The MU College of Education is pleased to announce that Samuel Otten has been named the Lois Knowles Faculty Fellow.

Otten is a mathematics education faculty member in the Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2012. Otten studies mathematical discourse in middle school and high school classrooms and the ways in which students participate in mathematical practices. He is also interested in how technology can be used to support students’ mathematical learning.

Lois Knowles was a lifelong educator and national leader in mathematics education. Bob McFarland, Knowles’ nephew, and his wife Barbara established a math education faculty fellowship in honor of Knowles.

Knowles was a faculty member at the MU College of Education from 1934-1971. She co-authored the pioneering textbook “Seeing Through Arithmetic” and conducted workshops around the country for math educators. Knowles earned a bachelor’s degree, master of arts degree and doctor of education degree from MU. She was the first female to be promoted to full professor in the College of Education and received the Distinguished Faculty Award in 1968 from the MU Alumni Association.

“Fellowships are an excellent way to honor the college’s past while supporting our future. As dean, I’m the recipient of a fellowship, and it is a tremendous honor and privilege,” said Kathryn Chval, Joanne H. Hook Dean’s Chair in Educational Renewal.