Ana Maria Klein, Ph. D.
Associate Professor of Multicultural and Mathematics Education
Office: TH E282 Phone: (716) 673-3147
Email: kleina@fredonia.edu
Introduction
I am a native of Venezuela where I lived and taught elementary school prior to immigrating to Canada in 1994. I currently live in both Canada (Montreal) and in the United States where I have been teaching in higher education for the past seventeen years. My multicultural and linguistic background shape and inform my teaching as I grew up in a multiple-language home (Hungarian, Spanish, English and French being the languages spoken around me.) The hardships and joys I encountered as I made a career change in my late twenties shape my teaching perspective. Prior to embracing a teaching career, I worked in the private sector in Venezuela hoping to become a CEO in a petroleum services company. I was a non-traditional, mature student earning my teaching certificate in my thirties, my master's degree in my forties, and finally my Ph.D. nearing my fifties. I share this information because I am proud to say I am a seasoned lifelong learner who is not afraid to embrace new challenges. These eleven years at SUNY Fredonia (2001-2011) have been productive and rewarding. Aside from enjoying the varied undergraduate and graduate courses that I have taught here I have also been a productive author (two single-authored books and a number of refereed articles & international/national conference presentations). These have been a joy to prepare for. I have been active in SUNY-wide Senate activities joining the Student Life Committee for three years and have also been active at Fredonia, joining various campus-wide committees. I chaired the Fredonia Senate during the 2008/2009 academic year and have chaired the Curriculum & Instruction Department for three years. This next decade finds me establishing a new quest as I take a step deeper from A Holocaust Curriculum to a Diaspora Curriculum. I also explore math anxiety and am currently developing materials for preparing teachers as confident change agents in today's society.
Scholarly/Teaching Interests
- I teach undergraduate field-based multicultural education courses and mathematics methods courses. I also teach graduate cultural courses and ESL/TESOL. I will be teaching bilingual education courses and seminars on bullying in schools.
- I also have a vested interest in international studies and have traveled with SUNY Fredonia students to Venezuela and to Wales.
- I am also interested in the Diaspora Curriculum which consists of eight modules for elementary age students exploring the stories of displaced persons and their means of adaptation in society.
Research Interests
- The effects of standardized testing in schools
- Newell & Simon's (1972) notion of problem space, creativity and problem-solving
- Bullying in schools
Recent Publications
- Klein, A. (2011). A diaspora curriculum. Urbana, Champlaign, IL: The International Humanities Journal. Vol.9 (3).
- Marshall, J. & Klein, A. (2009). Lessons in social action: Equipping and inspiring students to improve their world. DC: The Social Studies.
- Klein, A. (2008). Sensitivity to the learning needs of newcomers in foreign language settings. CA: Caddo Gap Press.
- Klein, A. (2007). Sensitivity to the teaching/learning needs of immigrant learners of English as a second or other language. Forum on Public Policy. Oxford University Press.
- Klein, A., Zevenbergen, A. & Brown, N. (2006). Managing standardized testing in today's schools. Journal of Educational Thought, 40(2).
- Klein, A. (2006). Raising cultural awareness in higher education. MD: University Press.
- Klein, A. (2005). The Anne Franks of today. Annual Editions multicultural Education 2005/2006. NY: Dushkin/McGraw Hill.
- Klein, A. (2004). Narrative history in the college classroom: Re-contextualizing Multcultural issues through close re-readings of juvenile literature. Multicultural Education, 12(2), 51-54.
- Klein, A. (2004). Re-visiting juvenile literature as shared contexts in multicultural Education. Electronic Magazine for Multicultural Education, 5(2).
- Klein, A. (2003). Children solving mathematical problems. UK: Mellen House Press.
- Klein, A. (2003). Child protagonists, the "Anne Franks" of today. Multicultural Education, 11(2), 23-27
- Klein, A. & Assimeng-Boahene, L. (2003). Is the diversity issue a non-issue in Mainstream academia? Multicultural Education, Fall Edition, 2003.
Recent Presentations
- Klein, A. (2011). Towards a Diaspora Curriculum. Humanities Conference, Granada, Spain.
- Klein, A. (2010). Polarization & pauperization in Venezuela. Management Conference 2010 Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Montreal, Qc.
- Klein, A. (2010). Teaching early childhood mathematics creatively. Educating the Creative Mind Conference, Kean University, NJ.
- Klein, A. (2008). Socialism in Venezuela. Buffalo International Insitute.
- Klein, A. (2007). Sensitivity to the teaching/learning needs of immigrant learners of English as a second or other language. Oxford Round Table, Oxford University, UK.
- Klein, A. (2006). How our research on the impact of standardized testing evolved into a successful literacy/ numeracy program in our community. Conference on Community-based Inquiry at SUNY Binghamton, NY.
- Klein, A. (2006). VIPSI-2006 Montreal & Boston. IEEE. ISBN: 86-7466-117-3
- Klein, A. (2006). ZPD, Problem Space & Interdisciplinarity: How does this assist problem solving? VIPSI-2006 MIT, Cambridge, MA.
- Klein, A. (2006). Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and Newell & Simon's Problem Space: Interdisciplinary research assisting science & technology. VIPSI 2006, Montreal, Canada.
- Klein, a. (2005). Proceedings of the IPSI-2005 Amalfi International Conference on Advances in the Internet, Processing Systems, and Interdisciplinary Research. ISBN: 86-7466-11173
- Klein, A. (2005). Mathematical problem-solving resulting in heightened awareness and linguistic agility. IPSI, Amalfi, Italy.
- Klein, A. (2005). A Three-pronged ethnography of place. Buffalo, NY: D'Youville College.
Education
- Ph.D. 2000, Curriculum & Instruction, McGill University, Montreal-Canada
- MA 1992, Instructional Psychology, Universidad Central de Venezuela
- BA 1980, Modern Languages, Universidad Metropolitana, Caracas-Venezuela