Clark Focuses on Math Education
With a master’s degree in mathematics and a PhD in mathematics education, JENEVA CLARK has unique perspectives on teaching mathematics. Her research and connections are forging new opportunities for faculty and students at UT.
Clark joined the Department of Mathematics faculty in 2006 and has taught and coordinated Mathematical Reasoning courses for many years. She regularly teaches Geometry and History of Mathematics and has mentored many math graduate students in teaching. Clark has been involved in 14 funded grants, serving as principal investigator on nine.
Her interest in teaching mathematics extends back to her experience in elementary school. She loves designing fun and engaging lessons, teaching undergraduate mathematics, advising future teachers, mentoring future faculty, and implementing professional development for K-12 teachers.
Her doctoral dissertation focused on how students learn from errors. “University students in my quasi-experimental study judged that correct work samples, sanitized from errors, were more helpful to them, but the data proved that analyzing work with errors was more helpful to their learning,” Clark explained.
Recent research she directed examined the differences in how US faculty and graduate students from America and Ghana judge the elegance of given proofs. “The findings were that elegance in proofs is not well-defined and varies greatly based on status and geography,” Clark said.
She’s hoping to delve into further cross-cultural educational studies with co-researchers in Ghana and other countries.
During the past academic year, she championed to establishment of a new collaborative relationship between UT and a university in Ghana, where she has been conducting outreach and research for the past several years. A new memorandum of understanding between UT and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) will bring opportunities for the mathematics and other departments to collaborate. Possibilities include joint programs, jointly funded projects, student exchange programs, and visiting faculty arrangements, for example.
“Sharing students, sharing research, sharing expertise, and sharing programs are all great ways to strengthen both institutions,” she said.
During the past academic year, she also organized two events on the Knoxville campus: the Program Assessment Conference for Mathematics [P.A.C.-Math]: Tools for Math Departments to Self-Assess GTA Professional Development Programs in October 2023 and the 103rd Mathematical Association of America Southeastern (MAA-SE) Section Meeting in March 2024.
Clark, who received the 2023 MAA-SE Section Distinguished Teaching Award, took the opportunity in delivering the plenary talk to honor William Brodie. He was one of four members turned away from the MAA section meeting conference hotel in 1960 because of their race, and during the 2024 conference at UT received a formal apology form the southeastern chair of the MAA. Clark is collaborating with the UT Department of Africana Studies on a new book chapter about Brodie.