Foster Graif

Job Title

• Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education
  Math & Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences

Highlight

Dr. Graif is the program lead for Bethel's 5-8 and 5-12 math education programs. He is also the director of the Math Lab tutoring center.

Started at Bethel

2020

Education

• Minnesota State University - B.S. in Mathematics Education, 2012
• University of Minnesota - M.A. in Mathematics Education, 2018
• University of Minnesota - Ph.D. in STEM Education, 2020

Biography

Dr. Graif's undergraduate work was at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he received his 5-12 teaching license. After teaching high school mathematics in southern Minnesota, he moved on to his graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, completing both a MA and PhD. His main passion lies in teacher preparation. His scholarly interests center on using proof as a teaching tool in mathematics and how teachers respond to errors during whole class discussions. At Bethel, Dr. Graif particularly enjoys working with the wonderful teacher candidates that come through this program and enjoys pushing them to teach mathematics for conceptual understanding. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two sets of twins, while hopefully finding time to go for the occasional run.

Courses Taught

MAT 201M - Mathematics for Elementary Education 1
MAT 202 - Mathematics for Elementary Education 2
MAT 451 - Modern Geometry
EDU 410/412 - Methods in Teaching 5-8/5-12 Mathematics

Awards

AMTE Susan Gay Conference Travel Scholarship (2020)

Publications

Graif, F., Baldinger, E. E., & Campbell, M. P. (2021). Teacher candidates’ reflections on responding to errors: Exploring their vision and goals. The Mathematics Educator, 30(1), 3-24.
Baldinger, E. E., Campbell, M. P., & Graif, F. (2021). Learning to respond to students in discussions: Examining the use of planted errors in an approximation of practice. Journal of Teacher Education, 72(5), 523-537.
Baldinger, E. E., Campbell, M. P., & Graif, F. (2020). Sorting out definitions. Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching Pre-K-12, 113(3), 209-215.
Campbell, M. P., Baldinger, E. E., & Graif, F. (2020). Representing student voice in approximations of practice: Designing and using planted errors in coached rehearsals. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 9(1), 23-49.

Presentations

Graif, F. (2023, February). Exploring practice based approaches to developing mathematical knowledge for teaching proof. Session at the annual meeting of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, New Orleans, LA.
Karr, J., Campbell, M. P., Baldinger, E. E., Freeland, S., & Graif, F. (2021, February). Experiences with and considerations for coached rehearsals in secondary mathematics methods courses. Session at the annual meeting of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators [Virtual].
Graif, F. (2020, February). Teacher beliefs and practice in the area of proof and their influence on students. Session at the annual meeting of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Phoenix, AZ.
Baldinger, E. E., Campbell, M. P., Selling, S. K., & Graif, F. (2017, October). Investigating practice through rehearsals: How teacher candidates respond to student contributions in whole-class discussions. Paper presented at the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Indianapolis, IN.
Campbell, M. P., Baldinger, E. E., Selling, S. K., & Graif, F. (2017, October). Responding to students during whole class discussions: Using written performance tasks to assess teacher candidate practice. Paper presented at the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting of the North
American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Indianapolis, IN.
Glancy, A. W., Moore, T. J., Graif, F., Lim, D., & Earley, N. W. (2017, October) Understanding and application of slope by eighth grade students during a STEM lesson. Poster presented at the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Indianapolis, IN.

Professional Organizations, Committees, and Boards

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE)
Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM)

Research interests

Responding to errors during whole-class discussion Mathematical knowledge for teaching proof Teacher preparation