At Virginia Tech, we are very lucky to have tremendous professional development support for our mathematics graduate students. This website has been designed for two main purposes: to celebrate and share the accomplishments and activities of our graduate students and to serve as a professional development resource suite. Construction of this site is an ongoing process, and we are grateful for the time volunteered by our faculty and graduate students in its creation.
Our hierarchy of support includes a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) coordinator who oversees our professional development program, faculty mentors who work closely with those graduate students who are supported on GTA, and senior GTAs (SGTAs) who provide peer support to all mathematics graduate students.
Rachel Arnold, Ph.D., GTA coordinator
Since 2015, Collegiate Assistant Professor Arnold has designed and facilitated the professional development program for Virginia Tech mathematics graduate students. She is an award winning teacher, a member of the Virginia Tech Academy of Teaching Excellence, a faculty scholar of the Virginia Tech Graduate Academy for Teaching Excellence (VT GrATE), an avid member of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) College Mathematics Instructor Development Source (CoMInDS) community, an NSF-funded mathematics education researcher, and most importantly, a triple Hokie. Dr. Arnold earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mathematics from Virginia Tech in 2006, 2008, and 2012, respectively.
During her time as a Virginia Tech graduate student, she was supported on GTA and also served as an SGTA. Her experiences as both a graduate student and a GTA have authenticated her approach to advising and supporting current graduate students, especially in the areas of teaching and work-life balance.
Her philosophy for mentoring graduate students centers on creating a culture in which GTAs regularly talk about and reflect on the teaching and learning of mathematics. By focusing on the mathematics first, she provides a gateway for GTAs to develop an interest in engaging in these conversations. She also draws on a broad array of resources, including current research in mathematics education, to foster a community of teachers that shares ideas, experiences, successes, and struggles. Through this community, GTAs can develop and implement their own, personal philosophies of teaching that are grounded in experience, discussion, and reflection.
Faculty Mentors
Kelli Karcher, Steve Silber, Andrea Carracedo, Camron Withrow, Sohei Yasuda, and Artem Hulko
Senior GTAs (SGTAs)
Kyle Flanagan is a seventh year graduate student with research interests in mathematics education. He completed the first four years of his doctorate at Purdue University studying commutative algebra, prior to transferring universities and research interests. His prior experience of studying pure mathematics has motivated his research, which is primarily focused on professional mathematicians’ level of understanding of highly-abstract mathematical concepts, and what influences this understanding. Kyle also greatly enjoys teaching mathematics (and other things) to others, and has had the opportunity to teach a variety of mathematics courses, while at both Purdue and Virginia Tech. In his free time, he enjoys a whole host of hobbies, including speedcubing, yo-yoing, sudoku, and many sports, as well as spending quality time with his wife, two kids, and other friends.
Quiyana Murphy
Hayden Ringer