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UWinnipeg professor wins math education prize

Dr. Anna Stokke, ©UWinnipeg

Dr. Anna Stokke, ©UWinnipeg

UWinnipeg’s Dr. Anna Stokke (mathematics and statistics) has been selected as the winner of the 2017 Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) Education Prize for her education advocacy in mathematics. She will head to Harbour Centre in Vancouver, BC, on Friday, May 19 to be awarded the prize at the annual Changing the Culture Conference organized by PIMS at Simon Fraser University.

“Anna Stokke’s passion for mathematics and her commitment to math education is known far and wide, especially for her ideas on how math should be taught to children,”shared Dr. Danny Blair, Acting Dean of Science. “We are extremely fortunate to have her in the Faculty of Science at UWinnipeg.”

Stokke is a mathematics professor at UWinnipeg and a mathematics education advocate. She is a co-founder of WISE Mathematics, a math education advocacy group. She is also a co-founder and the president of the non-profit organization Archimedes Math Schools, which delivers math classes to children in Grades 4 to 6.

Stokke authored the C.D. Howe Report What to do about Canada’s Declining Math Scores and has written editorials for several newspapers across Canada, including The Globe and Mail. She has given about 100 interviews to Canadian media on math education. In 2015, she was awarded the YWCA/YMCA Women of Distinction Award for Community Activism and Social Enterprise and the Clarence Atchison Award for Excellence in Community Service (UWinnipeg).

“Professor Stokke’s promotion and advocacy for improvements in math education have inspired meaningful discussion and change surrounding the way math is taught,” said James Colliander, Director of PIMS. “Her work has provoked important dialogue between the mathematics education and mathematics research communities.”

Awarded annually, the PIMS Education Prize recognizes individuals in Western Canada and Washington State who have played a major role in encouraging activities that enhance public awareness and appreciation of mathematics, as well as fostering communication among various groups concerned with mathematical education at all levels.

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