Wendy Klassen

Associate Professor Emeritus

Education

Other Titles: Associate Professor
Email: wendy.klassen@ubc.ca

Research Summary

Mathematics Education; Mathematical Growth Mindset; Problem Solving; Teaching and Learning; Assessment; Mentoring

Biography

Dr. Klassen obtained both her Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts degrees in Mathematics Education from the University of British Columbia, and completed her PhD in curriculum at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Klassen has teaching experience in the K-12 school system, colleges, and universities in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nunavut.

Dr. Klassen’s focus on integrating and embedding Indigenous Education throughout the B.Ed. program is a crucial aspect of her leadership. Learning and unlearning are interwoven throughout all 16 months of learning, and the program begins and ends in ceremony. Dr. Klassen recognizes the importance of educators responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action and how this shapes relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. She supported the development of the OSE Indigenous Education Council, a council that provides the Faculty with advice, recommendations, and guidance to enhance the program’s academic and field education.

Dr. Klassen is also known for her teaching innovation, which involves teaching numeracy education classes in-situ at local elementary schools. Her learner-centered approach focuses on alleviating math anxiety for teacher candidates, while they learn “about” teaching math “through” teaching math. This in-situ pedagogical innovation is a key feature of the B.Ed. program and involves ongoing organization, care, and attention with teachers and school administration and elementary students.

In 2023, in recognition of her dedication to teacher education, she received the ABCDE’s Teacher Educator Award.

Degrees

BEd, MA University of British Columbia, PhD University of Toronto

Research Interests & Projects

In 2010, Dr. Klassen received a grant to study and present her innovative project integrating teaching mathematics education part-time at the university and part-time at a local Elementary school.  The title of her research is “The impact of an innovative field based component within the mathematics methods course for pre-service teachers at UBC Okanagan.” She presented her findings in the Czech Republic.

Scholarly Contributions / Professional Development

The concept of praxis as it deals with pre-service mathematics education is a key focal research area. Others areas of interest and research are mentoring, assessment, problem solving, critical thinking, and gender differences in mathematics. Dr. Klassen has recently co-authored a book with Dr. Raya Fransila on mentoring pre-service and beginning teachers. For more than 20 years, Dr. Klassen has been an author of a national Elementary mathematics series, including writing textbooks, instructor’s guides, digital supplements and other ancillary materials. These materials range in grade level from K to 8.