Faculty Vita

Frank Lester, Ph.D.

Academic Degrees

Professional Experience

Faculty load

Faculty Teaching

Selected Publications

Masingila, J. O., Lester, F. K., & Raymond, A. M. (2002). Mathematics for elementary teachers via problem solving. 3 vols. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Lester, F. K. & Carpenter, T. P. (2001). Research preparation of doctoral students in mathematics education. In R. R. Reys & J. Kilpatrick (Eds.), One field, many paths: U.S. doctoral programs in mathematics education. Washington, DC: Conference Board for the Mathematical Sciences.

Lester, F. K. &Wiliam, D. (2000). The evidential basis for knowledge claims in mathematics education research. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 31, 132-137. Lester, F.K. (and the Research Advisory Committee). (2000). On the complexities of schools in contemporary society: How can research inform us about mathematics learning and teaching? Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 31, 520-523.

Lester, Frank K. (1999). In pursuit of practical wisdom in mathematics education research. Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education.

Lester, Frank K. & Lambdin, D. V. (1999). Preparing Prospective Elementary Teachers to Teach Mathematics: A Problem Solving Approach. University of Helsinki, Department of Teacher Education Monograph Series.

Lester, F. K. & Galindo, E. (1999). The doctoral program in mathematics education at Indiana University. In K. Hart & F. Hitt (Eds.), Doctoral programs in mathematics education : International perspectives. Mexico City: Matematica Educativa del Cinvestav-IPN.

Lester, F. K. & Lambdin, D. V. (1998). The Ship of Theseus and other metaphors for considering what should be valued in mathematics education research. In J. Kilpatrick & A. Sierpinska (Eds.), Mathematics education as a research domain: A search for identity Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.

Masingila, J. O. & Lester, F. K. (1998). Mathematics for elementary teachers via problem solving (Preliminary Edition). 3 vols. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Lambdin D., Lester, F., Emanuelsson, G., Emanuelsson, J., Johansson, B., Ryding, R., & Walby, K. (1998, December). Dialoger om problemlösning (Conversations about problem solving). Nämnaren, 25(4), 3-5. (new department of this journal launched with the December 1998 issue).

Funded Projects

Co-principal investigator (with S. Garfunkel, G. Young, & S. Sconiers). Responding to the Call for Change: Characterizing the Mathematics Preparation of Elementary School Teachers. Funded by the National Science Foundation, January 1995 -1997.

Project director. The Indiana Professional Standards Board. Funded by the Indiana State Department of Education, May, 1996 - 1998.

Co-principal investigator (with W. Frascella, B. Moore, D. Maki, R. Caulfield, & B. D’Ambrosio). Indiana Mathematics Initiative. Proposal funded by the National Science Foundation, 1997 - 2002.

Co-principal investigator(with C. Brown & P. Kloosterman). NAEP Mathematics Assessments: Interpretive Analyses and Materials Development. Funded by the National Science Foundation, June 2002- June 2005.

Current Professional and Academic Association Memberships

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Educational Research Association

Indiana Council of Teachers of Mathematics (life member)

International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education

Mathematical Association of America

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Psychology of Mathematics Education - North America Section

School Science and Mathematics Association

Conference Presentations

Presenter at the Annual Meeting of the International Reading Association. New Orleans, LA, May, 2002.

Presenter at the Eightieth Annual Meeting of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Atlanta, GA, March, 2002. What Secondary School Principals Should Know about Standards-based Curricula.

Session Organizer at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, April 2002, Settings an Agenda for Studying the Next Round of Mathematics Standards: Learning from Past Efforts.

Session organizer and moderator at the Annual Research Presession of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Las Vegas, NV, April, 2002. Studying the Impact and Influence of Standards: Considerations in Building a Research Agenda.

Presenter at the Eightieth Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teacher of Mathematics, Las Vegas, NV, April 2002. Parodoxes about Mathematics Teaching and Learning.

Plenary lecture at the Third U.S.-Russian Joint conference on Mathematics Education, st. Petersburg, Russia, May, 2001. On the Complexity of Schools in Contemporary American Society: Challenges for Mathematics Education.

Plenary lecture at the thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Mathematics Education, Tokyo, Japan, November, 2001.

Presenter at the Regional Meeting of the National Council of Teacher of Mathematics, Columbus, OH, September, 2001. Seven Challenges Facing Mathematics Education in the Near Future OR Are We Ready for Standards

Presenter at the Seventy-eighth Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Chicago, IL. Looking Back: The Most Ignored Phase of Problem Solving. April 2000.

Organizer (with Thomas Carpenter) of group discussions on the research preparation of doctoral students in mathematics education. Conference on Doctoral Programs in Mathematics Education. Lake Ozark, MO, October 1999.

Lester, Frank K. (1998). In Pursuit of Practical Wisdom in Mathematics Education Research. Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 21-24 July.

The Mathematical Preparation of Elementary Teachers: What? Why? How? Paper presented at the annual Conference on the Mathematical Preparation of Teachers (LUMA), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, 23 September, 1998.

Does the Research Reported Mathematics Education Have any Relevance for Practicing Teachers? Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Association for Research on Teaching Mathematics and Science. Vaasa, Finland. 25 September, 1998

Mathematics: A Tool for Making Sense of the World. Invited lecture given at the monthly Pedagogik Cafe (Education Cafe) in Stockholm, Sweden. 12 October, 1998. (A gathering of individuals interested in discussing educational issues.)

Mathematical Modeling in the Secondary School Mathematics Curriculum. Keynote address given at the annual conference, Matematik Bienneten of Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden, 16 October, 1998.

Musing about Mathematical Problem Solving Research: 1970 - 1998. Invited colloquium given at Agder College, Kristiansand, Norway, 3 November, 1998.

Series of 3 lectures given at the Graduate School for Teachers of Mathematical Subjects, Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, 13, 14, 16 November, 1998. - Teachers' Beliefs about Mathematics and Mathematics Teaching: An American Perspective. - Musing about Mathematical Problem Solving Research: 1970 - 1998. - The Role of Problem Solving in the Mathematical Preparation of Teachers.

Problem Solving in Collegiate Mathematics. Invited colloquium given in the Mathematics Department, Aalborg University, Aalborg Denmark, 16 December, 1998.

Honors/Awards

Section organizer and leader (verbal problem solving) for the Fifth International Congress on Mathematical Education, Adelaide, Australia, 1984.

Fellow of the Mathematical Association of America. (1984 competitive award given to 30 individuals to attend the Fifth International Congress on Mathematical Education)

Fulbright Research and Lecturing Fellowship. Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil, 1986.

Award for the Outstanding Mathematics Education/Research Article in 1985. Awarded by the ResearchAdvisory Committee of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (See Garofalo & Lester, 1985.)

Participant in the Research Catalyst Conferences sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Science Foundation, May, December 1991.

Recipient of endowed chair in Teacher Education (Martha Lea & Bill Armstrong Professorship), July, 2000.