Karen King, Director of Research, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Karen King is the director of research at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). At NCTM, King is responsible for research activities that focus on linking mathematics education research and practice. She is also responsible for teacher education projects at NCTM. Prior to working at NCTM, King was an associate professor of mathematics education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture Education and Human Development and previously served as a program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the former Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education, where she managed projects primarily in the Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC) Program. She also oversaw curriculum projects in Instructional Materials Development (IMD) and policy for the Education and Human Resources Directorate. She recently has been the principal investigator of two NSF-funded research grants focusing on (1) understanding the mathematical preparation of future secondary teachers and (2) how teachers use innovative middle school mathematics materials and their impact on student learning. As part of the latter grant, she served on the partnership working group of CADRE, which produced reports on educational research and development partnerships for both researchers and practitioners. She was also co-principal investigator of an NSF-funded Noyce Fellowship grant housed at NYU. King previously served as the associate editor of the Journal for Research in 9 Mathematics Education and as a member of the Research Committee of NCTM. She was a member of the RAND Mathematics Study Panel, which made recommendations to the Department of Education about future research funding in mathematics education. She has served on numerous committees focusing on research in mathematics education and teacher education with national organizations, including the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She completed a five-year term on the Board of Directors for the Federal City Public Service Foundation, where she has served as Recording Secretary and Treasurer. King received her PhD at the University of Maryland, where she conducted research on undergraduate mathematics teacher thinking.