Dr. Vilma Mesa

Biography

Vilma Mesa is a Professor at the University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education, where she specializes in Mathematics Education. Her research investigates the role of resources in developing teaching expertise in undergraduate mathematics, particularly within community colleges and inquiry-based learning classrooms. Mesa has conducted analyses on instructional materials and collaborated on evaluation projects focusing on the impact of innovative mathematics teaching practices for students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She was the 2022 recipient of the Association for Women in Mathematics' Louise Hay Award for Contributions to Mathematics Education and received the University of Michigan's Outstanding Undergraduate Research Opportunity Mentor Award in 2022. Moreover, she has served as the co-editor of Educational Studies in Mathematics and has held editorial positions with other journals in the field. Mesa has over 60 published articles and book chapters in mathematics education, has raised significant federal funding to support her work, and previously served as a systems programmer and computing systems advisor in Colombia. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Los Andes in Bogotá, and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Georgia.

Research Interests