Vecihi Serbay Zambak, Ph.D., is an associate professor of mathematics education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Zambak directs the mathematics programs and is the program director of Interdisciplinary Studies for Educators. Prior to joining Monmouth, he taught secondary mathematics in private and public high schools in Istanbul, Turkey, and in the Netherlands. He earned his Master of Science in Mathematics and Science Education from the University of Amsterdam, where his thesis focused on a quasi-experimental study of ninth-grade students’ mathematical reasoning with numerical systems.

His doctoral and post-doctoral studies at Clemson University and Marquette University focused on preparation and development for STEM teachers. His research interests center around STEM teachers’ professional noticing, argumentation skills, content learning with technology, and interdisciplinary teaching abilities. Zambak utilizes mixed methods research and teaches the EDD-752: Quantitative Research course in the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership program. He presented his research at various international and national conferences and published in prominent journals in mathematics and STEM education. He was one of the prestigious AMTE Service, Teaching, and Research in Mathematics Education (STaR) fellows during the 2020-2021 academic year. Since March 2024, he has been serving on the instructional team for the Climate Change Learning Collaborative funded by the NJ Department of Education, designing and delivering professional developments to K-12 teachers in partnering school districts. He is also one of the members-at-large of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey (AMTNJ) since 2022.

Education

Ph.D.., Curriculum & Instruction (Mathematics Education), Clemson University, Clemson, SC

M.S., Mathematics & Science Education, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

B.S., Teaching Secondary Mathematics, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

Research Interests

Zambak’s overall research interests center around developing pre-service mathematics teachers’ content knowledge in technology-driven learning environments with a focus on reasoning, justification, and proof. His research also includes attention to professional noticing, interdisciplinary teaching, and STEM education.

Scholarly Articles

Selected Refereed Journal Articles:

• Zambak, V. S., Kamei, A., & Sorochka, K. (2023). Noticing elementary students’ mathematical reasoning and diverse needs: Investigating the impact of different noticing tasks. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2022.2150903
• Zambak, V. S., & Tyminski, A. M. (2023). Connections between prospective middle-grades mathematics teachers’ technology-enhanced specialized content knowledge and beliefs: A case study. RMLE Online, 46(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404476.2022.2151681
• Magiera, M. T., & Zambak, V. S. (2021). Prospective K-8 teachers’ noticing of student justifications and generalizations in the context of analyzing written artifacts and video-records. International Journal of STEM Education, 8(7), pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00263-y
• Zambak, V. S., & Magiera, M. T. (2020). Supporting grades 1-8 PSTs’ argumentation skills: Constructing mathematical arguments in situations that facilitate analyzing cases. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 51(8), 1196-1223. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2020.1762938
• Zambak, V. S., & Tyminski, A. M. (2019). Examining mathematical technological knowledge of pre-service middle grades teachers with Geometer’s Sketchpad in a geometry course. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 51(2), 183-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1650302
• Tyminski, A. M., Zambak, V. S., Drake, C., & Land, T. (2014). Using representations, decomposition, and approximations of practices to support prospective elementary mathematics teachers’ practice of organizing discussions. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 17, 463-487. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-013-9261-4

Book Chapters and Conference Proceedings

• Zambak, V. S., & Magiera, M. (2024). Supporting teacher candidates’ geometry knowledge for teaching with technology-driven classroom activities. In A. Brown, P. Herbst, N. Miller, & L. Pyzdrowski (Eds.), The GeT course: Resources and objectives for the geometry courses for teachers. MAA Notes Series.
• Zambak, V. S., Romagnoli, A., Bazler, J., & Van Sickle, M. (2024). Secondary STEAM teacher education: A collaborative 5-week module to introduce interdisciplinary STEAM vision to preservice teachers. Chapter proposed for Transformative Leadership and Change Initiative Implementation for P-12 and Higher Education. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-9904-7.ch007
• Zambak, V. S., Steiner, L., & Rizzuto, K. (2023). Parents learning mathematics: Facilitating parental scaffolding and students’ mathematical skills through a literacy-focused program. Proceedings of the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. https://doi.org/10.3102/2001290
• Magiera, M. T, & Zambak, V. S., Park, H. (2022). Supporting pre-service teachers’ argumentation-focused visions of mathematics teaching and learning in a teacher preparation program. In O. Kartal, G. Popovic, & S. Morrissey (Eds.), Global Perspectives and practices for reform-based mathematics teaching (pp. 193-218). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-9422-3.ch008
• Zambak, V. S., Wong, C., Kamei, A., & Sorochka, K.  (2021). Elementary pre-service teachers’ attitudes about inclusive education and their skills to notice students’ diverse needs. Proceedings of the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. [Virtual Conference]. Retrieved from the AERA Online Paper Repository. https://doi.org/10.3102/1680305
• Zambak, V. S., & Mulyono B. (2020). Developing and using the law of cosines: Using star maps as a context. In J. A. Bazler, & B. L. Van Sickle (Eds.), Cases on models and methods for STEAM education (pp. 274-288). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-9631-8.ch013
• Zambak, V. S., & Carduner, K. M. (2019). How to support teacher noticing: Perspectives on different media representations. In M. Graven, H. Venkat, A. Essien, & P. Vale (Eds.), Proceedings of the 43rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 4, p. 115). PME: Pretoria, South Africa.
• Tyminski, A. M., Land, T. J., Drake, C., Zambak, V. S., & Simpson, A. (2014). Pre-service elementary mathematics teachers’ emerging ability to write problems to build on children’s mathematics. In J. Lo, K. R. Leatham, & L. R. Van Zoest (Eds.), Research trends in mathematics teacher education (pp. 193-218). New York, NY: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02562-9_11

Presentations/Invited Talks

• Zambak, V. S., & Schpakow, M. (2024, July). Exploring pre-service teachers’ STEM identities and thinking. 15th International Congress of Mathematical Education, Sydney, Australia.
• Zambak, V. S., Steiner, L., & Rizzuto, K. (2024, July). Facilitating parents’ math involvement with a literacy program. 15th International Congress of Mathematical Education, Sydney, Australia.
• Zambak, V. S., Schpakow, M., & Magiera, M. (2024, February). Model eliciting problems to support elementary teacher candidates’ STEM thinking and identities. Presented at the twenty-eight Annual Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Orlando, FL.
• Zambak, V. S., & Magiera, M. (2023, February). Equilateral triangle inscribed in a rectangle: Secondary mathematics teacher candidates’ experiences with GeoGebra. Presented at the twenty-seventh Annual Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, New Orleans, LA.
• Watson, L., Zambak, V. S., Woods, D., Litster, K., & King, M. (2023, February). Pre-Service elementary teachers’ initial ideas about interdisciplinary math lessons: An explorative cross university dialogue. Discussion session at the twenty-seventh Annual Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, New Orleans, LA.
• Magiera, M., Hansen, H. B., Hyejin, P., Merighi, H. C., & Zambak, V. S. (2022, February). Looking back and looking forward: Mathematics teacher educators’ reflections on their practices during the pandemic. A discussion session was held at the twenty-sixth Annual Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Conference, Henderson, NV.
• Magiera, M. T., & Zambak, V. S. (2016, July). Analysis of arguments formulated by grades 1-8 prospective teachers in “constructing” and “critiquing” problem situations. The paper was presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the International Congress on Mathematical Education, Hamburg, Germany.

Professional Associations

• The Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey (AMTNJ), member-at-large 2022 – present
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), member 2012 – present
• Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), member 2011 – present
• National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA), member 2016 – present

Grant Support/Academic Funding

Educational Testing Services [NSF-funded], $750.00, Simulations in Math and Science Meeting Travel Grant, May 2024

School of Education, Monmouth University, $3000.00, Transformative Learning Grant, 2018-2019

Urban Coast Institute, Monmouth University, $5,000.00, UCI Faculty Fellows, 2023-2024

Noyce Team, American Association for the Advancement of Science, $1,500.00, Noyce Summit Capacity Building Travel Award, June 2023

Grants and Sabbatical Committee, Monmouth University $10000.00, Summer Faculty Fellowship, Summer 2020

Supporting Early Career Professionals, AMTE $2700.00, STaR Fellows Program, 2020-2021

Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education, National Science Foundation $1000.00, Postdoc Professional Growth Opportunity, 2017-2018