Faculty bio | 541-346-2847

Jennifer Ruef is an academic expert in learning and teaching mathematics. She researches student and teacher practices and beliefs that support effective mathematical learning environments. Her work focuses on issues of social justice and equity. Specifically, she looks at how to leverage mathematical arguments for social change and high quality mathematics instruction as a gateway to educational and professional opportunities. Jennifer's work makes use of and extends identity theory and theories of learning and teaching to examine how people decide and define what it means to be good at math.

Recent Media:
Whose Fault Is It If You Don’t Like Numbers? (The Washington Post/Bloomberg Opinion, Jan. 9, 2023)
College of Education faculty offer tips on returning to K-12 classes (Around the O, May 19, 2021)
Math trauma: It's a real thing, says UO prof (Jefferson Public Radio, Dec. 3, 2018) 
Think you’re bad at math? You may suffer from ‘math trauma’ (The Conversation, Nov. 1, 2018)
Celebrating Marion Walter – and other unsung female mathematicians (The Conversation, March 12, 2018)
Teachers prep for unnatural disasters — like school shootings (San Francisco Chronicle, March 1, 2018)
These four easy steps can make you a math whiz (The Conversation, Sept. 11, 2018)
‘Wonder Woman’ offers a new view of power structures (San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 2017)