Rate My Professor Mike Steele

Dr. Mike Steele serves as Professor of Educational Studies and Chair of the Department of Educational Studies in Teachers College at Ball State University. A mathematics education researcher focused on teacher knowledge and teacher learning in secondary mathematics, he earned a Doctor of Education in Mathematics Education from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006, a Master of Science in Natural Sciences from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1997, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1995. Steele holds a Certificate for Secondary Mathematics Teaching and began his career as a mathematics and physics teacher at St. Michaels Junior/Senior High School from 1996 to 1999, followed by serving as Senior Curriculum Developer for the Middle School MathWings Project at the Success for All Foundation from 1999 to 2002.

His academic career includes appointments as Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Michigan State University from 2006 to 2013, Associate Professor and then Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2013 to 2023, where he also chaired the Department of Teaching & Learning from 2015 to 2018, and Program Officer/Intermittent Expert at the National Science Foundation from 2018 to 2025. Steele is Past President of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Editor in Chief of Mathematics Teacher Educator, and a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Board of Directors. His honors include the National Science Foundation Special Act Award in 2022, the inaugural Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators/National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Best Reviewer Award in 2017, and co-recipient of the University Council for Educational Administration Journal of Research in Leadership Education Best Article Award in 2016. Key publications encompass books such as Asset-Based Teaching for Mathematics Success (2024), The Five Practices in Practice in the High School Math Classroom (2022), NCTM’s Taking Action: Implementing Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices in Grades 6-8, and A Quiet Revolution: One District’s Story of Radical Curricular Change in Mathematics, alongside dozens of refereed journal articles including “Relationships between mathematical knowledge for teaching and teaching practice: The case of proof” (Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 2012) and “Developing mathematical knowledge for teaching in a methods course: The case of defining function” (Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 2013).