The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Wyoming Report

May 7, 2009

MSU professor shares her love of math

By Mary Catherine Brooks

It’s all in the numbers — at least for Dr. Kerri Lookabill.

Lookabill has always loved math. That love for numbers has led her to Mountain State University where she is a math professor.

As part of recent Math Awareness Month activities, Lookabill visited students at Mullens Elementary as well as Herndon Consolidated Elementary and Middle schools to talk with fourth and seventh graders about the relevance of math in real life situations.

“Math is everywhere,” Lookabill said.

She noted that is the reasoning behind Math Awareness Month, to encourage students to pursue an interest in math as they go through school.

Additionally, as a math enthusiast, she hopes to convey the message that math can be fun.

To that end, a poster contest, based on this year’s theme of “Mathematics and Climate,” was conducted in conjunction with Lookabill’s visit to the schools. The contest topics included the effects of global warming on animals, weather, and humans.

Each student participating in the contest was presented a “goody bag,” she said. Lookabill served as judge and Mountain State University sponsored the contest.

Winners included Dakota Lesher, Herndon Consolidated, along with Haley Cullop and Tianna Cuevas, Mullens Elementary.

The activities also provided the MSU professor with the opportunity to visit in her community, she said.

Lookabill has earned national awards for her dissertation focusing on improving math learning through teacher planning and practice.

She presented her research findings to national conventions in New Orleans and Las Vegas.

From a family of educators and married into a family of educators, Lookabill has been a teacher for 19 years.

“I just always loved math,” she emphasized. “It’s everywhere in life.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with students and impressing upon them my enthusiasm for math.”

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