Elizabeth Thoren

Biography

Dr. Elizabeth Thoren is an assistant professor of teaching of mathematics at Pepperdine University. She earned her PhD in mathematics with a focus in PDEs for fluid dynamics at the University of Texas at Austin in 2009. While in graduate school, Dr. Thoren became involved with inquiry teaching and later spent six years at University of California, Santa Barbara as part of their Center for Inquiry. She has taught a spectrum of mathematics courses using inquiry teaching, from honors courses geared towards first-year math majors, to general education courses for non-STEM majors, and foundational courses for future elementary teachers.  Dr. Thoren is particularly interested in how people teach and learn mathematics at all levels and has co-developed and co-facilitated professional development workshops for mathematics faculty as part of the AIBL Workshop Leader Team since 2018 and through the Mathematical Association of America’s OPEN Math program since 2021.

In addition to teaching math, Dr. Thoren also loves group workouts, reading fiction, cooking, and spending time with her family and friends.

 

Education

• PhD in Mathematics, University of Texas at Austin, 2009
• BS in Mathematics, Minor in Physics, University of Alabama in Huntsville, 2002