Marian Pelking, who teaches first grade at East Picacho Elementary School in Las Cruces, has worked extensively on methods to help integrate mathematics into the elementary school curriculum. The grant she co-authored and whose implementation she co-directed has made it possible for 34 elementary school teachers to become math specialists in their educational settings. Ms. Pelking is equally "happy to have been an agent of change" in the effort to establish national standards for the teaching of mathematics. "The immediate objective," says Ms. Pelking, "is to help children become better problem solvers, to make them aware of the relevance of math in their lives and to enable them to communicate mathematically." She is currently involved in programs that help interested teachers have access to relevant materials, and attend workshops designed to help them explore and implement a more effective teaching methodology.
1973 Indiana University - South Bend, B.A.
