Mary E. Pilgrim
Professor
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Director, Math & Stat Learning Center
Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education
Primary Email: [email protected]
Building/Location
Geology Mathematics Computer Science - 581
6475 Alvarado Rd
San Diego
CA,
92103
Files
Website Links
Bio
I hold a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from Colorado State University. My research area is in undergraduate mathematics education. I have expertise in mathematics course and curriculum development at the undergraduate level, with efforts focused on implementing active and inquiry-focused strategies in the classroom. I connect the use of evidence-based practices to the professional development of post-secondary instructors and study the sustainability such of change efforts at the department level.
Grants
$161,074 – Collaborative Research: Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development Focused on Implementation of Evidence-based Teaching Practices, Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation, 10/01/2023 – 09/30/2025. Award Number 2013590 (supplement award).
$99,776 – A Holistic Approach for Closing Equity Gaps in Precalculus and Calculus, Co-Principal Investigator, California Education Learning Lab (https://calearninglab.org/project/holistic-approach-for-closing-equity-gaps-in-precalculus-and-calculus/), 07/01/2022 – 06/30/2024. Award Number 00005931.
$2,112,498 – Collaborative Research: Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development Focused on Implementation of Evidence-based Teaching Practices, Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation, 10/01/2020 – 09/30/2025. Award Numbers 2013590, 2013563, and 2013422.
$2,198,757 – Collaborative Research: Mathematics Persistence through Inquiry and Equity: Redeveloping Gateway Mathematics in a Two-year HSI to Promote Success in STEM, Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation, 06/01/2020 – 05/31/2025. Award Numbers 1953713 and 1953753.
$1,919,515 – Departmental Action Teams: Sustaining Improvements in Undergraduate STEM Education through Faculty Engagement, Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation, 09/01/2016 – 08/31/2020. Award Number 1626565.
Publications
Pilgrim, M. E., Burks, L., Hill-Lindsay, S., & Ryals, M. (2025). College algebra students’ perceptions of exam errors and the problem-solving process. Frontiers in Education, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1359713
Pilgrim, M. E., Quaisley, K., Yu, F., Beisiegel, M., Oliva, P. D., Moschetti, M., Segal, R., and ELITE PD Research Group (2025). Guiding Principles for Equity-Oriented Professional Development for Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistants. AMS Notices, 72(2), 164-171.
Pilgrim, M. E., Tenney, K., & Doe, S. (2024). Building metaphors that describe mathematics identity and experiences among mathematics graduate teaching assistants. Journal of Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220574241304444
Ngai, C., Pilgrim, M. E., Corbo, J. C., Falkenberg, K., Geanious, C., Reinholz, D. L., Smith, C. E., Stone-Johnstone, A., & Wise, S. (2023). Guiding principles for change in undergraduate education: An analysis of a departmental team’s change effort. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 19(2), 020107. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.19.020107
Reinholz, D., L., Pilgrim, M. E., Stone-Johnstone, A., Falkenberg, K., Geanious, C., Ngai, C., Corbo, J., & Wise, S. (2021). Focus on outcomes: Fostering systemic departmental improvements. To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, 40(2). https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.154
Martinez, A., & Pilgrim, M. E. (2021). Harmonizing course coordination and local data through online grading platforms. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1937731
Reinholz, D. L., & Pilgrim, M. E. (2021). Student sensemaking of proofs at various distances: The role of epistemic, rhetorical, and ontological distance in the peer review process. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 106(2) 211-229.
Pilgrim, M. E., Apkarian, N., Milbourne, H., & O'Sullivan, M. (2020). From rough waters to calm seas: The challenges and successes of building a GTA PD program. PRIMUS: Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, 31(3-5), 594-607. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2020.1793851.
Pilgrim, M. E., McDonald, K. K., Offerdahl, E. G., Ryker, K., Shadle, S. E., Stone-Johnstone, A., & Walter, E. M. (2020). An exploratory study of what different theories can tell us about change. In K. White, A. Beach, N. Finkelstein, C. Henderson S. Simkins, L. Slakey, M. Stains, G. Weaver, & L. Whitehead (Eds), Transforming institutions: Accelerating systemic change in higher education (pp. 97-108). Accelerating Systemic Change in STEM Higher Education Network. Pressbooks. http://openbooks.library.umass.edu/ascnti2020/