Franziska Peterson

Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education
Faculty Member of the RiSE Center

Neville Hall 224 (Estabrooke Hall 104)
207.581.3923
Email Franziska Peterson

Recent Publications (also see below)

Education

Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Mathematics Education), University of Wyoming, 2016
M.Ed. in Secondary Education (Mathematics and English), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany, 2011
B.A. in Secondary Education (Mathematics and English), University of Osnabrück, Germany, 2007

Bio

Franziska Peterson is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Maine. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Secondary Education with double majors in mathematics and English in Germany. In 2016, she received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Mathematics Education) from the University of Wyoming. Her CV can be found here.

Professor Peterson’s research centers on quantitative reasoning and mathematical literacy. Her dissertation concentrated on preservice elementary teachers (PSET) and their use of language when reasoning about box-and-whisker plots. In particular, she used function language analysis to analyze students’ use of language, which investigates the use of grammar as well as the semantics being conveyed. During her doctoral work she was part of a quantitative reasoning research team on an NSF funded grant focusing on learning progressions for environmental science. This STEM project led to the development of a quantitative reasoning learning progression for 6th through 12th grade. The research involved multiple iterations of qualitative research cycles as well as quantitative research analysis.

Currently, professor Peterson is investigating PSET’s understanding of statistical representations by engaging PSETs in a semester-long data collection, analysis, and interpretation project. Additionally, she is working on investigating the role of language in interdisciplinary contexts. Students sometimes display difficulties transferring mathematical concepts to their science classrooms or vice versa. The use of language and terminology can be an important factor in creating interdisciplinary bridges.

Courses taught at UMaine

  • MAT 107 – Elementary Descriptive Geometry
  • MAT 108 – Elementary Numerical Mathematics from a Modern Perspective
  • MAT 116 – Introduction to Calculus

Highlighted Publications

Peterson, F. (2021). Working with real-world data: A pilot study of pre-service elementary teachers. Educational Research: Theory and Practice, 32(1), 102-108.

Peterson, F. (2020). Quantitative reasoning skills for successfully working with real-world data. SIGMAA RUME’s Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, Boston, Massachusetts, February 2020.