Directory

David Erickson

Professor

Contact

Office
PJWEC 104
Phone
(406) 243-5318
Email
david.erickson@umontana.edu
Office Hours
  • Monday and Wednesday 9 AM - 10:50 AM
  • Other times by appointment

 

Education

  • 1994 Ph.D. Mathematics Education, The Ohio State University
  • 1980 M.S. Mathematics and Science Education, Oregon State University
  • 1972 B.S. Chemistry, The Ohio State University

Courses Taught

Autumn 2019

  • EDU 395.06 Clinical Experiences: 5-8 Mathematics Thursdays 8-11 AM
  • EDU 395.07 Clinical Experiences: 9-12 Mathematics Thursdays 8-11 AM
  • EDU 497.12 Methods: 5-12 Mathematics M-W 8- 9 AM; Tuesday 8-11 AM
  • EDU 494.08 Seminar: Reflective Practice and Applied Research - Online
  • C&I 515.50 Computers and Technological Applications in Edu. - Online
  • C&I 588.50 Action Research in the Classroom - Online
  • C&I 594.07 Seminar: Professional Portfolio - Online
  • C&I 697.01 Advanced Research: Curriculum and Instruction - Online
  • C&I 699.06 Dissertation - Online

 

 

 

Teaching Experience

  • 2016 - Present: Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Montana-Missoula
  • 1994 - 2016: Department of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Montana-Missoula
  • 1991- 1994, Research Assistant, Department of Educational Theory and Practice, The Ohio State University
  • 1977 - 1991, Mathematics Department Chair, Mountain View High School, Bend LaPine Public Schools, Bend, OR
  • 1976 - 1977, Substitute Teacher, Redmond Public Schools & Bend LaPine Public Schools, Central Oregon
  • 1973 - 1975, Science Teacher, Maktab Rendah Sains MARA, Kauntan, Pahang, Malaysia

Projects

2012-2020 - National Science Foundation Noyce Learning Assistants Become Teachers $1.2M Grant. 

Through the Learning Assistants Become Teachers (LABT) project, the University of Montana (UM) in partnership with the Missoula County Public Schools will recruit thirty individuals who will complete baccalaureate degrees in mathematics, chemistry, biology, geosciences, environmental science, computer science, or physics and provide them up to three years of scholarship support to complete their STEM degree and earn secondary teacher licensure.

The LABT project is designed to transform the culture of mathematics and science teacher preparation on the UM campus through the recruitment of STEM undergraduates to become assistants in large section mathematics and science courses. They will work in pairs–and with faculty and graduate assistants–to engage other undergraduates as peer tutors, which will provide them with experiences as facilitators of learning in anticipation of becoming teachers in middle and high school classrooms.  Additionally, the Learning Assistant model will be extended into elementary and secondary schools where the Noyce Scholars will assist master teachers in high need school districts.  Noyce Scholars will be prepared to work in western Montana communities, which are rural and represent a diversity of cultures, including different Native American tribes. 

The goals of the LABT project are to:

1. design a recruitment and Noyce Scholarship award strategy that increases the number of middle/high school mathematics and science teachers entering the profession prepared to teach effectively in rural and frontier areas;

2. improve the quality of education for Noyce scholars by instituting a summer field science workshop and an academic year pedagogy seminar;

3. improve the quality of education for both Noyce scholars and undergraduate students in targeted mathematics and science courses by using Noyce scholars as Learning Assistants (peer mentors using supportive teaching strategies); and

4. establish a culture at UM that engages faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in the learning of mathematics and science content through research-based teaching.

The LABT will be characterized by freshmen and sophomore summer internships, modifications to courses in which Learning Assistants work, pedagogy seminars, mentoring by master teachers, and online wiki and Moodle mentoring of Noyce Scholars as they transition into the early years of their teaching careers.  Freshmen and sophomore summer internships in ecological field placements will serve as a first exposure to teaching and will serve as one recruitment mechanism for Noyce Scholars.  Semester-long pedagogy seminars for all Learning Assistants, graduate teaching assistants, and faculty interested in the model or teaching within the targeted courses will be provided.  STEM courses in which Learning Assistants are used will be customized to include greater use of small-group work and questioning techniques that encourage mathematical and scientific discourse, including challenging assumptions, revealing contradictions and constructing new understandings.  Participating faculty will recruit Learning Assistants from the best and brightest former students so that subsequent course offerings become transformed through the use of these Noyce Scholars.

Increasing the number, quality, and diversity of mathematics and science teachers with majors in STEM disciplines ensures a depth of content knowledge which when linked to the skill set developed as Learning Assistants provides novice teachers with a solid foundation for success in the teaching profession.  As the LABT project focuses specifically on preparing future mathematics and science teachers for success in rural/frontier areas of the west, and high-need reservation areas, persistent patterns in which these areas are educationally underserved will be thwarted. 

 

Selected Publications

Conway, B., Erickson, D., Parish, C., Strutchens, S., & Whitfield, J. (2017, October). An alternative approach to the traditional internship model.  Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Eagle Rock, GA. Available from the link to Proceedings of the 2017 GAMTE Conference at https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gamte/

Peck, F. A., & Erickson, D. (2017). The rise—and possible fall—of the graphing calculator. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-rise-and-possible-fall-of-the-graphing- calculator-78017

Peck, F. A., Erickson, D., Feliciano-Semidei, R., Renga, I. P., Roscoe, M. B., & Wu, K. (2017). Negotiating the essential tension of teacher communities in a statewide math teachers’ circle. In E. Galindo & J. Newton (Eds.), Proceedings of the 39th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 431–438). Indianapolis, IN: Hoosier Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators.

Renga, I.P., Peck, F., Feliciano-Semidei, R., Erickson, D., & Wu, K. (under review). Doing math and talking school: Professional talk as producing hybridity in teacher identity and community. Linquistics and Education.

Strutchens, M. E., Sears, R., Whitfield, J., Biagetti, S., Brosnan, P., Oloff-Lewis, J., Clarke, P. A., Stone, J. J., Erickson, D. R., Parrish, C., Conway IV, B. M., & Ellis, R. L. (2018). Implementation of Paired Placement and Co-Planning/Co-Teaching Field Experience Models Across Multiple Contexts. In T. Hodges & A. Baum (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Field-Based Teacher Education  (pp. 32-63). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-6249-8.ch002

Whitfield, J., Conway, B., Erickson, D., & Strutchens, M. (under review). The paired placement in multiple contexts. AMTE Monograph. Orlando, FL.