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Welcome to the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology
The Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (MST) focuses on issues of educational practice and related professions in mathematics, science, technology, and communication. Our programs are divided into Mathematics Education, Science Education, and Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design. While each program has a unique focus or perspective, our faculty share common scholarly perspectives, educational ideals, and a strong commitment to improving society through practice and the enhancement of human potential.
Our Programs
Explore our programs in-depth.
Choose Your Program
Need help deciding on our degrees and programs? We offer graduate study for teachers and educators at all levels, as well as programs for leaders with interests across the fields of math, science, digital technology, communications, and new media.
Our program emphasizes mathematics content and the role of mathematical ways of thinking in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Graduates take positions in college teaching of mathematics in addition to secondary education.
- Mathematics Education (M.A., M.S., Ed.M., Ed.D., Ed.D.C.T., Ph.D.)
- Mathematics Education with Initial Certification, Grades 7-12 (M.A.)
- Mathematics Education with Transitional B Certification, Grades 7-12 (M.A.)
- Mathematics Education with Professional Certification, (M.A., M.S., Ed.M.)
We offer degrees for professional teachers and doctoral researchers.
- Master of Arts leading to Initial Certification (Grades 7-12) and Transitional B Certification (Grades 7-12):
- Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physics
- Master of Arts for Supervisor/Teacher of Science
- Master of Arts in Science & Dental Education
- Master of Science in Science Education
- Master of Education in Science Education
- Doctor of Education in Science Education
- Doctor of Philosophy in Science Education
We share a commitment as educators to use digital technologies to improve education at all levels.
- Communication and Education (M.A., Ed.M., Ed.D.)
- Computing in Education, Online (M.A.)
- Design and Development of Digital Games (M.A.)
- Instruction Technology & Media (M.A., Ed.M., Ed.D.)
- Educational Technology Specialist - Initial Certification, K-12 (M.A.)
- Educational Technology Specialist for Certified Teachers - K-12 (M.A.)
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Professional Development and Robots Are Key to Making Math Fun
New research from TC's Irina Lyublinskaya, Sandra Okita and Erika Walker shows how making math lessons relevant to students boosts scores and engagement
European University for Well-Being Partnership Yields Opportunities for Research Collaboration
In its first year, the international collaboration has united TC and EUniWell scholars across numerous disciplines
Reimagining Education Institute Returns to TC This Summer
Insights on the online event that centers joyful learning and racial justice in classroom pedagogy, happening July 15-17, 2025
Why Gen-Z’s Online Politics Matter
Not Your Parents’ Politics, a new book from TC’s Ioana Literat and co-author Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, takes young people’s online political expression seriously
Meet Our Faculty
As a graduate student in MST you'll be challenged, engaged, and inspired by our faculty. Each professor brings their unique expertise, passion, and care to your learning experience. You'll gain new knowledge and perspectives while honing your skills, and —through the opportunities explored on this journey together — be well prepared for careers that tackle the most important issues in education today.
Ann Rivet
Science Education
My work focuses on learning, and on what it really means for people to understand science concepts (particularly related to the Earth and environment) in deep and meaningful ways. My goal is for learners to be able to use what they know to explain the world around them and contribute to solving the problems facing society in the 21st century. To do this, I develop and study how to create learning environments (combining curriculum, instructional and assessment approaches, and technological tools) that support all learners to develop this kind of deep and meaningful scientific understanding over time. I partner with teachers, scientists, and other collaborators in these efforts, and work in authentic classroom contexts to connect theory with practice in ways that inform research, practitioners, policy, and future instructional designs.
Paulo Blikstein
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
Many people look at technology and see a “teaching machine,” something that will magically deliver content to students, optimize education, make it cheaper, more predictable, and easier to control. I see technologies in a very different way -- not as a teaching machine, but as raw material to build, make, create, and investigate. I want technology to make education less controllable and less predictable, and I want to help schools become places for children to fall in love with knowledge, by doing projects, science, art, and mathematics. Learning technologies should be designed to augment children’s infinite power to create, wonder, and discover.
Erica Walker
Mathematics Education
So many of my research projects begin with interesting conversations I have with my students and faculty colleagues in MST. At the heart of my research and teaching is a desire to make mathematics more engaging and appealing to everyone – I like to think creatively about how to craft meaningful mathematics experiences for people of all ages, within and beyond schools. I want young people especially to want to learn mathematics throughout their lifetimes—to find it as interesting, appealing, and valuable as it is.
Christopher Emdin
Science Education
My teaching, practice, and research are guided by a simple principle; center the voices and experiences of students in a way that allows for their vulnerability to be transferred into creativity and their frustration to be transferred into agency. The ultimate goal of my work has been to work with marginalized communities to reimagine schooling while working within systems of power to translate this reimagining into more culturally inclusive and responsive science teaching and learning. My work brings academic explorations and interrogations to marginalized communities and marginalized communities into academic spaces to redefine and reimagine what is considered scientific while celebrating the beauty and wonder of what we traditionally name as science. I believe that good educational research is not separate from social justice and advocacy and reimagine ways that hip-hop culture can be leveraged for the common good in science teaching and learning.
Sandra Okita
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
Have you ever turned to others to help you learn? I can see that “other” being a human, robot/robotic system, pedagogical agent, virtual avatars in games, and immersive environments acting as support systems. I find joy in examining how robots and digital games can test theories about conditions for learning and facilitate new forms of collaborative learning. I try to capitalize on the strong social components of technology and design peer-learning relationships with technology in the STEM and biological science subject areas. I also use the help of different devices (physiological feedback devices, behavioral sensors, eye tracking, VR headsets, data/learning analytics) to examine learning from different sources of data and their correlations.
Nick Wasserman
Mathematics Education
I love the work I get to do as a mathematics teacher, mathematics teacher educator, researcher and practitioner. I get to think a lot about mathematics teaching, which matters because teaching matters, and because mathematics matters. Although I also do work with dynamic technologies in education, most of my scholarship has been thinking about mathematics content courses — such as Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Discrete Mathematics… (all of which I get an opportunity to teach in the program!) and finding ways to ensure that students’ experiences in these courses are meaningful mathematical preparation for the professional work that they will do in their secondary classrooms.
Jessica Riccio
Science Education
I'm a first generation college student, a NYC native, and a TC alumna who views the opportunity to teach and learn at TC as gift and a dream come true! I view teaching as a lifelong vocation, built on collaboration. We'll work together to grow and meet your needs and goals as we explore the nature of science, and its inextricable web of interconnectedness. In our program, we value the close relationships we have with teachers and schools. Many of our cooperating teachers, field supervisors, and teaching faculty are our graduates. We care about you and your experience learning to teach, and we're excited about the opportunities you'll bring to your future learners!
Nathan Holbert
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
My job is all about play — how great is that! I get to think about, design, and build new toys, tools, and learning environments for kids with brilliant doctoral and masters students from the Mathematics, Science, and Technology department. And even better, these play spaces are about giving kids agency to make a difference in their world — supporting them as they dream stuff, make stuff, and do stuff that matters to them. Play is powerful!
Felicia Moore Mensah
Science Education
I never knew I would love teaching and research as much as I do. Believe it or not, education was not my first career choice, but I am so glad I stepped out on faith to realize my hidden talents that came alive when I started teaching. The creativity, excitement, and the joy of seeing learning come from being in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms, working with K12 students and teachers to preparing teachers and working with my graduate students as teachers and researchers. To contribute meaningfully to others’ learning and development is to hold education in high regard. I am excited to engage in this process with you.
Yoo Kyung Chang
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
Design is a very interesting discipline that brings in research into application, as we check out assumptions and ideas about the world. I enjoy the process of designing with, researching on, and learning with students about the topics of my interest - how does technology influence the way we think and behave, cognitively, metacognitively, and affectively.
Rochy Flint
Mathematics Education
Every day I am enlivened by the student-centered dynamic in which students become our colleagues as we translate mathematics research into diverse and meaningful projects. As a female mathematician and first generation college student, I am committed to empowering our pioneering students with an education that is interactive and rigorous, one that gets to the heart of the intersections between mathematics, pedagogy, innovation, and inclusivity. Housed in MST, we have the unique opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue that widens our scope of possibilities in this STEM age.
Joey J. Lee
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
How can designed experiences such as games and virtual reality be used to support human flourishing and social and environmental justice? Our department is a wonderful and dynamic place where students are encouraged to explore ideas, ask good research questions, and create exciting projects that can make a difference — in areas such as environmental and climate change education, supporting identity and equity in STEAM fields, and ethics in technology design.
Irina Lyublinskaya
Mathematics Education
I love teaching and I love research. I love working with students, as I learn a lot from my students. As a constructivist educator, I believe that true learning can only happen when students construct their own knowledge through carefully designed experiences. My personal experience shows that research-based teaching leads to high-quality teaching. My research contributes to the knowledge in the field that helps address the challenges of increasing adoption rate of technologies in schools, specifically in mathematics and science. I'm very excited to have an opportunity to work with graduate students who always bring new original ideas. I am looking forward to that collaboration with many of you!
Ioana Literat
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
In my research, I look at the stuff we come across online on a daily basis -- YouTube videos, online games, memes, viral songs, fanfiction and more! -- and I ask what role these might play in young people’s creative, social and civic lives. My work is driven by a deep commitment to voice, democracy and civic dialogue. I want my scholarship to make a difference, and I hope that my work contributes to a better understanding of current cultural dynamics, helping to illuminate young people’s civic and creative potential.
Ann Rivet
Science Education
My work focuses on learning, and on what it really means for people to understand science concepts (particularly related to the Earth and environment) in deep and meaningful ways. My goal is for learners to be able to use what they know to explain the world around them and contribute to solving the problems facing society in the 21st century. To do this, I develop and study how to create learning environments (combining curriculum, instructional and assessment approaches, and technological tools) that support all learners to develop this kind of deep and meaningful scientific understanding over time. I partner with teachers, scientists, and other collaborators in these efforts, and work in authentic classroom contexts to connect theory with practice in ways that inform research, practitioners, policy, and future instructional designs.
Paulo Blikstein
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
Many people look at technology and see a “teaching machine,” something that will magically deliver content to students, optimize education, make it cheaper, more predictable, and easier to control. I see technologies in a very different way -- not as a teaching machine, but as raw material to build, make, create, and investigate. I want technology to make education less controllable and less predictable, and I want to help schools become places for children to fall in love with knowledge, by doing projects, science, art, and mathematics. Learning technologies should be designed to augment children’s infinite power to create, wonder, and discover.
Erica Walker
Mathematics Education
So many of my research projects begin with interesting conversations I have with my students and faculty colleagues in MST. At the heart of my research and teaching is a desire to make mathematics more engaging and appealing to everyone – I like to think creatively about how to craft meaningful mathematics experiences for people of all ages, within and beyond schools. I want young people especially to want to learn mathematics throughout their lifetimes—to find it as interesting, appealing, and valuable as it is.
Christopher Emdin
Science Education
My teaching, practice, and research are guided by a simple principle; center the voices and experiences of students in a way that allows for their vulnerability to be transferred into creativity and their frustration to be transferred into agency. The ultimate goal of my work has been to work with marginalized communities to reimagine schooling while working within systems of power to translate this reimagining into more culturally inclusive and responsive science teaching and learning. My work brings academic explorations and interrogations to marginalized communities and marginalized communities into academic spaces to redefine and reimagine what is considered scientific while celebrating the beauty and wonder of what we traditionally name as science. I believe that good educational research is not separate from social justice and advocacy and reimagine ways that hip-hop culture can be leveraged for the common good in science teaching and learning.
Sandra Okita
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
Have you ever turned to others to help you learn? I can see that “other” being a human, robot/robotic system, pedagogical agent, virtual avatars in games, and immersive environments acting as support systems. I find joy in examining how robots and digital games can test theories about conditions for learning and facilitate new forms of collaborative learning. I try to capitalize on the strong social components of technology and design peer-learning relationships with technology in the STEM and biological science subject areas. I also use the help of different devices (physiological feedback devices, behavioral sensors, eye tracking, VR headsets, data/learning analytics) to examine learning from different sources of data and their correlations.
Nick Wasserman
Mathematics Education
I love the work I get to do as a mathematics teacher, mathematics teacher educator, researcher and practitioner. I get to think a lot about mathematics teaching, which matters because teaching matters, and because mathematics matters. Although I also do work with dynamic technologies in education, most of my scholarship has been thinking about mathematics content courses — such as Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Discrete Mathematics… (all of which I get an opportunity to teach in the program!) and finding ways to ensure that students’ experiences in these courses are meaningful mathematical preparation for the professional work that they will do in their secondary classrooms.
Jessica Riccio
Science Education
I'm a first generation college student, a NYC native, and a TC alumna who views the opportunity to teach and learn at TC as gift and a dream come true! I view teaching as a lifelong vocation, built on collaboration. We'll work together to grow and meet your needs and goals as we explore the nature of science, and its inextricable web of interconnectedness. In our program, we value the close relationships we have with teachers and schools. Many of our cooperating teachers, field supervisors, and teaching faculty are our graduates. We care about you and your experience learning to teach, and we're excited about the opportunities you'll bring to your future learners!
Nathan Holbert
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
My job is all about play — how great is that! I get to think about, design, and build new toys, tools, and learning environments for kids with brilliant doctoral and masters students from the Mathematics, Science, and Technology department. And even better, these play spaces are about giving kids agency to make a difference in their world — supporting them as they dream stuff, make stuff, and do stuff that matters to them. Play is powerful!
Felicia Moore Mensah
Science Education
I never knew I would love teaching and research as much as I do. Believe it or not, education was not my first career choice, but I am so glad I stepped out on faith to realize my hidden talents that came alive when I started teaching. The creativity, excitement, and the joy of seeing learning come from being in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms, working with K12 students and teachers to preparing teachers and working with my graduate students as teachers and researchers. To contribute meaningfully to others’ learning and development is to hold education in high regard. I am excited to engage in this process with you.
Yoo Kyung Chang
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
Design is a very interesting discipline that brings in research into application, as we check out assumptions and ideas about the world. I enjoy the process of designing with, researching on, and learning with students about the topics of my interest - how does technology influence the way we think and behave, cognitively, metacognitively, and affectively.
Rochy Flint
Mathematics Education
Every day I am enlivened by the student-centered dynamic in which students become our colleagues as we translate mathematics research into diverse and meaningful projects. As a female mathematician and first generation college student, I am committed to empowering our pioneering students with an education that is interactive and rigorous, one that gets to the heart of the intersections between mathematics, pedagogy, innovation, and inclusivity. Housed in MST, we have the unique opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue that widens our scope of possibilities in this STEM age.
Joey J. Lee
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
How can designed experiences such as games and virtual reality be used to support human flourishing and social and environmental justice? Our department is a wonderful and dynamic place where students are encouraged to explore ideas, ask good research questions, and create exciting projects that can make a difference — in areas such as environmental and climate change education, supporting identity and equity in STEAM fields, and ethics in technology design.
Irina Lyublinskaya
Mathematics Education
I love teaching and I love research. I love working with students, as I learn a lot from my students. As a constructivist educator, I believe that true learning can only happen when students construct their own knowledge through carefully designed experiences. My personal experience shows that research-based teaching leads to high-quality teaching. My research contributes to the knowledge in the field that helps address the challenges of increasing adoption rate of technologies in schools, specifically in mathematics and science. I'm very excited to have an opportunity to work with graduate students who always bring new original ideas. I am looking forward to that collaboration with many of you!
Ioana Literat
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
In my research, I look at the stuff we come across online on a daily basis -- YouTube videos, online games, memes, viral songs, fanfiction and more! -- and I ask what role these might play in young people’s creative, social and civic lives. My work is driven by a deep commitment to voice, democracy and civic dialogue. I want my scholarship to make a difference, and I hope that my work contributes to a better understanding of current cultural dynamics, helping to illuminate young people’s civic and creative potential.
Ann Rivet
Science Education
My work focuses on learning, and on what it really means for people to understand science concepts (particularly related to the Earth and environment) in deep and meaningful ways. My goal is for learners to be able to use what they know to explain the world around them and contribute to solving the problems facing society in the 21st century. To do this, I develop and study how to create learning environments (combining curriculum, instructional and assessment approaches, and technological tools) that support all learners to develop this kind of deep and meaningful scientific understanding over time. I partner with teachers, scientists, and other collaborators in these efforts, and work in authentic classroom contexts to connect theory with practice in ways that inform research, practitioners, policy, and future instructional designs.
Paulo Blikstein
Communication, Media, & Learning Technologies Design
Many people look at technology and see a “teaching machine,” something that will magically deliver content to students, optimize education, make it cheaper, more predictable, and easier to control. I see technologies in a very different way -- not as a teaching machine, but as raw material to build, make, create, and investigate. I want technology to make education less controllable and less predictable, and I want to help schools become places for children to fall in love with knowledge, by doing projects, science, art, and mathematics. Learning technologies should be designed to augment children’s infinite power to create, wonder, and discover.
COMMITMENT TO COLLABORATION
MST has a number of research projects, programs, and activities that cross disciplinary boundaries and engage the arts, creativity, and play as well as STEM concepts. MST faculty and students are in demand to create professional development opportunities and develop curricular materials as specialists and researchers.
STEAMnasium
See our STEAMnasium work, a learning space that encompassed a sequence of stations designed for play with multiple science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts.