Throughout my education, my interest in mathematics was developed by my ongoing involvement in extracurricular mathematics activities, including UIL Number Sense, Mu Alpha Theta (I was president my senior year of HS), Atlantic Region Mathematics League (I competed at this national meet as a member of the Texas delegation), and Putnam exams (scoring as high as the 70th percentile nationwide).  I learned there's much mathematics beyond our textbooks and that "recreational mathematics" is not an oxymoron!   I was fortunate to have many excellent and inspiring instructors in college (e.g., Dr. Richard Tapia), who helped prepare me for graduate school.  In my own teaching today, I strive similarly to give students high levels of challenge and support, broaden their view of how mathematics connects to other areas, and give them a view of how mathematics is done by real people in real life!

TEACHING & RELATED EXPERIENCE
In graduate school, I took the usual courses in analysis, topology and abstract algebra before discovering a passion for using my mathematical background in a more applied direction -- the field of statistics.  I proceeded to earn a masters' degree in statistics, work as a statistical consultant on a test-equating psychometrics project with Carl Morris, teach (and coordinate) statistics for the UT school of business, pass some actuary exams, and work for a couple of years as the sole staff statistician for the Texas Legislative Council (I helped research and implement methodology to estimate racial bloc voting for the redistricting project, a real-world experience of using mathematics outside academia that gave additional authenticity to my classroom teaching).   The professional tutoring I had done for a private company and various university departments and the non-tenure-track university teaching I was doing [by the time I earned my PhD, I had taught 16 classes -- mathematics and statistics, upper & lower-division -- at St. Edward's University (a Carnegie Master’s comprehensive Univ. II in Austin of 3000 students), Southwestern University (a baccalaureate liberal arts college in Georgetown, TX of 1200), and the University of Texas at Austin (a Carnegie Doct./Research Univ. Extensive  of 50,000)] helped me realize that, while I greatly enjoyed acquiring my solid background in mathematics and statistics content (which is noted as especially strong "for a mathematics educator"), I had still greater talents, interests and calling in the areas of curriculum and instruction, finding ways to make important content more accessible and interesting.  (Note to students:  be open not only to the possibility that your direction may change, but also to the idea that what you learn in the earlier stages will be useful later in perhaps unexpected ways!)  I then pursued a PhD in Mathematics Education under Ralph Cain with the distinguished committee of Ray Carry, Charles Lamb, Maggie Myers, and Mary Parker, and with valuable encouragement from prominent statistics educator (and ASA Fellow) Joan Garfield as well.   It was (and still is) an exciting time for involvement in the areas of statistics education and mathematics education, which are growing rapidly along with their overlap.  In 1993, a UT adult education course I created and taught on the psychology and probability underlying the then-months-old Texas Lottery attracted extensive media coverage --  from a story spanning 37 column inches in the August 28 Austin American-Statesman all the way to the lead "Dollars and Sense" segment throughout that weekend's Cable News Network (CNN) Headline News!   (Additional stories have often accompanied each time state lotteries begin new games or amass huge jackpots, including interviews on Houston's KTRH-AM, Atlanta's WGST-AM, and Austin's KVUE-TV.)

After my PhD, I began teaching and developing/reforming a variety of courses (in statistics & statistics education, mathematics & mathematics education, mathematics history, and research methodology) as an Assistant Professor for the mathematical sciences department of the University of Northern Colorado (a Carnegie Doctoral/Research extensive University of 10,000 students an hour north of Denver).  While at UNC, I worked with middle/secondary in-service teachers, helped coordinate seminars & conferences, and supervised tutors, student teachers, undergraduate research and doctoral dissertations.   Much of my professional activity and grant involvement has related to teacher education.  I was a faculty content person in the "NEXT STEP: K-12 and Higher Ed" grant (funded by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education) and taught preservice and inservice teachers as part of the Rocky Mountain Secondary Teacher Enhancement Initiative in Mathematics and Rocky Mountain Teacher Education Collaborative NSF-funded grants. As a member of the first CCHE-funded Educational Technology Improvement Project team at UNC, I gained experience in developing and implementing standards, performance based assessments and rubrics.  I was also active in the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics (e.g., presentations and committee work for state & regional conferences), was Vice-Chair of UNC's Professional Education Council, reformed UNC's mathematics history and introductory statistics courses, and taught Secondary Professional Teacher Education Program courses with Greeley West High School.  During my career, I have also done some administration-type work such as coordinate multi-section introductory statistics courses, a university-wide tutoring lab, and some programmatic assessment reports.

Since being hired in 1999 as an Associate Professor at Armstrong Atlantic State University (a comprehensive Carnegie Master's University I of 5500 students that is part of the University System of Georgia), I've taken advantage of the opportunity to renew and broaden further my mathematics education background, especially into the elementary school curriculum -- not only by teaching courses for preservice elementary school teachers, but also by spending significant time in some local schools (from suburban to urban, such as Savannah's East Broad Street Elementary School, where I spent over 50 hours), where I have been observing and working with several inservice teachers and teaching some lessons myself.  I also recently worked with inservice teachers as part of D. Kilhefner's "Teaching Mathematics with Technology" Eisenhower grant, delivered inservice teacher training workshops -- for individual Georgia schools such as St. Michael's K-8 School as well as for larger educational organizations such as the AASU/Chatham County Public Schools Partnership Board (for whom I also serve as AASU's selected A&S representative), the Lowcountry Math and Science Hub, and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum!    I teach with an interactive, engaging style that draws appropriately from a pedagogical repertoire that appropriately integrates manipulatives, technology (ranging from the Internet to EXCEL to data-collection devices), mass media, multiple representations, writing, traditional and alternative assessment, standards-based education, math history, equity/diversity awareness, cooperative learning activities, real-world applications and connections, problem solving, student-collected data and the occasional mathematical magic trick or math song (I have an internationally-recognized niche in this)!  I was a finalist for AASU's 2001 Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology and was further honored to be selected to serve as AASU's university-wide Arthur M. Gignilliat, Jr. Professor throughout the 2001 calendar year (this professorship supported my implementing a multi-faceted proposal entitled "Interdisciplinary Mathematics: Connections Across Campus").  During the 2002-03 school year, I'll be strengthening and updating my mathematics education experiential base by being the lead mathematics teacher at Emery HS, teaching a full load of Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry courses to 9th and 10th-graders!

SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
My current professional interests include teacher education, statistics education and reform, algebra reform, the roles of technology, standards-based education, misconceptions, assessment, constructivism, pedagogical content knowledge, quantitative and qualitative research paradigms and methods, mathematics history, statistics and the lottery, and the use of music in the mathematics classroom.  My dissertation developed a theoretical model on the role of introductory statistics scenarios (e.g., the birthday problem, Simpson's paradox, etc.) that motivate and engage the intuition and serve as rich vehicles for multiple perspectives, and some of my subsequent publications further explored, extended or applied this.   In a recent issue of Journal of Statistics Education, I further articulate frameworks for "striking examples" and "counterintuitive examples" in light of recent work of Sowey, contribute additional examples, reinforce the importance of my classifications, and review effort that has been made to identify and use such demonstrations in teaching.   More generally, my scholarly activity utilizes and deeply integrates my backgrounds (see above) in mathematics/statistics content, pedagogy, technology, curriculum and education research.  As listed below, I have been published in several juried education journals, the NCTM yearbook, and am an author of a college algebra textbook published by McGraw-Hill.

Here are some recent publications (click here for some abstracts):

* (2002).  Letter to the Editor.  [nearly 2000-word followup to Sowey, E. R. (2001) "Striking Demonstrations in Teaching Statistics", JSE, 9(1)].  Journal of Statistics Education, 10 (1).  Published by the American Statistical Association on the World Wide Web at:  http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v10n1/lesser_letter.html

* (2002). Stat Song Sing-Along!  STATS[American Statistical Association periodical for beginning statisticians], #33, pp. 16-17.

* (2002). Ethical Statistics and Statistical Ethics: The Experience of Creating an Interdisciplinary Module.
2001 Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Section on Statistical Education [5 "pages" in the CD-ROM],   Alexandria, VA: ASA.

* (2001). Representations of Reversal:  Exploring Simpson's Paradox.  In Albert A. Cuoco and Frances R. Curcio (Eds.). The Roles of Representation in School Mathematics, pp. 129-145 [chapter of the juried annual NCTM yearbook].  Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

* (2001). Musical Means: Using Songs in Teaching Statistics, Teaching Statistics, 23(3), 81-85.

* (2001).  Enlightening the Black Box: Technology Motivating Mathematics. In Przemyslaw Bogacki, Earl D. Fife and Larry Husch (Eds.). Electronic Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics. Published by the Math Archives on the World Wide Web at   http://archives.math.utk.edu/ICTCM/

* (2001). Discussion of Jim Banning Presentation "Using Photographs as Qualitative Data to Promote Organizational Change: An Interpretivist View". (second author:  K. Fahey). In K. Fahey, J. Richter, L. Lesser, D. Schnelker, and S. Omdal (Eds.). Transitions in Qualitative Inquiry: Preparing for a New Century of Research: Proceedings of 1998-1999 Qualitative Research Seminar Series at University of Northern Colorado, pp. 27-30.  College Park, MD: ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation (ED 445086).

* (2000). Sum of Songs: Making Mathematics Less Monotone! Mathematics Teacher,93(5), 372-377.  [also chosen as the issue's article featured in Mathematics Teacher Online, where it was published for 18 months; cited in a featured newsbrief in Aug./Sept. 2000 issue of Focus, the newsletter of the Mathematical Association of America; appears to be the first juried comprehensive article on the use of song in the mathematics classroom]

* (2000). Reunion of Broken Parts: Experiencing Diversity in Algebra. Mathematics Teacher, 93(1), 62-67. [an "Algebra for All" article chosen as the issue's "Discuss with Your Colleagues" article; it did indeed generate discussion, ranging from letters in the Mathematics Teacherto my appearance as the featured guest on show #123 of  "Math Medley",  an hour-long talk-radio call-in show ]

* (1999). Making the Black Box Transparent. Mathematics Teacher, 92 (9), 780-784.

* (1999). The 'Ys' and 'Why Nots' of Line of Best Fit. Teaching Statistics, 21(2), 54-55.

* (1999). Investigating the Role of Standards-Based Education in a Pre-Service Secondary Math Methods Course. In Myra L. Powers and Nancy K. Hartley    (Eds.), Promoting Excellence in Teacher Preparation:  Undergraduate Reforms in Mathematics and Science [juried monograph for NSF-funded Rocky Mountain Teacher Education Collaborative], pp. 53-64.  Ft. Collins, CO:  Colorado State University.

* (1999). Exploring the Birthday Problem with Spreadsheets. Mathematics Teacher, 92(5), 407-411.

* (1999). Technology, Standards and Statistics:  Lessons Learned from ETIP.  In Gail Goodell (Ed.), Proceedings of the Tenth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, pp. 260-262. Reading, MA:  Addison Wesley Longman.

* (1998). ACT in Algebra:  Applications, Concepts and Technology in Learning Algebra (Preliminary ed.) [college algebra textbook with R. Mayes]. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill.

* (1998). Countering Indifference Using Counterintuitive Examples. Teaching Statistics, 20(1), 10-12. [invited article]

* (1998). Impiegare esempi controintuitivi per contrastare il disinteresse. INDUZIONI demografia    probabilità   statistica a scuola. N. 16, pp. 87-92.[translation into Italian of my full 1998 Teaching Statistics article].

* (1998). Richard Von Mises. In Donald R. Franceschetti (Ed.), Biographical Encyclopedia of Mathematicians, pp. 371-374. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp.

* (1998). Technology-Rich Standards-Based Statistics: Improving Introductory Statistics at the College Level. Technological Horizons in Education Journal, 25(7), 54-57.

* (1997). Exploring Lotteries with Excel. Spreadsheet User, 4(2), 4-7.

Also:
* Citations and abstracts by other scholars of my work have appeared in numerous publications, including:   Journal of  Statistics Education, Statistics Education Research Journal,Teaching Statistics, Mathematics Teacher, and the  Statistics Education Research Newsletter.
* Book reviews published in the November 2000, May 2000, October 1999, September 1997, November 1995 and December 1994 issues of Mathematics Teacher.
* Letters (on mathematics and/or mathematics education) published in the October 2000, March 2001 and May 2001 issues of Mathematics Teacher, the November 2001 issue of Teaching Children Mathematics,  the June 7, 2002 Chronicle of Higher Education, and also in several local newspapers.
* Articles published in statewide mathematics teacher journals including:  the Winter 2002, the Fall 2001, Fall 2000 and Winter 2000 issues of Reflections(the journal of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics) as well as the Fall 1998, Fall 1997 and Summer 1997 issues of Colorado Mathematics Teacher.
* 21 mathematics lyrics/poems published (all but 2 of them in international/national journals):   the March 1999, April 2000, May 2001, and August 2001 issues of Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal, the Autumn 2001  Teaching Statistics, the Winter 2002 STATS, the May 2000  Mathematics Teacher, and the Winter 2002 and Spring 2002 issues of  GCTM Reflections.

My 15 presentations at national/international conferences include the International Conference on Teaching Statistics, International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Mathematical Association of America, North American Psychology of Mathematics Education, Association for Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, and the annual Joint Statistical Meetings (American Statistical Association).  (The most exotic place I have presented was probably Marrakesh, Morocco, where my ICOTS talk was translated in real time over headphones into French!  A close second would be when I was the featured guest on the hour-long live call-in show "Math Medley", broadcast via AM radio and the Internet!)  I have also given 17 presentations (3 of which were plenary/keynote talks) at regional/statewide conferences (including Western Statistics Teachers' Conference, Western Regional National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference, and a Teachers Teaching with Technology conference).  I have also given talks at numerous schools and universities in over a dozen states, such as the invited opening seminar of the Georgia Southern University Math/CS department's 2001-2002 Visiting Lecture Series.   At AASU, I have given several university-wide presentations (e.g., President's Symposium on Teaching and Learning, Robert Ingram Strozier Faculty Lecture Series, Scholarship of Teaching RoundTable, Women's Studies Conference) as well as several departmental colloquia.  Overall, my presentations have spanned many areas/topics, including:  mentoring new teachers, education outreach, mathematics and music/song, mathematics/statistics and philosophy (including ethics), mathematics history/multiculturalism/diversity/gender equity, using the Internet, using mass media, standards-based mathematics and technology, assessment, goals of statistics education, algebraic reasoning in statistics, line of fit, student-collected data, capture/recapture methods, mathematics and science connections, careers in statistics, constructivism, misconceptions, counterintuitive examples, collaborative learning, qualitative research, algebra reform, conceptual understanding of functions, and multiple representations.

My service to the profession has included serving a 3-year term on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Statistics Education (a journal of the American Statistical Association), refereeing manuscripts and writing book reviews for Mathematics Teacher, refereeing papers for Psychology of Mathematics Education North American conferences, advising the editor of the GCTM journal Reflections, doing curriculum consultation for Duxbury Press and Houghton Mifflin, and serving on program and other committees for various regional mathematics/statistics education conferences (e.g., NCTM, Western Statistics Teachers' Conference) and seminar series (e.g., "Transitions in Qualitative Inquiry: Preparing for a New Century of Research").  I was deeply honored to be publicly recognized as a finalist for the 2001 Gladys M. Thomason Distinguished Service Award by the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics based on “distinguished service in the field of mathematics education at the local, regional, and state levels,” and also to be nominated for the ASA Section on Statistical Education's 2002 Waller Education Award.

PERSONAL BACKGROUND
My biggest involvements outside work are my community of family (especially my soulmate/spouse Laurie and our son, who was born-on-Y2K-day!) and friends, as well as time spent in nature and with music (I've been fortunate to overlap the latter with my professional activities!).   There are several educators in my family tree, such as my father's mother (the late Julia Lesser, who taught mathematics with distinction for over 25 years in the Fort Worth schools) and her sister (the late Sadie Streusand, a teacher and counselor in the Houston schools), who turned me on to the enrichment of extracurricular mathematics organizations and contests and I aim to honor their memory with my service in the field.

Go to AASU Homepage or the AASU Math Dept. Homepage
Go to Dr. Lesser's Mathematics Education Resources page or  Statistics Resources page or Mathemusician page