The Department of Teaching and Learning

Nick Wasserman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Dr. Nick Wasserman is an Assistant Professor in the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education, specializing in Mathematics Education. He received his B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin with the UTeach program and recently matriculated from Columbia University’s Teachers College with a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education. Both programs required a strong preparation in pure mathematics, including advanced mathematics topics such as Graph Theory, Topology, Abstract Algebra, Analysis, Statistics, Foundations of Number Systems, etc., and thoughtful application in mathematics education. He taught mathematics for six years at the secondary level, in both a large public school in Austin and a private school in Manhattan, where his teaching included everything from Algebra I to BC Calculus and Finite Mathematics. He received the 2008 R.L. Moore Award for Best Inquiry Lesson from the University of Texas at Austin, and was the 2010 featured Student Spotlight for the Department of Mathematics, Sciences, and Technology at Teachers College. He has also assisted graduate level courses on Mathematics in Elementary Education and has worked with future teachers as a Mentor Teacher and as the Math for America Fellows Program Supervisor. His teaching load at SMU includes graduate mathematics education courses in the school of education and undergraduate mathematics courses in the mathematics department.

Dr. Wasserman’s scholarly interests focus on teacher knowledge and development, particularly focusing on the advanced mathematics content knowledge that impacts classroom teaching. Using a sample of beginning teachers, he and a colleague collaborated to compare secondary mathematics teachers’ knowledge and training from a traditional and an alternative program to understand how to process of teacher education serves novice teachers. His background from a contemporary teacher training program such as UTeach as well as a storied program in mathematics education at Teachers College gives him a broad perspective from which to draw. In addition, he has an interest in how the use of technology can influence the secondary mathematics classroom. He has authored articles and presented about productive ways to incorporate technology into the secondary mathematics curriculum and the effects of teacher education on beginning teachers. He also served as the Guest Editor for the Spring 2011 issue of the Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College that focused on the Common Core State Standards and Curriculum development.

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Dr. Wasserman's Faculty Homepage

Selected Publications:

Wasserman, N. (2011). Bending steel. In H. Gould, D. Murray & A. Sanfratello (Eds.), Teachers College Mathematical Modeling Handbook (pp. 75-82). Bedford, MA: The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP).

Wasserman, N. (2011). A bit of information. In H. Gould, D. Murray & A. Sanfratello (Eds.), Teachers College Mathematical Modeling Handbook (pp. 83-92). Bedford, MA: The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP).

Wasserman, N. (2011). The Common Core State Standards: Comparisons of access and quality. Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College, 2(1), pp. 18-27.

Wasserman, N., & Koehler, J. (2011). Will Common Core State Standards facilitate consistency and choice or lead to unexpected outcomes? (Editorial Point-Counterpoint). Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College, 2(1), pp. 6-7.

Wasserman, N., & Arkan, I. (2011). Technology Tips: An Archimedean walk. Mathematics Teacher, 104(9), May 2011, pp. 710-715.

Wasserman, N. (2011). Partition and iteration in Algebra: Intuition with linearity. Association of Mathematics Teachers of New York State Journal, 61(1), pp. 10-14.

Wasserman, N. (2010). Inside the UTeach program: Implications for research in mathematics teacher education. Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College, 1(1), pp. 12-16.

Wasserman, N. (2010). Reader reflections: A fourth way to break a stick. Mathematics Teacher, 104(1), August 2010, pp. 9-10.

Selected Presentations:

Wasserman, N., & Ham, E. (2011). A question of When? for beginning mathematics teachers. NCTM Regional Conference, Albuquerque, NM. 3 November 2011.

Wasserman, N., & Ham, E. (2011). Learning to be a successful mathematics teacher: Reflections on two teacher education models. UTeach Institute Annual Conference, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. 24 May 2011.

Wasserman, N., & Arkan, I. (2011). Archimedes rediscovered through technology. NYSAIS Teaching with Technology Conference, Abraham Joshua Heschel School, New York, NY. 27 April 2011.

Wasserman, N., & Ham, E. (2010). A question of “When?” for beginning mathematics teachers. AMTNYS Annual Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY. 13 November 2010.

Wasserman, N. (2010). Partition and iteration in Algebraic thinking: Intuition with linearity. AMTNYS Annual Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY. 12 November 2010.

Wasserman, N. (2009). When beginning mathematics teachers report learning successful attributes: Reflections on teacher education. Advanced dissertation hearing presentation for the graduate faculty and students in the department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY. 15 October 2009.

Wasserman, N. (2006). Stacking paper cups. Presented a hands-on lab lesson on linear functions to other teachers in Austin ISD at a UTeach professional development event at the University of Texas at Austin. November 2006.