Dr. Ruth Heaton , the Gilmartin Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education, College of Education and Human Sciences, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), is the recipient of the 2016 Nadine Bezuk Award for Excellence in Leadership and Service in Mathematics Teacher Education.
In the context of several school-university partnerships and university interdisciplinary collaborations she has developed, Dr. Heaton is leading efforts to build the capacities of preK-8 teachers and studying their learning. She supports and studies the work of math coaches and elementary administrators in several school districts within Nebraska as they learn how to support teachers as learners. Ruth is also working in collaboration with several disciplinary based educational researchers from a variety of STEM disciplines at UNL to try change and study the nature of the teaching of large enrollment undergraduate STEM courses and in the process influence the culture of STEM departments with regard to how effective teaching is valued, defined, and assessed.
Dr. Heaton taught elementary school for 10 years before pursuing her PhD in Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy with an emphasis in mathematics education from Michigan State University. She has been PI or co-PI on grants totaling over $16 million from NSF and another $7.4 million primarily from private foundations to support her work. Ruth recently served as a member of the Editorial Panel for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education and was the Secretary/Treasurer for the Rural Education Special Interest Group of AERA. At UNL, she works in close collaboration with faculty in the Department of Mathematics to prepare prospective teachers in an innovative program that integrates math content, pedagogy, and field experience. Ruth has published articles in numerous journals, including Elementary School Journal , Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education , Mathematics Teacher Educator , and Notices of the American Mathematical Society ,as well as a book, Teaching Mathematics to the New Standards: Relearning the Dance , with Teachers College Press.