Sharon McCrone

Sharon McCrone is a professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Mahtematics and Statistics at the University of New Hampshire. She received B.A. degree in Mathematics from Dartmouth College, and both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematics and Mathematics Education, respectively, from the University of New Hampshire (with Joan Ferrini-Mundy serving as dissertation advisor). Sharon spent 10 years at Illinois State University in the Department of Mathematics before coming to UNH in 2007. Sharon is active in mathematics education research which has primarily focused on proof and reasoning as well as teacher preparation in mathematics education. She has served as dissertation advisor to five PhD graduates since coming to UNH, and is currently working with two PhD candidates. Sharon has received National Science Foundation grants (as PI and/or Co-PI) for research in mathematics education, curriculum development for innovative college courses, and scholarship programs for future teachers in STEM disciplines. She is also very active within various regional and national professional societies, conducting workshops, sharing research, and co-authoring publications.  Sharon is currently serving on the NH Teachers of Mathematics Executive Board.

Research Interests

Sharon’s research interests have evolved and progressed over the past two decades, including research on: discourse practices in mathematics classrooms, preservice teachers’ changing beliefs about the nature of mathematics, high school students’ understanding of formal proofs and the proving process in geometry, preservice teachers knowledge of precalculus as preparation for high school teaching, and the impact of a course on proving and reasoning on pedagogical practices of preservice mathematics teachers.

Current Grants/Projects
  • NSF-IUSE: Enhancing Preparation of Secondary Preservice Mathematics Teachers: Mathematical Reasoning and Proving as a Lens for Teaching(with PI: Orly Buchbinder)
  • NSF-Noyce (Track 1): Culturally Responsive and Effective STEM Teaching: Strengthening the Foundation for Teacher Success in High Needs Schools(with PI: Dawn Meredith)
  • NSF-Noyce (Track 4): Teacher Education for Equitable Mathematics Instruction: An Exploratory Study of Noyce Program Impacts(with PI: Rebecca McGraw of U of Arizona and Co-PI: Orly Buchbinder)
  • DoE-TQP: Teacher Residency for Rural Education(with Co-PIs: Emilie Reagan and Leslie Couse, UNH Education Department)
Scholarly Interests
  • Preservice teacher education including mathematical knowledge for teaching, ability to partake in high leverage practices, and beliefs about the nature of mathematics;
  • Students’ geometric reasoning and understanding of mathematical proofs (in geometry) including how teachers’ pedagogical choices influence understanding;
  • Classroom mathematical discourse and its role in student learning and teacher development.
Sharon McCrone