Title
Associate ProfessorOffice Building
Chicoine Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering HallOffice
291Mailing Address
Chicoine Architecture, Math & Engineering Building 291Math & Statistics-Box 2225
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007
Biography
Dr. Vestal grew up on a farm in Hand County, South Dakota, and is the youngest of ten children. She feels fortunate that she could return to her home state and work with future math teachers. She is passionate about improving the teaching of mathematics for ALL students and continues to strive to be a better educator every day.Education
Ph.D., Mathematics, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2000M.A., Mathematics, University of South Dakota, 1994
B.A., Mathematics/Classical Humanities, University of South Dakota, 1992
Academic Interests
Improving the teaching and learning of mathematics for ALL students;Utilizing technology appropriately in teaching mathematics;
Researching and sharing information about the Geometry for Teachers course
Academic Responsibilities
Math 253 Logic, Sets, and ProofMath 261 Geometry for Teachers
Math 371 Technology for STEM Educators
Math 433 Mathematics Education Capstone
Math 434 Assessment in STEM Education
Math 450 History of Math
Committee Activities
2023-2024 Mathematics and Statistics Department Head Search CommitteeSD STEM Education Conference Planning Committee
Intercollegiate Athletic Board, 2021-2023
Open Educational Resources Committee, 2017-2022
Awards and Honors
South Dakota Council of Teachers of Mathematics Friend of Mathematics Award, 2020Timothy J. Nichols Award Outstanding Undergraduate Academic Advising Award, 2019
Grants
NSF Robert Noyce Scholarship Program Grant (DUE 1950255)NSF Robert Noyce Scholarship Program Grant (DUE 1439789)
NSF Robert Noyce Scholarship Program Grant (DUE 0733691)
Professional Memberships
Association of Mathematics Teacher EducatorsAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
South Dakota Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Work Experience
Associate Professor, SDSU, August 2009 to PresentAssistant Professor, SDSU, August 2006 to August 2009
Associate Professor, Missouri Western State University, August 2005 - May 2006
Assistant Professor, Missouri Western State University, August 2000 - July 2005
Creative Activities
O. Buchbinder, S. Vestal, and T. An, Lessons Learned using FullProof, a Digital Proof Platform, in a Geometry for Teachers Course, Proceedings of the 25th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (2023), 163 - 171.P. White, M. Nepal, L. Browning, M. Miller, S. Vestal, and M. Lemke, Perceptions and Usages of Online Teaching Resources by South Dakota Science and Agriculture Teachers, EdArXiv (2020).
S. Vestal, M. Miller, and L. Browning, Metacognition across the STEM Disciplines, chapter in Metacognition in Chemistry Education: Connecting Research and Practice ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society, 2017.
S. Vestal, Calculus Lab, 1st Edition, WebAssign, 2015
S. Vestal, T. Brandenburger, and A. Furth. Improving Student Success in Calculus I using a Co-Requisite Calculus I Lab, PRIMUS: Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, 25:4 (2015), 381-387
S. Vestal, The Future of STEM Education in South Dakota, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, July 5, 2013.
S. Schaffer Vestal and E. Weber, Orthonormal Wavelets and Shift Invariant Generalized Multiresolution Analyses, Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society 131 (2003), 3089-3100.
S. Schaffer and E. Weber, Wavelets with the Translation Invariance Property of Order n, arXiv (2000), https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.math/0002127
Area(s) of Research
Mathematics Education, Student Success, Best Teaching PracticesDepartment(s)
Image for Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Department of Mathematics and Statistics