Features

While Washington’s teacher workforce is getting younger, closing the diversity gap in the profession has proven stubbornly resistant over the past two decades according to a new report exploring teacher retention and mobility in the state.

Even as a preschooler, University of Washington junior Siena Traverso recalls having a passion for education. After returning home, she would create a classroom with her stuffed animals and teach what she had learned that day.

Years later, Traverso’s enthusiasm for teaching is the driving force that led her to the UW College of Education. She knew her college had to have an education program, and among her top choices, the UW stood out.

Boring. Stressful. Humiliating.

For many students, those are the feelings most commonly associated with math class.

Tracy Zager (MIT ‘02) grew up loving to solve puzzles and riddles, but by high school a series of bad experiences put her on the brink of giving up math altogether. One of Zager’s family friends made her promise to give it another try in college, however, and her experience in an experimental, project-based calculus class changed her perspective forever.

Eleven University of Washington College of Education doctoral students will present their research projects on Feb. 3, with topics including teacher candidates’ use of technology, social stigma and disability labels, and gender bias in math story problems.

The Research and Inquiry Presentations will take place from 8:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m. in Miller Hall Room 212. These presentations are a major milestone in the studies of each PhD candidate at the College of Education.

This quarter’s presentations are: