Biography: Martha Merson
Martha Merson
Research Associate
(617) 873-9600
Martha_Merson@terc.edu
Program/Areas of Interest
Informal math education for adults and school age children; Professional development for those in informal settings and for non-credentialed workers; Adult Basic Education; The intersection of the arts, health literacy, and STEM
TERC Projects
- Evaluation Group
- Mixing in Math: Transforming the Role of Math in Afterschool Programs
- Statistics for Action
Biographical Summary
Martha Merson serves as a co-Principal Investigator at the Education Research Collaborative at TERC in Cambridge, MA. For 10 years, she has worked on formative research and curriculum design related to promoting understanding of real-world math concepts. She is also a member of the Evaluation Group at TERC.
She is currently co-PI of Statistics for Action (SfA). This NSF-sponsored project explores how environmental organizers and the community groups they serve can deepen their own understanding of math as well as be conduits for others’ understanding. Citizens who confront environmental issues such as landfill expansions or incinerator permits face a deluge of data from air, soil, and water quality reports, as well as financial and health claims about benefits and risks. SfA develops resources that will (eventually) be available for free downloading.
For the Mixing in Math and Math off the Shelf projects, Martha developed training modules, supported library and after-school partners, and contributed to materials design. In addition, she was one of the main authors of EMPower: Extending Mathematical Power, a math curriculum produded by TERC, and served as an evaluator for the SABES Math Initiative (2006-2008), a project funded by World Education with support from the MA Department of Education.
On SfA, EMPower, and Mixing in Math, Martha has worked closely with external evaluators—particularly on the design of instruments capturing impact such as shifts in attitude toward math and behavior change. For the SABES Initiative, Martha conducted interviews and a focus group for the project director of the initiative and compiled reports annually presenting data and findings.
Martha is an avid community gardener. She volunteers for the Cambridge Community Center, and edits fiction for fun.
Selected Publications
- Breast Cancer and the Environment Martha Merson and Michele M. Sedor (1997) . Boston, MA: World Education.
- EMPower Mathematics Mary Jane Schmitt, Myriam Steinback, Tricia Donovan, and Martha Merson (2004) . New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Implementing the Massachusetts Adult Basic Education Math Standards: Our Research Stories Esther Leonelli, Martha Merson, and Mary Jane Schmitt (eds.) (1994) Massachusetts Department of Education . Malden, MA.
- Math is Healthy Martha Merson (2005) Skills for Chronic Disease Management .
- Measurement in Adult Education: Starting with Students' Understandings Myriam Steinback, Mary Jane Schmitt, Martha Merson, and Esther Leonelli ; D. Clements and G. Bright (eds.) (2003) Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. . Reston, VA: NCTM.
See all publications by this author.
Associations
2005: Speaker at the Schweitzer Fellows lecture series on numeracy and health; 2003-2006: Jamaica Plain representative to the Community Advisory Committee overseeing Massport Authority; 1995: Training Guide Developer—Drafted the training guide and other components of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention Kit developed with funding from the CDC (National Organizations Strategies for Early Detection and Control of Breast and Cervical Cancer)
