Our colleague, Myriam Steinback, is heading off on a new adventure. Her departure, after 21 years directing Investigations Workshops, gives us the opportunity to reflect on her work and contributions.

Investigations professional development provides opportunities for teachers to engage in mathematics, in the ways that embody the Investigations philosophy. It focuses on how children learn, how mathematical ideas develop within and across the grades, and on examining student thinking and student and teacher work.

Myriam joined our team in 1996 as the director of the Investigations Workshops Project. She developed and mentored an amazing cadre of leaders from around the country—people who had classroom experience and Investigations expertise, and were passionate about mathematics teaching and learning. To date, this group has worked with over 35,000 educators, around the country and the globe.

Recently Myriam led the project into the world of online professional development, thinking about how to design engaging math learning experiences in a virtual environment. Now, virtually anyone around the world can participate in our professional development.

As Myriam prepares for a new journey, we are thankful for her vision and leadership. Her work at TERC has impacted tens of thousands of educators, and thereby, hundreds of thousands of students. What we will miss more than anything is a colleague who is a model of dedication, enthusiasm, and passion for substantive mathematics learning in elementary and adult education settings. We asked people who have worked for and with Myriam to describe her, with just a few words.

There couldn’t be a better a visual representation of the impact Myriam has made on those who have had the pleasure of working with and learning from her. Thank you, Myriam, for making us all better math educators and life-long learners!

– The staff of the Investigations Center for Curriculum and Professional Development

Megan Murray
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