Juliana Belding

Why Math? These are some of my favorite answers.

Quantitatively literate citizens need to know more than formulas and equations. They need a predisposition to look at the world through mathematical eyes, to see the benefits (and risks) of thinking quantitatively about commonplace issues, and to approach complex problems with confidence in the value of careful reasoning.   -Lynn Steen, Mathematics and Democracy

...the highest aim in education is analogous to the highest aim in mathematics, namely, not to obtain results but powers, not particular solutions, but the means by which endless solutions may be wrought.' -George Eliot, in an essay about Thomas Carlyle 

Current Position and Interests

I currently am a Professor of the Practice in Mathematics at Boston College and Undergraduate Director (Vice-chair). This Fall I am teaching Math1190 and Math4455. I also work with Teaching Assistant and Fellow program, supporting graduate students as they learn to teach. 

 My main area of scholarly and professional work is mathematics teaching and learning at the undergraduate level and the professional development with middle and high school mathematics teachers. (See below for more.)

My PhD is in the area of algebraic number theory and cryptography, and I love to talk about this with anyone who wants to hear! For a fun glimpse of why prime numbers play a role in keeping information secure, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56fa8Jz-FQQ 

Ongoing Projects 

• Co-Principal Investigator, for NSF Project Developing Exemplary Mathematics Educators for High-Need Schools: Content, Equity and Leadership.  This includes being a mathematician mentor for experienced teacher in high-needs districts. Here is a video discussing a previous related project, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yDK1EwE2lw. 

Past Positions 

• From 2013-2015, I worked as project coordinator and principal investigator for a grant from the Harvard Initiative on Learning and Teaching entitled Curricular Innovation in Calculus: Meeting the Changing Needs of Our Students and Client Disciplines. This work is motivated in part by the ''mathematics bottleneck that is currently keeping many students from pursuing STEM majors'' (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Report, 2012). This became Calculus Applied! (HarvardX MOOC, self-paced course running now through June 2030).  This is an open online course designed for students and teachers of calculus to see examples of how single variable calculus applies to a variety of different problems, from the perspective of actual practitioners (statisticians, mathematical biologists, economists, social scientists, physicists, to name a few). 

• From 2008-2013, I worked as a preceptor in the Mathematics Department at Harvard University. Some courses I taught include Math 1a: Introduction to Calculus I, Fall 2012and Math 152: The Math of Symmetry, Topics in Discrete Math and Abstract Algebra, Fall 2011 . I have also worked as co-coordinater of the Calculus Course Assistant Program and Math Table, the dinner-time seminar for undergraduate math concentrators. 

Scholarly and Professional Work 

• At the undergraduate level, I am currently focused on early course experiences, specifically examining students' conceptual understanding and knowledge and beliefs about calculus and how these connect to their past experiences, their course performance and their primary academic interests in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and quantitative social science fields. (See grant project mentioned above.)

• In the area of teacher education, I am interested in professional development with mathematics teachers focused on mathematical investigations and mathematical habits of mind. This work is very much in line with Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) which emphasize using and assessing ''mathematical practices" across content areas in the K-12 grades as a way to deepen students' appreciation and understanding of the structure and concepts of math and build their capabilities for problem-solving and communication in mathematics and other fields. This includes the work above and the following:

• From 2017-18, I was a reviewer of state standards in Math for Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Washington, DC . Our team reviewed and rated the K12 state standards for all 50 states on content and communication, and authored the final report, The State of State Standards Post-Common Core. 

• From 2013-2017, I worked with the DEbT-M Math-Science Partnership involving the Educational Development Center, Inc., Pittsburgh Public Schools, University of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon with the goal of increasing access to high-quality math experiences for all students by providing intensive mathematics-focused professional development for teachers around the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice. 

• I helped launch Boston Math Teachers' Circle in Summer 2014. I've led explorations on Apollonian Circles.

• From Spring 2011 to 2013, I facilitated a seminar for Master Teachers (from Math for America, Boston and Boston University's Math Teaching Scholars) on current issues in mathematics teaching and education and in particular, the impact of the Common Core State Standards. For more on this work, see slides from my talk at JMM 2012.

• Between 2010 and 2012, I co-facilitated a study group for middle and high school math teachers in the Cambridge Public Schools with Jeremy Orloff at MIT, sponsored by the Focus on Math NSF-funded math-science partnership of schools and universities in the Boston area. We've explored various topics related to and going beyond school mathematics, for example Transformations in Geometry, Fermi problems, Symmetries of Polygons and Group Structures, Farey Sequences, Polygonal Numbers, and Conic Sections in Taxi-cab geometry. For examples of materials, please feel free to contact me.

• I also have worked multiple summers as counselor and assistant director with the PROMYS for Teachers program at Boston University where secondary math teachers spend six weeks immersed in elementary number theory.