Dr. Sarah B. Bush is a professor of K-12 STEM Education and the program coordinator of the mathematics education PhD track at the University of Central Florida. She teaches primarily graduate courses in mathematics education. Dr. Bush is actively involved in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, serving as an elected member of the Board of Directors (2019-2022). She served as lead writer and task force chair for Catalyzing Change in Middle School Mathematics: Initiating Critical Conversations, published in 2020. Additionally, she has served as chair or member of nine NCTM committees and task forces, including as Program Chair for the 2017 NCTM San Antonio Annual Meeting and Exposition. Dr. Bush seamlessly integrates her practical experience as a middle school mathematics teacher in public schools with her innovative scholarship to serve as an instructional leader in the field of mathematics education and STE(A)M education. She joined UCF in 2017.

Areas of Expertise

• Mathematics Education
• Transdisciplinary STE(A)M Education
• Teacher Professional Development

Education

Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Mathematics Education
University of Louisville

Since 2010, Dr. Bush’s productivity includes 6.3+ million dollars in externally funded projects primarily from the National Science Foundation (NSF) including serving as Principal Investigator of a Noyce Track 3 project focused on Catalyzing Change, Empowering STEM Teachers with Earned Doctorates: A Noyce Program for Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teachers. She is also the UCF Principal Investigator of a collaborative NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) project. Bush is also dedicated to mentoring faculty seeking federal grant funding for the first time.  Bush has authored 10 peer-reviewed books; more than 90 peer-reviewed publications published or in-press; and 135+ peer-reviewed and invited international, national, regional, and state presentations. Bush’s research focuses on mathematics education, transdisciplinary STE(A)M education, and teacher professional learning.

Research Interests

• Deepening student and teacher understanding of mathematics through transdisciplinary STE(A)M problem-based inquiry
• Mathematics, science, and STE(A)M teacher professional development effectiveness
• The implementation of NCTM’s Catalyzing Change Framework in states, districts, and schools

Current Funded Projects

Collaborative Research: Transforming Undergraduate Mathematics Teacher Preparation Programs using the Professional Development: Research, Implementation, and Evaluation Framework

• Principal Investigator: Sarah B. Bush, Ph.D.
• Co-Principal Investigators: Farshid Safi, Ph.D.
• Sponsor: National Science Foundation
• Award Period: 7/1/2020 to 6/30/2024
• Total Award: $968,578 UCF ($2,975,413 total)

Empowering STEM Teachers with Earned Doctorates: A Noyce Program for Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teachers

• Principal Investigator: Sarah B. Bush, Ph.D.
• Co-Principal Investigators: Juli Dixon, Ph.D., Lisa Brooks, Ed.D., and Brian Moore, Ph.D.
• Sponsor: National Science Foundation
• Award Period: 4/1/2021 to 3/31/2026
• Total Award: $1,459,394

Conference: Advanced Air Mobility: Will Law Lift or Ground A New Era of Human Transportation.

• Principal Investigator: Tim Ravich, J.D.
• Co-Principal Investigators: Sarah B. Bush, Ph.D. & Laurie O. Campbell Ed.D.
• Sponsor: National Science Foundation
• Award Period: 8/1/2022 to 7/31/2023
• Total Award: $49,999

• UCF Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award (SoTL) (2022)
• UCF Research Incentive Award (RIA) (2022)
• UCF Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award, University and CCIE Awardee (2022)
• School Science and Mathematics Association (SSMA) Award for Excellence in Integrating Science and Mathematics (2021)
• Article (13 Rules that Expire!) featured in The Best of Teaching Children Mathematics, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, and Mathematics Teacher on Questions, Discourse, and Evidence. Issue 1. Reprint from original article which appeared in Teaching Children Mathematics in 2014. (2019)
• Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) Early Career Award (2018)

• MAE 7805: Policies, Practices, and Structures in K-8 Mathematics Education
• MAE 6918: Directed Research
• MAE 7980: Dissertation Mathematics Education
• MAE 7795: Seminar in Research in Mathematics Education
• IDS 7500: Research Seminar in Education
• IDS 6937: Teaching Mathematics and Science Using Reform-Based Practices
• IDS 6939: Reforming Curriculum in Mathematics and Science Education