麻豆视频

Areas of Interest

Dr. Gina Kling has served the mathematics education community in a variety of ways throughout her career of more than two decades: as an author and developer of K鈥�3 math curriculum materials, as a consultant to school districts in multiple states, as a researcher probing how to help children learn basic math facts in meaningful ways and as a college professor.

After 20 years as an instructor teaching mathematics content and teaching methods courses at Western Michigan University, Dr. Kling joined the 麻豆视频 faculty in 2023. She teaches mathematics courses for future elementary school teachers and loves helping the next generation of teachers understand how children make sense of mathematics. She feels very blessed to work with such kind, dedicated and inquisitive students here at Hope.

Dr. Kling is a coauthor of the book Math Fact Fluency: 60+ Games and Assessment Tools to Support Learning and Retention (2019), which provides teachers with games and tools to help children master multiplication, addition and basic math facts. She also served as a curriculum developer on the UChicago STEM Education team from 2011 through 2022, authoring basic facts lessons for Grades K鈥�3 for the fourth edition of Everyday Mathematics. She is currently a consultant to the Michigan Department of Education Early Math Initiative, training teacher leaders across the state on new approaches to the teaching and assessment of computational fluency.

Areas of Expertise

For over 15 years, Dr. Kling has focused her research, writing, and professional development efforts on improving how children learn their basic facts. She is particularly interested in helping teachers learn to use games and visual imagery to encourage children to develop fact strategies in meaningful ways, and in alternative assessments such as observation and interviewing to more accurately gauge student fluency. Dr. Kling has authored or co-authored many journal articles as well as a book on basic fact fluency and provides professional development to schools across the country on that topic. Her current research projects focus on using visual imagery to encourage children in grades 2鈥�4 to develop multiplication fact strategies and on studying how teachers use interviewing to assess fluency.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., K鈥�12 Mathematics Education, Western Michigan University, 2023
• M.A., Mathematics Education, Western Michigan University, 2002
• B.A., Secondary Education Mathematics and Physics, Western Michigan University, 2000

Publications

• 鈥淓nhancing Multiplication Fact Strategies with 鈥楺uick Looks鈥欌��, with K. Kline, Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 2023
• 鈥淓ight Unproductive Practices in Developing Fact Fluency,鈥� Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK鈥�12, 2021
• 鈥�5 Fundamentals for Developing Basic Fact Fluency", with J. Bay-Williams, Prime Number, 2019
• Math Fact Fluency: 60+ Games and Assessment Tools to Support Learning and Retention, with J. Bay-Williams, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2019
• Games and Tools for Teaching Multiplication Facts: Quick Reference Guide, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2018

Honors and Awards

• Department of Mathematics Graduate Research Award, Western Michigan University, 2023
• Department of Mathematics Yousef Alavi Doctoral Student Award, Western Michigan University, 2022

Outside The College

Dr. Kling loves spending time with her husband, two children and two dogs. They are active members of St. Thomas of More Student Parish in their hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and their faith has always been a big part of their family life. Dr. Kling stays very busy watching her son play tennis and her daughter play softball and lead her high school marching band as drum major. When they aren鈥檛 busy with school or sports, the Kling family enjoys traveling, including frequent visits to escape rooms. They are proud to have escaped from over 60 escape rooms throughout the country and are always on the lookout for a new room to try!