Chris Rasmussen receives the 2017 College of Science’s Outstanding Faculty Contributions Award, also known as the Faculty Montys.
Chris is an international leader in mathematics education research. He has led the research community to focus on the classroom learning environment and student’s mathematical activities rather the traditional emphasis on student difficulties and stumbling blocks. Chris has also contributed to math education theory by combining and coordinating different theoretical perspectives to use the best of each rather than compartmentalizing approaches. Chris is the nominated representative of the Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) on the National Academy of Science’s US National Commission on Mathematical Instruction.
Chris’s most prominent research is on a very practical and extremely important area, improving the student experience in first year calculus, and he is having a substantial impact in this area. He is a Co-Principal Investigator on three ground breaking 5 year NSF-funded grants that seek to understand programs and practices that support student learning and to communicate the results of the research and propagate successful innovations by partnering with the Mathematical Association of America and the Association of Public and Land-granting Universities. Chris has led the effort to improve San Diego State’s calculus program, working closely with the Department Chair, the Mathematics Learning Center Director and the course coordinators as chair of the Calculus Task Force. The innovations introduced are based on findings from his NSF-funded projects.
