Janet Bowers

Principal Investigator, Simulations for Calculus Learning (SimCalc)

Co-Principal Investigator, Investigating Multimedia Case Studies as a Tool for Preservice Teacher Development

Co-Principal Investigator, MEASURE: Mathematics Enhancement and Accountability in Systemic Urban Initiative Research

Project Faculty, Reforming the Preparation and Professional Development of Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teachers

Education

Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, Education and Human Development, specialization in Mathematics Education and Technology, 1996

M.A., Villanova University, Mathematics Education, 1991

B.A., Bucknell University, Mathematics and Psychology, 1985

Teaching Materials

Math 509: Current Syllabus for Teaching Secondary Mathematics with Technology Course

MathEd 602: Current Syllabus for Teaching Elementary Mathematics with Technology Course

Research Interest

My interests involve researching the ways in which students' development of mathematical understandings can be supported through advanced technologies. During one recent project, I worked with a team of researchers to develop three computer-based microworlds to support students' development of place value conceptions. These programs are described via the CandyFactory Programs link.

Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals

Bowers, J. S., & Doerr, Helen M. (2001). An analysis of prospective teachers' dual roles in understanding the mathematics of change: Eliciting growth with technology. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 4, 115–37.

Bowers, J. S., & Nickerson, S. (2001). Identifying cyclic patterns of interaction to study individual and collective learning. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 3, 1–28.

Bowers, J. S., & Nickerson, S. (2000). Students’ changing views of rates and graphs when working with a simulation microworld. Focus on Learning Problems in Mathematics, 22 (3/4), 10–27.

Bowers, J., Cobb, P., & McClain, K. (1999). The evolution of mathematical practices: A case study. Cognition and Instruction, 17, 25–64.

Cobb, P., & Bowers, J. S. (1999). Cognitive and situated learning perspectives in theory and practice. Educational Researcher, 28(2), 4–15.

Nickerson, S., Nydam, C., & Bowers, J. S. (2000). Linking algebraic concepts and contexts: Every picture tells a story. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 6, 92–98.

Chapters in Refereed Books

Bowers, J. S. (2000). Symbolizing, mathematizing and communicating: A look toward the 21st century. In P. Cobb, E. Yackel, & K. McClain (Eds.), Symbolizing, communicating and mathematizing: Perspectives on discourse, tools, and instructional design (pp. 385–398). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Gravemeijer, K., Cobb, P., Bowers, J. S., & Whitenack, J. (2000). Symbolizing, modeling, and instructional design. In P. Cobb, E. Yackel, & K. McClain (Eds.), Symbolizing, communicating and mathematizing: Perspectives on discourse, tools, and instructional design (pp. 225–274). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

McClain, K., Cobb, P., & Bowers, J. (1998). A contextual investigation of three-digit addition and subtraction. In L. Morrow (Ed.), 1998 Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: The teaching and learning of algorithms in school mathematics (pp. 141–150). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Articles in Refereed Proceedings

Barron, L., Bowers, J., & McClain, K. (1996). Evaluating an interactive CD-ROM designed for preservice teacher education. In L. Puig & A. Gutierrez (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twentieth Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, (Vol. 1, p. 208). Valencia, Spain: University of Valencia.

Bowers, J. S., & Doerr, H. M. (1998). Investigating teachers’ insights into the mathematics of change. In K. D. S. Berenson, M. Blanton, W. Coulombe, J. Kolbe, K. Norwood, & L. Stiff (Eds.), Proceedings of theTwentieth Conference of the Psychology of Mathematics Education—North American Chapter (Vol. 2, pp. 789-795). Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University.

Bowers, J. (1997). Analyzing students’ learning with microworlds: Do you see what I see? In J. Dossey, J. Swafford, M. Parmantie, & A. Dossey (Eds.), Proceedings of the Nineteenth Conference of the Psychology of Mathematics Education—North American Chapter (Vol. 2, pp. 611–617). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education.

Bowers, J., McClain, K., & Cobb, P. (1997). Design principles for developing integrated multimedia instructional materials. In E. Pehkonen (Ed.), Proceedings of the Twenty-First Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 1, p. 219). Lahti, Finland: Lahti Research and Training Center.

Bowers, J. (1995). Coordinating top-down and bottom-up approaches: An alternative perspective for developing a mathematical microworld. In J. L. Schnase & E. L. Cunnius (Eds.), Proceedings of the First International Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning (pp. 121–125). Bloomington: Indiana University.

Bowers, J. (1995). Designing computer learning environments based on the theory of realistic mathematics education. In L Miera & D. Carraher (Eds.), Proceedings of the Nineteenth Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 2, pp. 202–210). Recife, Brazil: Program Committee of the 19th PME Conference.

Bowers, J., Barron, L., & Goldman, E. (1994). An interactive media environment to enhance mathematics teacher education. In J. Willis, B. Robin, & D. A. Willis (Eds.), Technology and teacher education annual (pp. 515–519). Washington, DC: Society for Technology and Teacher Education.

Doerr, H., McClain, K., & Bowers, J. (1997). Design principles for developing integrated multimedia instructional materials. In E. Pehkonen (Ed.), Proceedings of the Twenty-First Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 2, pp. 217–224). Lahti, Finland: University of Helsinki.

Stewart, K., & Bowers, J. (1997,October). STEP: A Case study on building a bridge from HPC technologies to the secondary classroom. Paper presented at the SuperComputing ‘97 conference, San Jose, CA.

Software

Bowers, J., & Cobb, P. (1994). The MacCandy Factory [Computer Program]. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University. (Produced in association with National Science Foundation Grant No. RED-9353587)

Goldman, E., Barron, L., Bassler, O., Cobb, P., Bowers, J., McClain, K., Robinson, C., St. Clair, J., Harwood, J., & Altman, J. (1994). Investigations in Teaching Geometry [Computer program]. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University. (Produced in association with National Science Foundation Grants No. TPE-8751472, TPE-8950310, TPE-9053826, and TPE-9154067)

Barron, L., Goldman, E., Bassler, O., Harwood, J., Starnes, L., Jones, L., Bowers, J., & Goin, L. (1992). Peabody Professional Development School [Computer program]. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University. (Produced in association with National Science Foundation Grants No. TPE-8751472, TPE-8950310, and TPE-9053826)

Awards and Honors

Otto Bassler Award for Outstanding Dissertation, awarded by Vanderbilt University, 1997

Best multimedia program presented at the 1994 annual meeting of the Society for Technology and Teacher Education, Washington, DC

The Susan Hensinger Thomas Prize for academic achievement in psychology

Professional Associations

American Educational Research Association

Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education

International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education-North American Chapter