Abby Rocha
Title: Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Department: ANALYTIC & PHYS SCI-MATH & CS
Office Location: Vermeer Science Center 129 Box 23
Phone: (641) 628-5264
Email: rochaa@central.edu
Degrees
B.S. from Mathematics, with a 9-12 Illinois Teaching Certificate in Mathematics
M.A. from Arizona State University
Ph.D. from Arizona State University
Areas of Expertise
Mathematics Education,
About Abby Rocha Bird
Abby Rocha is a mathematics educator and researcher whose work focuses on understanding and improving mathematics teaching through the study of teachers’ mathematical meanings and instructional practices. She earned recognition at Arizona State University with multiple awards for both teaching and research excellence. Her research investigates the mechanisms that support instructors in fostering student-centered, conceptually rich mathematics instruction, particularly in the teaching of precalculus topics like angle measure and the sine function. Rocha has co-authored invited book chapters and presented at national conferences, contributing to theoretical and practical advancements in mathematics teacher education. In her teaching, she engages students through active learning and reflective practices that value student reasoning and promote intellectual curiosity. She has taught a range of mathematics and mathematics education courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and has led professional development seminars for graduate student instructors and both inservice and preservice teachers grounded in her research. Rocha’s commitment to meaningful student learning continues to drive her teaching and scholarly work.
