Winnie Ko

Dr. Ko's primary research interests are the teaching and learning of fundamental mathematical practices in both school and university settings, particularly as they relate to mathematical reasoning, representation, generalization, justification, and proof. Mathematical practices, such as using multiple representations, making and justifying generalizations, and reading, evaluating, writing, and understanding mathematical proofs, are vital for students to advance their understanding of mathematics. Yet they also represent some of the most challenging and difficult practices for students to acquire. Along these lines, she is also interested in using students’ mathematical thinking to develop pre-service and in-service teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching. A central goal of her research is to understand students’ and teachers’ mathematical thinking and reasoning in order to guide the design of courses and the development of instructional approaches aimed at enhancing students’ learning and teachers’ instruction of mathematics.