I am currently a Professor of Learning Sciences (Educational Psychology Dept.) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Director of the Center on Education and Work, and Director of the IES Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Mathematical Thinking, Learning and Instruction. I hold faculty appointments in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the Psychology Department, and the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research (WCER). I am also a member of the UW Cognitive Science Cluster and the Delta Program steering committee. I served as Chair of the Learning Sciences program from 2004 - 2010.

My research is largely rooted in cognitive, embodied and social perspectives on learning and instruction in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). I examine the nature of representations in both their internal (intra-personal) and external (inter-personal) forms as they serve meaning making, individual and group design, instruction, reasoning and problem solving, and learning.

I enjoy making music, biking, hiking, camping, and generally hanging out.

Contact Information

Current Projects

National Center for Cognition and Math Instruction (NCCMI)

Postdoctoral Training Program in mathematical Thinking, Learning, and Instruction

The Role of Gesture Production in Mental Model Formation

Tangibility for Teaching, Learning and Communicating Mathematics

Completed Projects

Collaborative Research: Understanding and Cultivating the Transition from Arithmetic to Algebraic Reasoning

Do Teachers' Gestures Facilitate Students' Mathematics Learning? Evidence from Early Algebra

STAAR Teacher Professional Development Project