Matney receives Lucille Speakman award

Dr. Gabriel Matney of Roland has been recognized for his efforts in the classroom with a Lucille Speakman Excellence Award at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

Matney, who came to UAFS in 2004, is an associate professor of mathematics in the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. He designs, teaches and assesses the pedagogy course work for students who are majoring in secondary mathematics with teacher licensure.

Matney also mentors area teachers of mathematics through federal math science partnership grants and is editor for "Intersection Points," a publication of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning. He is also on the regional conferences committee for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Matney has numerous publications and has presented ideas nationally and internationally. Included in the proceedings of the 37th annual meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning was Matney’s publication "The Effective Difference of Research Projects on Secondary Mathematics Preservice Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy." His "Curriculum Clearings as Being-With-Mathematics Experiences: Authentic Learning Through a Heideggerian Lens" was published in the Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy.

In 2004, Matney was recognized for his work in helping diverse inner city students achieve mathematically when he was chosen as teacher of the year from a field of 2,500 teachers in the Oklahoma City Public Schools and was recipient in 2006 of Oklahoma Baptist University’s distinguished alumni award.

Matney received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from Oklahoma Baptist University and his master’s in mathematics and his doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Oklahoma.

The Speakman Award is named for a longtime teacher, administrator and Board of Trustees member, the late Lucille Speakman. Recipients receive a $1,000 monetary award as well as a $2,000 equipment allocation for the recipient’s department.