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Susan L Hillman

Professor of Teacher Education

Department of TE - Elementary Early Childhood & Special Education

Education

Academic and Student Affairs

SVSU Main Campus

Gilbertson Hall-North Wing 256

989-964-7288

shillman@svsu.edu

Biography

I graduated from Alma College (Michigan) with a B.A. in Mathematics and Elementary Education (K-8), and taught middle school mathematics for several years in New Mexico and Ohio. I completed my M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in middle school mathematics at Michigan State University. While in Ohio, I started teaching part time for the mathematics department at Kent State University, and taught the mathematics for elementary teachers and developmental mathematics courses. I continued teaching these courses and entry-level mathematics courses at several universites when I moved to Pennsylvania. I enjoyed teaching the mathematics for elementary teachers courses and decided to pursue my Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of Delaware. After completing my Ph.D., I was a faculty member in Education at Penn State Harrisburg and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics education for three years. I joined the education faculty at SVSU in 1999, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. My primary responsibility is teaching mathematics education courses in the Elementary Education program.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy
Univ Delaware

Teaching Interests

I primarily teach the mathematics education courses for Lower and Upper Elementary Education (TE 360; TE 365; TE 367), and other related courses in mathematics and/or elementary education. These courses focus on a problem-based approach to teaching and learning mathematics by engaging in mathematical discourse through applying the research-based mathematics-specific teaching practices and equity-based mathematics teaching practices. The use of digital mathematics tools for visualizing and representing mathematical concepts in ways that are developmentally appropriate for learners is introduced and developed in these courses.

Research

Research Interests:

  • Self-study of Mathematics Teacher Educator practices including feedback practices, pedagogy of discussion practice, and curricular decision-making.
  • Quality of education and school improvement through collaborative school review processes, with a focus on quality of teaching and learning.
  • Using Digital Technologies for Teaching and Learning Mathematics, especially in the areas of whole number operations, fraction/ decimal concepts and operations.

Selected Publications:

  • Lischka, A. E., Kastberg, S., & Hillman, S. L. (2023). Articulating a pedagogy of discussion: Re-imagining our discussion practice in mathematics methods. In A. Cameron-Standerford, B. Bergh, & C. U. Edge (Eds.), Pausing at the threshold: Opportunity through, with, and for self-study of teacher education practices (pp. 319-328). DOI 10.59668/558

  • Kastberg, S., Lischka, A. E., & Hillman, S. L. (2022). Supporting discussion practice in mathematics methods: Applications of whole-class scaffolding. In A. E. Lischka, E. B. Dyer, R. S. Jones, J. N. Lovett, J. Strayer, & S. Drown (Eds.), Proceedings of the forty-fourth annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 969-978). Middle Tennessee State University.

  • Hillman, S. L., & Chheda, N. (2021). A process of teacher performance review for continuous improvement. A. W. Wiseman & P. Kumar (Eds.) Building Teacher Quality in India: Examining Policy Frameworks and Implementation Outcomes (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 41), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 243-268.  https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920210000041011

Selected Presentations:

  • Kastberg, S., Lischka, A. E., Hillman, S. L. (accepted for 2024). Growing our MTE practices through collaborative self-study: Using community, artifacts, and theory. Paper presentation (Strand B: TSG 4.8 Knowledge and practice of mathematics teacher educators) at the 15th International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME). Sydney, Australia, July 7-14.

  • Kastberg, S., Hillman, S. L., & Lischka, A. E. (2023). Learning to Facilitate Discussions about Teaching with Teachers. Presentation for the 2023 National Council of Teacher of Mathematics Research conference, October 24-25.

  • Lischka, A. E., Kastberg, S., & Hillman, S. L. (2023). Articulating a pedagogy of discussion: Re-imagining our discussion practice in mathematics methods. Paper presentation at the 14th International Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP), Herstmonceaux Castle, Hailsham, UK, August 6-10.

  • Kastberg, S., Lischka, A. E., & Hillman, S. L. (2022). Supporting discussion practice in mathematics methods: Applications of whole-class scaffolding. Research Report for presentation at the Forty-fourth Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Nashville, TN, November 17-20.

  • Hillman, S. L., & Chheda, N. (2019). Designing a self-study component for teacher performance self-improvement. Presentation at the annual Invisible College for Research on Teaching (Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Special Interest Group to the American Educational Research Association), Toronto, CA, April 4.

Community Engagement

Selected Service to the Professional Community and International Community:

  • 2020 - 2024: Secretary, Michigan Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (MI-AMTE)
  • 2019, 2023: Facilitated multiple professional development workshops in teaching mathematics with teachers at several schools in Mumbai, India and co-facilitated professional development sessions with school leaders in Kohima, Nagaland.
  • 2021 - 2022: Michigan Department of Education (MDE): Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC), Upper Elementary (3-6) Standard Setting Conference, Lansing, MI, October 24-25, 2022.; Lower Elementary (PK-6) Education Mathematics Content Advisory Committee, Online Item Review and Validation Conference, May 4, 2022; Upper Elementary (3-6) Education Content Advisory Committee, Online Item Review and Validation Conference, December 6, December 16, December 17, 2021.; MDE MTTC Online Item Review Conference, Upper Elementary (3-6) Education Professional Standards, May 7, May 25, 2021.
  • 2012 - present: Consultant (Mathematics Education) and Lead Assessor with Adhyayan Quality Education, India

Affiliations

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • American Educational Research Association (AERA), 1991 - present
    • Division K Teacher Education, 1991 – present
    • AERA/SIG/Research in Mathematics Education (RME), 1991 - present
    • AERA/SIG Self-Study of Teacher Educator Practices, 2016 - present
  • Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), 2007 - 2015
  • Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), 1997 - present
    • Michigan Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (MI-AMTE) 2015 – present; Secretary, 2020-2024
    • Michigan Mathematics Teacher Educators: Conversations Among Colleagues (CaC), 2003 - 2015
  • The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, North America (PME-NA), 1991 - present
  • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), 1982 - present
    • Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM), 1999 - present
  • Phi Delta Kappa (PDK), 1996 - present
  • American Association of University Women (AAUW), 2003 - present
  • Girl Scouts of the United States of America, 1966 - present