Author Archives: YL

Mathematics education in mathematics departments: Some facts & figures

(1) Each year, mathematics departments teach 60,000+ future PK-12 teachers (computation). Each day, a high school teacher or middle school teacher works with over 100 students across their class periods on average, and an elementary teacher works with 20 students on average (NCES). The messages that undergraduates take from the math classes can influence millionsContinue reading “Mathematics education in mathematics departments: Some facts & figures”

JimFest Slides

Conference Notebook Working Principles & Metrics for Collaboration Speaker Slides JimFest The following speakers have generously provided slides to disseminate. Slides are listed in order of presentation at JimFest. Framing our work in terms of equitable teaching Approaches and considerations for PK16 mathematics Designing mathematical experiences and programs to cultivate content knowledge for teaching VoicesContinue reading “JimFest Slides”

Please, Do Tell

This essay was published first in the AWM Newsletter in Fall 2021. Suggested citation: Lai, Y. (2021, Sep/Oct). Please, Do Tell. Newsletter of the Association for Women in Mathematics, 51(5), 17–20. “Be a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.” “Ask, don’t tell.” “Math is not a spectator sport.” “Lecturing is educationalContinue reading “Please, Do Tell”

Making Mathematical Claims

This essay was first published in the Newsletter of the Association for Women in Mathematics, Fall 2022. Suggested citation: Lai, Y. (2022, Sep/Oct). Making mathematical claims. AWM Newsletter 52(5), 24–27. How many non-congruent quadrilaterals can you make with vertices in the 9-dot square grid shown below? How would you organize those quadrilaterals into categories?[1] WhatContinue reading “Making Mathematical Claims”

Professional Bio

Yvonne Lai is an expert in the field of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. Her current research program seeks to improve the education of secondary mathematics teachers and early mathematics majors by bridging disciplinary perspectives from mathematics and education. She has been an investigator or co-investigator on projects receiving a total of nearly $8M in funding. HerContinue reading “Professional Bio”