PhD
Assistant Professor
Phone: (703) 993-9119
Fax: (703)993-3643
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Commerce II 206
4400 University Dr.
MS 4C2
Fairfax, VA 22030
Jennifer Suh is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education, College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University. Dr. Suh teaches mathematics courses in the Mathematics Education Leadership and Elementary Education programs. Dr. Suh is also the PDS University Facilitator at Westlawn Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia. As a University Facilitator, she supervises teacher interns who are in the Professional Development School Program.
She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education Leadership with a specialization in instructional technology from George Mason University in 2005, her Masters in Teaching and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 1994. Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Suh was an elementary classroom teacher for 11 years working in Virginia and for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Seoul, Korea.
Currently, she teaches the Elementary Mathematics Methods courses for prospective teachers and Research in Mathematics Education for the Mathematics Specialist Masters Program.
Mathematics Teacher Development -developing pedagogical content knowledge
Dr. Suh’s current research focuses on effective methods in developing elementary mathematics teachers’ pedagogical and content knowledge. She has conducted research with elementary teachers on lesson study and explored the use of mathematical models using physical and virtual manipulatives as means to develop pedagogical mathematics knowledge. She continues to work with pre-service and in-service teachers who “relearn” the fundamental mathematics by mathematical knowledge mapping, multiple representations & models, and meaningful problem solving activities.
Children’s development of mathematical meaning and models to build understanding and representational fluency with diverse student populations
Her other research efforts focus on effective methods in building representational fluency, that is allowing students to translate or reinterpret a mathematical idea from one mode of representation to another: from real life experiences, manipulative models, pictorial representations, written symbols and spoken words. Dr. Suh’s research examines how students use multiple representations of mathematics concepts to build flexibility and mathematical proficiency, particularly with diverse populations of students.
Suh, Jennifer M. (in press). Tying it all together: Building mathematics proficiency for all students. Teaching Children Mathematics, NCTM publication
Suh, Jennifer M., & Moyer, Patricia S. (2007). Developing students’ representational fluency using virtual and physical algebra balance scales. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, AACE publications.
Scaptura, Chris, Suh, Jennifer & McHaffey, Greg. (2007). Masterpieces to Mathematics: Using ArtTeach Fraction, Decimal, and Percent Equivalents. Mathematics in the Middle Grades, NCTM publication
Suh, Jennifer M., Moyer, Patricia S. & Heo, Hae H. (2005). Examining technology uses in the classroom: students developing fraction sense by using virtual manipulative concept tutorials, Journal of Interactive Online Learning, Volume 3 Number 4 Spring 2005.
Heo, Hae-Ja, Suh, Jennifer & Moyer, Patricia S. (2004). Impacting student confidence: The effects of using virtual manipulatives and increasing fraction understanding. The Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics, 14(2), 207-219.
Suh, Jennifer M., Moyer, Patricia S. & Sterling, Donna. (2003) Junior Architect: Designing your dream clubhouse using measurement and geometry, Teaching Children Mathematics, NCTM publication.