UMaine Math Professor Elected Vice President of International Organization
Contact: Tod Shockey, 581-3923
ORONO — Tod Shockey, an associate professor of mathematics education in University of Maine’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, has been elected vice president of TODOS: Mathematics for ALL. The international organization’s mission is “to advocate for an equitable and high-quality mathematics education for all students — in particular Latino/Hispanic students.”
The “Mathematics for ALL” component of TODOS’ mission appealed to Shockey, who has spent the last 10 years researching, writing and presenting on ethnomathematics.
“I have been working with Native American communities in mathematics education and professional development for a number of years,” Shockey says. “TODOS is an academic community that offers support, professional development and resources for mathematics educators so it was natural to become a member.”
Prior to joining the faculty at UMaine five years ago, Shockey worked as a secondary classroom teacher in Cleveland, Ohio, Charlottesville, Va., and on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. He recently spent two years with teachers and staff at the K-8 Beatrice Rafferty School on the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy reservation, working toward the improvement of mathematics education for all students.
“As a mathematics educator I was reminded of the day-to-day work and effort that our teachers go through,” Shockey says. “I was taught a tremendous amount, indirectly, that affects my teaching in higher education. I guess you could say it brought me out of the ivory tower to the ‘trenches’ where the good work occurs every day working with young people.”
For more information about TODOS: Mathematics for All, visit http://www.todos-math.org.