\u201cI\u2019ve always loved seeing my students solve a problem. That \u2018a-ha!\u2019 moment is such a wonderful triumph for them and for me, too,\u201d said Dr. M. Katherine Gavin, who dedicated her career to teaching and researching mathematics.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have students tell me that they were afraid to take my course, but fell in love with mathematics in the end, was wonderful, especially when those students will be future teachers who will influence their own students\u2019 attitudes toward mathematics,\u201d added Gavin, who in 2013 retired from UConn\u2019s Neag School of Education. There, she served as an associate professor in residence in mathematics and math specialist at the Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development.<\/p>\n
Gavin said she was inspired to enter education by her high school math teachers. Later, at UConn, she turned her determination to \u201cignite a love of mathematics\u201d into two nationally renowned projects\u2014Project M3<\/sup>: Mentoring Mathematical Minds and Project M2: Mentoring Young Mathematicians.<\/p>\n Serving as the projects\u2019 principal investigator and project director, she led a team of mathematics education experts from throughout the U.S. to develop new mathematics materials focused on advanced thinking skills and student-centered learning for talented math students in grades K-5, especially those from low-income and minority backgrounds.<\/p>\n Today, the educational materials produced from the projects are widely used in all 50 states and internationally, with Gavin and her team receiving the National Association for Gifted Children\u2019s Distinguished Curriculum Award for nine consecutive years.<\/p>\n \u201cKathy has distinguished herself by compiling a remarkable record of both scholarly publications and national and international presentations,\u201d said former Neag colleague \u00a0Joseph S. Renzulli, director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. \u201cKathy\u2019s work has both the scholarly respect and the practical applications for influencing real and lasting changes, and in this regard her contributions are recognized as the \u2018gold standard\u2019 in mathematics education.\u201d<\/p>\n A Neag alumna with a Ph.D. in educational psychology focused on gifted and talented education, Gavin has been actively involved in philanthropic support for the Neag School since her retirement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a wonderful and exciting time for the school as we try to expand our programs and research agendas in a wide variety of field,\u201d Gavin said. \u201cThe Neag School is fully dedicated and engaged in helping students learn, and in making our students the best teachers they could possibly be. I\u2019m glad to contribute to the effort in extending our research into all areas of the state and becoming even better.\u201d<\/p>\n Besides providing philanthropic support, Gavin has been collaborating with current faculty in continued research on mathematics education for gifted and talented students. Her paper \u201cExamining the Effects of Gifted Programming in Mathematics and Reading Using the ECLS-K,\u201d co-written with Measurement, Evaluation and Assessment associate professor Betsy McCoach and\u00a0former UConn doctoral student Jill Adelson, won the 2013\u00a0Gifted Child Quarterly Research Paper of the Year. Adelson is now an assistant professor at the University of Louisville.<\/p>\n Continuing to work with colleagues on Project M3\u00a0<\/sup>and Project M2<\/sup>, Gavin recently published \u201cNurturing Young Student Mathematicians\u201d with Neag School Assistant Professor Tutita M. Casa. The paper outlines the philosophy, literature and best practices in the fields of gifted and mathematics education. She and her team are also creating and field testing three new mathematics education units.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to thrive in our increasingly technological and global society, we need to develop creative leaders who are able to grapple with complex problems and figure out innovative ways to solve them,\u201d Gavin said. \u201cWe need to continue to recognize and develop mathematical talent, as well as to challenge and engage students in every mathematics class, as they will be the future innovators and problem solvers of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Gavin continues to teach at UConn\u2019s Confratute \u2013 Summer Institute for Enrichment Teaching and Learning, as well as provides professional development for teachers in districts around the country. She believes that raising both the expectations and capabilities of teachers will \u201chave a more lasting effect on students for years to come.\u201d A member of the state Department of Education Committee charged with helping develop standards for early childhood math education, Gavin is the author of\u00a0Identifying and Nurturing Math Talent (The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education)<\/i>\u00a0and co-author of the middle school textbook series\u00a0Math Innovations<\/i>. She is the recipient of the Neag School of Education\u2019s 2012 Distinguished Researcher Award. When not working, Gavin enjoys spending time with family and friends, especially her four grandchildren.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing able to work with teachers and help them see that young students can do so much more in mathematics meant a great deal to me. I\u2019m glad to hear from so many teachers that they will never go back to their old way of teaching.\u201d Gavin said.<\/p>\n To learn more about Gavin and her work, visit this video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Neag alumna with a Ph.D. in educational psychology focused on gifted and talented education, Gavin has been actively involved in philanthropic support for the Neag School since her retirement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":204795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2455],"class_list":["post-204794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 02:07:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204796,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204794\/revisions\/204796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/204795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204794"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=204794"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=204794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}