was offered in the Alberta city in which I lived and worked. My experiences as a graduate student transformed my teaching, and wanting to learn more, I decided to pursue doctoral studies in mathematics education.

Please tell us how you first discovered your program.

I first heard about the program while completing my Master of Education in Numeracy.

Please tell us why you chose the Faculty of Education at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV for your studies.

A desire to continue to learn from the faculty members that started my journey into mathematics education were the main reason for choosing ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV.

Who is a faculty member you have enjoyed working with and why?

During my Master's degree, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Rina Zazkis, Dr. Peter Liljedahl, Dr. David Pimm and Dr. Nathalie Sinclair. Each provided different opportunities for me to grow as a student, as a teacher and as a researcher.

What inspires you to learn and to continue your education?

My experiences with mathematics in school were negative and resulted in a lot of anxiety. Wanting to learn more effective and positive ways for students to interact with and learn mathematics has inspired me to continue my education.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
SMS
Email
Copy