Meet Audbjorg Bjornsdottir!

Did someone say bootstrap?

Hi my name is Audbjorg Bjornsdottir but I go by Auja. I am a third year PhD student in statistics education. I have an undergrad in anthropology, a MA in sociology/criminology and a post-graduate diploma in teaching all from the University of Iceland. This year I also received my MA in statistics education.

Now I am taking two classes: MTHE 5314 Teaching and Learning Mathematics and CI 5325 Designing and Developing Online Distance Learning. Both these classes are very interesting and fun. Most of the students in the math education class are k-12 math teachers and I really enjoy hearing and getting to know their perspective toward teaching math or statistics at a level unfamiliar to me. The CI 5325 course is one of four courses that count towards a certificate in Online Distance Learning offered here at the U. Since I have been teaching introductory statistics online since spring 2009 I decided to get that certificate along with my Ph.D. degree. This course is the second one I take as apart of that certificate and I love it for its practicality. For example this semester I have been evaluating different content managing systems that are used in online teaching and at the end of the semester I am supposed to design my own course. The course is offered online; we are introduced to the latest technology (how to use it) and research in online teaching in a very much hands on and pragmatic approach. I benefit much from taking this course and the certificate because I have just begun the process of working on my dissertation, which will be about how to administer group quizzes successfully in an online introductory statistics course.

Congratulations Nick Horton!

Screen shot of Nick from the video.

Three faculty members were named 2010 recipients of the Kathleen Compton Sherrerd ’54 and John J. F. Sherrerd Prizes for Distinguished Teaching. They are: Nicholas Horton, associate professor of mathematics and statistics; Róisín O'Sullivan, associate professor of economics; and Michael Thurston, professor of English language and literature. The Sherrerd Prize is given annually to Smith faculty members in recognition of their distinguished teaching records and demonstrated enthusiasm and excellence.

You can watch Nick in a video here.