Joseph G. (Joe) Rosenstein

I have been a member of the Mathematics Department of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, for the past 37 (!) years.

(The photograph was taken at the launch of the MetroMath Center in November 2003; it looks like I was directing a performance of the MetroMath anthem, but I was just speaking enthusiastically about the Center's vision and goals. MetroMath is described later on this page.)

In the research portion of my career, I wrote a number of articles and published a research monograph Linear Orderings (Academic Press, 1982) in textbook form.

For nearly 20 years I have been heavily involved in K-12 education. This came about as a result of my serving as Director of the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics. (Details are in my vita.) In recent years, I have been involved in the following five major kinds of enterprises that are described in more detail below:

• organizing and directing professional development programs for K-12 teachers of mathematics,
• strengthening mathematics education in New Jersey through developing the NJ Mathematics Curriculum Framework,
• directing the New Jersey Mathematics Coalition,
• organizing and serving as founding director of the MetroMath Center, and
• writing instructional materials for K-12 teachers focused on discrete mathematics.

(In another arena, I have developed and published a new prayerbook for the morning service of Shabbat and festivals entitled Siddur Eit Ratzon; it is available for review and purchase at www.newsiddur.org.)

and here are some details:

• since 1987, I have organized and directed a number of institutes for teachers. These include
  • the Leadership Program in Discrete Mathematics (email kowalcjn@ride.ri.net);
  • the Institutes for New Teachers of Mathematics and Science (email kerstins@dimacs.rutgers.edu);
  • the Precalculus Project (email kerstins@dimacs.rutgers.edu);
  • other programs can be found at Professional Development Programs for Grades K-12 Teachers of Mathematics

  I am also responsible for the Young Scholars Program in Discrete Mathematics (email toti@dimacs.rutgers.edu) for high school students, and for the Family Math and Family Science programs (email lomench@dimacs.rutgers.edu).

  These programs are sponsored by the Rutgers Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education (CMSCE); the discrete mathematics programs are co-sponsored by the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS).

  An outgrowth of the Leadership Program has been the publication of a book Discrete Mathematics in the Schools, published by the American Mathematical Society and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

   

• from 1992 to 1997, I organized and managed the development of the New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework, a collaborative effort of the New Jersey Mathematics Coalition and the New Jersey Department of Education. The purpose of the framework is to provide guidance to teachers and districts on how to implement the New Jersey Mathematics Standards adopted by the New Jersey State Board of Education on May 1, 1996. The 668-page framework was completed in December 1996 and distributed throughout the state in 1997.

• from 2001 to 2005, I organized and served as founding director of MetroMath: The Center for Mathematics in America's Cities, a Center for Learning and Teaching funded by the National Science Foundation.   The MetroMath Center is a collaboration involving Rutgers University, the University of Pennsylvania, the City University of New York / Graduate Center, and the school districts of New York, Philadelphia, Newark, and Plainfield, and it seeks to improve mathematics education in America's cities. 

• since its beginnings in 1991, I have served as Director of the New Jersey Mathematics Coalition. State coalitions were formed in order to generate public support for the changes recommended by the "standards" of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.  An important Coalition initiative that I co-directed (with Warren Crown) was The FANS Project (Families Achieving the New Standards in Mathematics, Science, and Technology), which conducted over 1,400 hour-and-a-half workshops for over 30,000 parents to inform them about the standards and how they can help their children achieve them.

• since 2001, I have been involved in writing two books on discrete mathematics for teachers:

  one is a set of two volumes that are part of a series of volumes published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to help teachers “navigate” through its mathematics standards (“Principles and Standards for School Mathematics”).  These two volumes are entitled “Navigating through Discrete Mathematics K-12”, the first primarily for K-5 teachers and the second primarily for 6-12 teachers.  These two volumes were prepared jointly by Valerie DeBellis, Eric Hart, Margaret Kenney, and myself, and will be available at the NCTM conference in April 2007.   

  the other is a textbook for mathematics courses to be taken by prospective K-8 teachers; these materials can also be used for in-service workshops or self-study by current teachers.  Written jointly with Valerie DeBellis, these materials are entitled “Making Math Engaging:  Discrete Mathematics for K-8 Teachers.”  The development of these materials was funded by a grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation. 

As a result of this work, and as part of the Coalition's public outreach effort, I have prepared a number of articles and presentations on mathematics education.

Judy and I have five daughters (Mira, Ariela, Dalia, Neshama, and Nessa) ranging in age from 18 to 35; Mira and her husband Psachya Septimus are proud parents of two sons, Aryeh Leib and Mordechai and one daughter, Devorah Gitel.

I have been very active in the havurah movement, both locally, in the Highland Park Minyan, and nationally, in the National Havurah Committee, which provides a trans-denominational, egalitarian, participatory, communal, and spiritual Jewish alternative. I lead guided meditations on Jewish prayers and psalms, and occasionally publish meditation tapes and write articles on Jewish topics.

I have developed and published a new prayerbook for the morning service of Shabbat and festivals entitled Siddur Eit Ratzon; it is available for review and purchase at www.newsiddur.org.

And I have an extensive collection of interesting ties which are available for rental; see catalog for a complete display. In my spare time (?), I like to do word puzzles (not of the logic type), and occasionally create crossword puzzles on Jewish themes.

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