Meet ATMIM's Newest Board Member: Dr. Jason Hardin

Dr. Jason Hardin, Assistant Professor at Worcester State University, joined the ATMIM board as a Director over this past summer. We are excited for Jason to continue to strengthen ATMIM’s connections to both college level math education and teacher preparation programs.

What school do you currently teach at? Worcester State University (Mathematics Department)

What do you teach? The whole range of college-level math courses, from service courses (e.g., Intro to Functions, Precalculus) to upper-level courses for math majors (e.g., Number Theory, Modern Geometry, Abstract Algebra). I also teach math content courses for pre-service elementary (e.g., Numbers and Operations for Teachers; Patterns, Functions, and Algebra for Teachers) and secondary teachers.

What is your favorite topic to teach? Anything related to number theory, whether it's understanding why the sum of two odd numbers is even in a pre-service elementary teachers course or proving more advanced theorems in advanced courses.

Where did you teach prior? past 3 years at Worcester State, previous 5 years at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Why math? I always liked solving puzzles, and at the heart of every math problem lies a puzzle waiting to be solved. I started college as an engineering major -- I quickly found that I enjoyed math for its own sake and not its applications (i.e., engineering). I switched majors and studied math for the next 10 years.

Why did you join ATMIM? ATMIM is an organization concerned with improving math education across Massachusetts. As my department at Worcester State has a history of involvement in the preparation of math teachers at various levels (including its relatively new "Mathematics for Elementary Education" major, the first of its kind in the state), getting involved with a group like ATMIM seemed natural.

What's the one thing you try to get through to your students no matter the class? Mathematical reasoning will be important regardless of what you do in life or what career you pursue. Being able to think logically and creatively will allow you to succeed in many real-life situations.