Doctoral students from Alabama A&M University’s Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction program with a focus on mathematics education earned first, second, and third place honors at the 5th Annual Student Research Symposium hosted by Fayetteville State University, according to a May 18 announcement.
The recognition underscores the achievements of Alabama A&M’s graduate students in mathematics education as they continue to participate and excel in national academic events. The event provided an opportunity for these students to present their classroom-based action research studies grounded in educational theory and instructional practice.
Christina Lincoln-Moore of Inglewood, California, received first place; TaMarion L. Kelly of Madison, Alabama, took second place; and Albert M. Ball of Madison, Alabama, earned third place for their presentations in the Virtual Oral Presentation category. Additional participants included Jennifer M. Williams, Kiara R. Elike, Cearra A. Jones, Joshua Sawyer and Kelly Washington-Adams.
The symposium mainly featured students from Fayetteville State University but invited Alabama A&M scholars through the professional affiliation of Dr. Kimberly Burton—a part-time adjunct faculty member who has mentored participating doctoral candidates over the past two years by guiding abstract submissions and refining presentations based on coursework.
Lincoln-Moore presented “Unmasking Unequal Protection: A Vergnaud/SOLO Analysis of 6th-Grade Students’ Progression in Number Sense Through Environmental Data.” Kelly presented “Advancing Student Understanding of Angle Relationships Using the Van Hiele Model and SOLO Taxonomy,” while Ball presented “Advancing Seventh-Grade Students’ Geometric Reasoning Through Van Hiele and SOLO-Aligned Instruction on Composite Area Tasks.” Their collective research examined how established theoretical frameworks support conceptual understanding in K-12 mathematics classrooms.
Williams also participated as a panelist during the Distinguished Speaker Series Alumni Panel after earning her degrees from Fayetteville State University; Sawyer attended the event in person this year as well as presenting previously at last year’s symposium where he earned second place honors.
