Darryl Yong Receives Dolciani Award for Impact in Math Education

Darryl Yong, McGregor-Girand Chair in STEM Equity Innovation and Research and professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, has received the 2024 Mary P. Dolciani Award from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) for outstanding impact in the field of math education. The award was presented Aug. 8 in Indianapolis at the MAA’s annual conference, MathFest.

The Dolciani Award recognizes a pure or applied mathematician who is making a distinguished and active contribution to improving the mathematical education of K–16 students in the United States or Canada. The MAA choses one mathematician each year to receive the award.

The Dolciani award committee cited Yong’s seven co-authored books, 17 refereed publications in mathematics education and nine National Science Foundation (NSF) grants supporting his work to enhance teacher quality, retention and empowerment, as well as student performance. The committee also noted that one nominee described Yong as “a brilliant teacher of teachers, a true master of his craft.” 

“I’m extremely grateful that Mudd’s Mathematics Department has supported my work in mathematics education, which is unfortunately less common than one might expect in the United States. Every mathematics education project that I’ve been involved with has been a team effort and there are so many people who deserve to share in this award with me; the most important of these are the many middle and high school teachers that I’ve had the honor of working with, and from whom I’ve learned so much about the teaching of mathematics.”

Yong’s research focuses on secondary and tertiary mathematics education. He is primarily interested in how secondary-school mathematics teachers deepen their content knowledge for teaching, gain leadership skills, and develop more ambitious and equitable pedagogical strategies, particularly through peer communities. He serves on the steering committee for Math for America Los Angeles, a non-profit organization that he helped to start in 2007, and has worked closely with the Teacher Leadership Program of the IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute since 2003. He was recognized for this work by the American Mathematical Society with the 2020 Award for Impact on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics from the AMS and now, the 2024 Mary P. Dolciani Award from the MAA.

Yong also carries out research on effective strategies for teaching and learning mathematics in higher education, including a four-year controlled study of flipped classroom instruction at Harvey Mudd. He has a special interest in inclusive pedagogy and seeks to broaden participation in the mathematical sciences. He has served as an associate dean overseeing diversity, equity and inclusivity initiatives and faculty development, and was the inaugural director of the Claremont Colleges Center for Teaching and Learning, as well as director of Harvey Mudd’s Mathematics Clinic Program.