Meet our Doctoral Students
Vince Bonina Vince completed his undergraduate degree in physics at Widener University. He continued his study of physics obtaining a Master’s at the University of New Hampshire. For the next six years, he worked as a program manager of academic summer programs through Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. Most recently, for the last three years he was full-time high school math and physics teacher in Baltimore.
Diana Bowen Diana graduated from the University of Virginia in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and sociology and a master' in teaching in secondary mathematics education. After graduation, Diana spent five years teaching public high school at Western Albemarle High School in Crozet, Virginia, where she also coached swimming, instructed the color guard, sponsored the math honor society and the personal finance team. Additionally, she was a member of the school’s collaboration program and a member of the district's diversity team. She coached for the Fluvanna Aquatics Sports Team, a community summer league swim team, during her time in central Virginia. Currently, Diana is a volunteer for the international education non-profit organization EduCorps in addition to her work at the University of Maryland. Her current research interests are related to issues revolving around diversity and equity in secondary mathematics education. Outside of mathematics education, Diana is interested in hiking and camping, the outdoors, Scrabble, gardening, and playing Wii. She always enjoys a good concert.
Tom Coleman Before coming to the University of Maryland Tom taught 8th and 9th grade mathematics in the Baltimore City Public School System where he was also involved in curriculum writing, professional development, and technology implementation. His current interests involve how technology can influence the way that middle and high school students learn and think about mathematics topics and how this affects how mathematics can be taught.
Barbie Dunnan. Barbie considers herself a life-long learner and tries to utilize those “golden moments” from every situation she encounters. Teaching and learning has been a guiding force in her life both personally and professionally. Barbie has a master’s degree in both mathematics education and mathematics and focused her studies and research around best practices. She has been teaching for 12 years: 7 years in K-12 and 5 years in post-secondary. Barbie is currently fascinated by and focusing her doctoral research around mathematical literacy and mathematics anxiety in terms of cognitive development, identity, and the relationship between literacy and anxiety.
Monica Dunsworth. Monica Dunsworth is a former middle school mathematics teacher. She holds a BS in Mathematics and a Masters of Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park. While teaching in Prince George's County, Monica authored curriculum, mentored undergraduate and graduate students from UMD, and scored edTPA, both locally and nationally. Her research interests include pre-service teacher education, continuing professional development, and developing student number sense.
Kellyn Farlow-Morris. Kellyn has a bachelor's and a master's degree in Mathematics Education from Brigham Young University. Prior to attending UMD, she was an active participant in an ongoing research community doing research in mathematics education. During this time Kellyn worked on three different projects involving pre-service and in-service elementary school teachers and undergraduate students majoring in Dance. Her thesis research was based on data from an experimental teaching project with dance students. These students were invited, through real-world problem tasks that raised central conceptual issues, to invent major ideas of calculus. The focus of Kellyn's research was on the work and the thinking of the students, as they sought to build key ideas, representations, and compelling lines of reasoning. Kellyn is still highly interested in student thinking, especially student proof development and representational use. She has continued to be a part of similar work here at UMD in both the Case Studies and Necessity Project research groups.
Elizabeth Fleming completed her undergraduate degree at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, which follows a classical Great Books program. The discussion-based approach to mathematics taken at St. John's led to her interest in different approaches to mathematics teaching and learning. Her current research interests include classroom interactions and positioning in undergraduate math classes, mathematics identity development, and the history of mathematics.
Matt Griffin. Matt's primary research interests are urban education, teachers' mathematical knowledge and mathematics education policy. He is also interested in the use of technology in mathematics education and students' learning of geometry. Before arriving at UMD, Matt taught secondary mathematics for four years and, prior to that, worked in the actuarial industry for over a decade.
Josh Himmelsbach After earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harvard, Josh taught middle and high school mathematics for five years in Rockville, MD. He then returned to school and earned a Master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Maryland. While teaching as a graduate student he became interested in undergraduate mathematics and teacher prep curriculum. Josh is currently a full-time faculty member in the department of mathematics at the Catholic University of America.
Angela Stolts has a BA from the University of Delaware and an MEd from Wilmington University. Angela taught over five years of Middle School Mathematics in Delaware where she participated in the University of Delaware's, MSERC run, P-Cubed Project and Converging Curriculum Project for a total of 5 years. She also participated in Connected Mathematics training in Delaware and at Michigan State University. Angela currently adjuncts at Frederick Community College. She is passionate about improving mathematics education for struggling learners, including special education students, and enjoys the prospect of fostering meaningful, long-term change in education.
William Viviani William Viviani completed his undergraduate degree in Mathematics at the University of Oregon and earned a Masters in Education at George Mason University. William spent the last four years teaching mathematics at the high school level. His current research interests include resistance to change in classroom instruction. He is also interested in investigating teacher identity and student needs.
Kelly Watson Kelly completed her undergraduate degree in Mathematics with a professional minor in Secondary Education at Howard University. She taught high school mathematics in DC Public Schools for 3 1/2 years then decided to take a break from teaching to pursue graduate studies. She worked at Trinity Washington University for 3 years while obtaining a Master's degree in Education with a focus in Curriculum and Instruction. Kelly's research interests include meaningful professional development for elementary school teachers in building their own mathematics self-efficacy.
Hollie Young Hollie spent five years teaching sixth grade math in Baltimore City Public Schools, serving as a teacher leader for the BCPS district, and conducting professional development at BCPS schools. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Colgate University in Neuroscience and a Master's degree from James Madison University in Psychology. Her current research interest is in elementary and middle school students' understanding of multiplicative concepts. She also has an interest in how professional development can impact teachers' mindset about and understanding of teaching and learning mathematics.