
Laura R. Van Zoest, Ph.D.
Professor of Mathematics Education
Western Michigan University
Laura Van Zoest is a professor of mathematics education at Western Michigan University specializing in secondary mathematics teacher education. She is interested in how people become effective mathematics teachers, teacher educators, and researchers, and ways that university courses and programs can accelerate that development. Her research has investigated the effect of reform curriculum materials on teacher development, the use of practice-based materials in university methods courses, and the cultivation of productive norms in teacher education. For over ten years she has been a principal investigator for the National Science Foundation-funded Building on MOSTs project, studying how to identify and productively build on a particular type of teachable moments called MOSTs (Mathematical Opportunities in Student Thinking).
Blog Posts
Productive Struggle: An Opportunity for In-Depth Mathematics Learning | November 9, 2022