Algebra Research Team
Primary Investigators
Claire Wladis, Ph.D.
Claire Wladis, Ph.D., is the Director of the City University of New York (CUNY) Equity Through Education Research Group, Professor of Mathematics at BMCC/CUNY and of Urban Education at the CUNY Graduate Center. Their research focuses on a wide range of subfields in mathematics education and higher education, with a unifying focus on understanding how educational institutions can better center and adapt to the diverse needs of the students who attend them. This includes research on how students think about core algebra concepts, how we can accurately measure this thinking, and how we can use this information to improve instruction; how our particular conceptualization and implementation of developmental and “college-level” mathematics courses may improve or worsen access to college and STEM degrees; how the availability of online courses may help or hinder degree progress for different groups; how time and energy as resources for college may impact academic and non-academic outcomes in college; how students from groups that have been traditionally marginalized in higher education successfully navigate existing higher education structures; and how institutional culture, policies, and practices may enable or disable different groups (particularly those who have been traditionally marginalized in higher education) from obtaining a college or STEM degree.
Contact: cwladis@bmcc.cuny.edu
Kathleen Offenholley, Ph.D.
Dr. Offenholley has a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from Columbia University Teacher’s College. She is a professor of Mathematics at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York. Her research focuses on game-based mathematics learning, most recently focusing on algebra at community colleges. She is also a founding member of the CUNY Games Network, a center for game-based learning. She is currently the PI on a $875,794 NSF grant to create and evaluate a game- and simulation-based algebra and trigonometry curriculum and on a $1.5 million NSF grant to develop and validate a pool of questions to assess student understanding and misconceptions of fundamental algebra concepts.
Contact: koffenholley@bmcc.cuny.edu
Jay Verkuilen, CUNY Graduate Center
Dr. Verkuilen has a Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the Graduate Center of City University of New York. His research focuses on generalized linear mixed models, item response theory, graphical methods in statistics, and on applications of statistics and psychometrics, particularly in education and mental health. He is currently an associate editor of Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. He is currently a co-PI on a $1.5 million NSF grant to develop and validate a pool of questions to assess student understanding and misconceptions of fundamental algebra concepts.
Contact: jverkuilen@gc.cuny.edu
Research Associates and Postdoctoral Researchers
Ben Sencindiver, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Mathematics at UTSA
Catherine Manly, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Higher Education-Data Analytics at Fairleigh Dickinson University
Elisabeth Jaffe, Ed.D.
Dr. Jaffe has an Ed.D. in Mathematics Education from Columbia University Teachers College. She is an assistant professor of Mathematics at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York. She has extensive experience teaching high school mathematics, and her research interests include exploring the effect of growth mindset on student academic success and retention.
Contact: ejaffe@bmcc.cuny.edu
Advisory Board
Howard Everson
Kathleen Heid
Jim Gleason
Marilyn Carlson
Project Coordinator
Shristi Karim
