Who We Are

Who We Are

Amy Hackenberg

Associate Professor
Indiana University, Bloomington

Amy Hackenberg taught middle and high school students for 9 years in Los Angeles and Chicago prior to earning her PhD in mathematics education from the University of Georgia. She is deeply committed to communicating mathematically with a wide range of thinkers at all grade levels, but she especially loves middle grades students. She does research on how middle grades students learn mathematics, on relationships between mathematics teachers and students, and on how to differentiate mathematics instruction. She and her husband live in Bloomington and love raising their son and daughter.



Fetiye Aydeniz

Postdoctoral Researcher
Indiana University, Bloomington

Fetiye Aydeniz earned her master's degree in mathematics education in Turkey. She taught math at the high school level until coming to Indiana University. She earned her PhD in mathematics education with a minor in inquiry methodology from Indiana University in 2018. Her research interests include pre-service teachers' distributive and proportional reasoning, and middle school students' fractional and algebraic reasoning. She loves being in Bloomington, researching in the US, and learning about other cultures around the world in order to become a well-rounded person.



Rebecca Borowski

Assistant Professor
Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA

Rebecca Borowski earned her PhD in Mathematics Education from Indiana University in 2020. Before coming to IU she taught elementary school for 11 years in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She has taught Kindergarten, 1st, and 5th grades and also worked as an instructional coach. Her research interests include elementary teacher education and student thinking about quantities and measurement. She lives in Washington and enjoys spending time with her daughter.



Jenny Cox

Graduate Student
Indiana University, Bloomington

Jenny Cox received her masters degree in Mathematics from Indiana University before teaching high school mathematics for 11 years. She is in her third year of her doctoral program at IU, studying Mathematics Education with minors in Inquiry Methodology and Mathematics. Her research interests include curriculum and assessment alignment and supporting girls interested in STEM. Jenny stays busy cheering on her three kids in a multitude of activities, but also enjoys quiet moments spent relaxing on the front porch and reading.



Mark Creager

Assistant Professor
University of Southern Indiana, Evansville

Mark Creager taught high school mathematics for 5 years in Indiana before earning his PhD from Indiana University. Currently he is an assistant professor of mathematics education at the University of Southern Indiana where he teaches content and methods courses for elementary and secondary education majors. His research interests include studying how teachers develop mathematical knowledge for teaching, especially in the area of reasoning and proof, and how students learn reasoning and proof. He lives in Evansville, Indiana with his wife and two young children.



Ayfer Eker

Indiana University, Bloomington

Ayfer Eker taught elementary and middle school mathematics in Turkey prior to earning her master's degree in mathematics education from Boston University. She earned her PhD in Mathematics Education from Indiana University in 2018. Her research interests are elementary and middle school student learning, teacher education & beliefs and methods for differentiating instruction in math classrooms. She is excited about having an opportunity to explore the relationships between teacher instruction & beliefs and student learning within a differentiated instruction framework during the course of this project.



Sharon Hoffman

Graduate Student
Indiana University, Bloomington

Sharon Hoffman was an electrical engineer for the aerospace industry. Last year, she earned her master's degree in mathematics from Purdue University. She taught math and was Lead Instructor for YouthBuild Indy until coming to Indiana University. Now she is a doctoral student in mathematics education with a minor in Inquiry Methodology. Her research interests include out-of-school, developmental math students, teacher support and alternative inquiry methods. She loves canoeing, mountain biking, fishing and hanging around with friends and family.



Desiree Ippolito

Graduate Student
Indiana University, Bloomington

Desiree Ippolito is currently a PhD student at Indiana University, studying mathematics education with a minor in learning sciences. Before coming to IU, she taught middle school math for 3 years in Cave Creek, Arizona. She taught 8th grade math and Algebra 1. Her research interest is focused on student learning and supporting struggling students in the main classroom.



Robin Jones

Indiana University, Bloomington

Robin Jones earned an Educational Specialist degree in 2020 from Indiana University. Before coming to Indiana she taught middle school mathematics for 7 years in California and Minnesota and spent 6 years as a statistician in Washington, DC. Her current research interests include student engagement in the social and mathematical life of the classroom. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and two children.



Mi Yeon Lee

Assistant Professor
Arizona State University

Mi Yeon Lee taught elementary school students for 5 years in Seoul, South Korea prior to earning her PhD in mathematics education from Indiana University. She is currently an assistant professor of mathematics education at Arizona State University.  She teaches mathematics content and elementary math methods courses. She is interested in pre-service elementary teacher education, k-8 students’ fractional and algebraic reasoning, and differentiated mathematics instruction.



Serife Sevis

Assistant Professor
Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Serife Sevis is currently teaching in the Department of Mathematics and Science Education at Middle East Technical University. She received her doctoral degree in the Mathematics Education Program at Indiana University with a minor degree in Inquiry Methodology. Her main research focus is mathematics teacher education with a particular interest in models-and-modeling perspective. She investigates the problem-solving process of a wide range of learners through modeling perspective and is involved in projects investigating elementary and middle school students' and teachers' mathematical thinking. She believes that communication with and about mathematics with different learners is her main resource as a researcher and a teacher educator.



Sukanya (Pai) Suksak

Doctoral Candidate
Indiana University, Bloomington

Pai Suksak is a Doctoral Candidate in Mathematics Education at IU Bloomington. Before coming to IU she spent a year as a pre-service teacher teaching middle school algebra at Lorbeer Middle School in Pomona, California. Her research interests include different teaching approaches in mathematics, student cognitive thinking, equity, and student motivation. She enjoys traveling, photography, and exercising.



Patti Walsh

Graduate Student
Indiana University, Bloomington

Patti Walsh is a doctoral student in mathematics education with a minor in teacher education. She has taught preschool, elementary school, and most recently middle school math and science in Bloomington, Indiana. Before becoming a teacher Patti worked as a business consultant and programmer. She is interested in how students learn as well as how teachers can best help students learn, with a particular interest in middle school education. As a long time Bloomington resident, she enjoys taking advantage of all the local natural beauty and cultural events with her family.