Prof. Zambak Presents at ICME-15 in Sydney, Australia

Vecihi Serbay Zambak, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, presented research papers at the 15th International Congress of Mathematics Education (ICME-15), held in Sydney, Australia, this July. The congress is the largest international conference on mathematics education in the world.

Held only once every four years, ICME brings togetherseveral researchers and practitioners in mathematics education worldwide. This quadrennial event, organized under the auspices of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction, explores current global trends in mathematics education research and teaching practices at all levels.

Zambak was involved in two Topic Study Groups (TSGs) during ICME-15: Mathematics education at the early childhood and primary level and Mathematics and interdisciplinary education/STEM education. For the former TSG, he presented the research in which he collaborated with Lilly Steiner, Ed.D., associate professor of literacy, and Kerry Carley-Rizzuto, Ed.D., associate professor of early childhood education, to examine the impact of a five-week program on four parents' levels of assistance to support their children in solving mathematics problems using literacy strategies.

For the latter TSG, Zambak collaborated with Michelle Schpakow, Ed.D., lecturer of science education, and shared preliminary findings from their study during ICME-15 about STEM clinics they have been running at Monmouth University during the fall and spring semesters. During the clinics, which lasted six to eight weeks, undergraduate and graduate students in Monmouth's elementary education programs worked on hands-on model-eliciting STEM problems on campus with 4^th and 5^th-grade students from a partnering school in Asbury Park. Urban Coast Institute and the School of Education also funded this STEM Education project.