Professor Anna Stokke has been teaching at the University of Winnipeg for 12 years, and has loved every minute of it. When she’s not busy motivating students to succeed, she also works as a Math Education Advocate. Recently, this included pushing provincial government to change school curriculums to provide better math education to students. 

“A lot of parents in Canada were really upset about the kind of math their kids were learning in schools,” Stokke says. “For instance, they weren’t memorizing times tables anymore.” 

Stokke worked on a board to reinstate the teaching of times tables and other important basics to students. When she isn’t in the classroom, she also gives lectures and interviews about math curriculums and education. 

Stokke says her style of teaching, like her love of it, hasn’t changed much in 12 years. 

“I’ve integrated more technology into my classes. Now we have online homework, which allows students to get a lot more practice and feedback,” she says. 

According to Stokke, first year classes are among her favourite to teach. She enjoys helping new students get into the “university groove” and make the transition from high school. Her advice is simple but foolproof:

“Go to class, pay attention, do the homework. Work really hard. That’s probably the number one thing.”

• • •

AGE:  “Let’s go with...25”

AREA OF RESEARCH:  Combinatorial representation theory and algebraic combinatorics

NUMBER OF PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES PUBLISHED:  12

FAVOURITE RECENT MOVIE:  The Imitation Game

WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL TO:  Hong Kong, Italy, and Egypt

PETS:  A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Sadie

BATTING AVERAGE:  0

Published in Volume 69, Number 18 of The Uniter (January 28, 2015)