Meet Matt Beckman!

Hi, my name is Matt Beckman. I’m a part-time PhD student in my second year of the Statistics Education program at the U of M. I earned my Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Penn State University and a secondary education teaching certification in Pennsylvania prior to pursuing a Master’s in Statistics at the University of Minnesota which I completed in 2008. I currently work full time as a Statistician for a large medical device manufacturer in the Twin Cities called Medtronic. My responsibilities include statistical analysis for the Neuromodulation business and I volunteer as one of the instructors of a statistics curriculum developed by Medtronic to train engineers and other personnel across the company to use statistics effectively in their jobs.

In addition to my role as an instructor at Medtronic,I have benefited from a few diverse teaching experiences including student teaching placements as an undergraduate, a summer school position and independent tutor following graduation, a few appointments as a teaching assistant during my time in the Statistics Department, and two semesters as adjunct faculty at the U of M following completion of my Master’s. My research interests relate to my experience teaching statistics to quantitative professionals and teaching in intensive seminar environments, since these topics relate to my work at Medtronic.

Between a demanding full-time job, an awesome wife of two and half years, and our new puppy…it’s tough for me to find time for more than one or two classes per semester. In the spring I’m looking forward to taking EPSY 8271 which is a statistics education research seminar with my advisors Joan and Bob and several other friends in the program. It’s sometimes a challenge to keep up with everyone as a part-time student, so I’m excited to have a structured opportunity to see everyone each week in addition to honing my research interests.

Everson Invited to Blog for eLearn Magazine

Michelle Everson has been invited to write a monthly blog for eLearn Magazine. Her first contribution is aptly titled, Why Should Educators Blog? Reflective Writing Can Positively Affect Teaching.

Hopefully, Michelle will let us know each month when her new entry is posted and we will update you. In the meantime, catch up on some of her past scholarship for eLearn Magazine.

• 10 Things I've Learned About Teaching Online
• Group Discussion in Online Statistics Courses

Congratulations Ulrike!

And welcome to the newest Catalyst for Change, Max! Ulrike Genschel, a CATALST implementer from Iowa State, had a baby and he is definitely less than 0.01 (highly significant). We wish her and Max the best. Ulrike writes,

Max was born on Saturday, December 4th. Although a few weeks early, he is doing great and healthy.

Max-imum Likelihood

Are those concentric negative quadratic curves above Max's head?

Max implements a nap.