Nesrin Cengiz-Phillips, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Mathematics Education
Nesrin Cengiz-Phillips
College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters
Mathematics and Statistics
2084 College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters Building | 4901 Evergreen Road | Dearborn, MI 48128
Winter 2024 - Monday 2:00-2:45pm & Wednesday 2:00-2:45pm; 5:00-5:45pm and by appointment

Teaching Areas:

Mathematics

Research Areas:

Efficient/productive practices of teaching mathematics, Mathematics Education, Students' learning of mathematics with understanding

Biography and Education

Dr. Cengiz-Phillips received her Master’s degree and her PhD in Mathematics Education from Western Michigan University.  She began working at UM-Dearborn in September, 2007.  She teaches mathematics content and methods courses for future teachers as well as graduate level courses to education students in CEHSS. In addition, she is the advisor of the Master of Arts in Education with Mathematics Leadership endorsement students.  She appreciates being able to combine teaching and research at University of Michigan-Dearborn. She collaborates with her colleagues and they use their own classes as site for research to improve teacher education. She also enjoys visiting K-12 classrooms and working with students and teachers in Michigan. 
She is particularly interested in learning more about ways in which people make sense of mathematics. She believes that every person can make sense of mathematics if she/he is provided with the opportunity. She is a strong believer of creating classroom environments where everybody’s thinking is valued. She has published in journals, such as Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, Teaching Children Mathematics, and Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School.

Teaching and Research

Courses Taught

Selected Publications

Cengiz, N., Kline, K., & Grant, T.J. (2011). Extending students' mathematical thinking during whole-group discussions. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 14(5), 355-374.

Cengiz, N., & Rathouz, M. (2011). Take a bite out of fraction division. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 17(3), 146-153.

Cengiz, N., & Rathouz, M. (2011). Games to support decimal number reasoning. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 17(4), 244-251.

Cengiz, N., & Grant, T.J. (2009). Children generate their own representations. Teaching Children Mathematics, 15(7), 438-444.