Karen Givvin

Adjunct Professor and Researcher
Ph.D.: University of California, Los Angeles
Primary Area: Developmental Psychology
Address: Psychology Building 2279A
Email: karen.givvin@ucla.edu

Research and Teaching Interests:

Broadly speaking, my research focuses on teaching and learning.  Specifically, I’m interested in how students learn math and how teachers can best help them do so.  I’ve studied populations of students from preschool through college.  Through the Psychology Department I teach courses in Psychology and Education (133F) and Developmental Research Methods (131).  I also teach two courses on John Wooden, an example of an extraordinary educator.  One is offered through the Fiat Lux program and the other through the Honors Collegium.

Biography:

Karen Givvin is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at UCLA. She received her B.A. in Psychology from UCLA in 1988, her M.A. in Educational Psychology from Cal State University, Northridge in 1991, and her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA in 1997.  After graduation and before returning to UCLA, she worked at LessonLab, a research institute in Santa Monica, where she was involved in the TIMSS 1999 Video Study and various intervention studies that made use of TIMSS findings.  Upon returning to UCLA, she began working with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, revising and testing the impact of new curricula for community college developmental mathematics classes.  She is currently working with a team to develop a new R&D model for continuous improvement of postsecondary teaching and learning. Teaching And Learning Lab (TALL) CourseKata Click here to learn more about the College Honors program and the class Prof. Givvin teaches there.

Representative Publications:

Zhang, I. Y., Givvin, K. B., Sipple, J. M., Son, J. Y., & Stigler, J. W. (in press). Instructed hand movements affect students’ learning of an abstract concept from video. Cognitive Science. Fries, L. C., Son, J. Y., Givvin, K. B., & Stigler, J. W. (2020). Practicing connections: A framework to guide instructional design for developing understanding in complex domains. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09561-x Stigler, J.W., Son, J.Y., Givvin, K.B., Blake, A., Fries, L., Shaw, S.T., & Tucker, M.C. (2020). The Better Book  model for education research and development. Teachers College Record, 22, 1-32. Givvin, K.B., Moroz, V. Loftus, W., & Stigler, J.W. (2019).  Removing opportunities to calculate improves students’ performance on subsequent word problems. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 4(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-019-0175-2 Givvin, K.B., Geller, E.H., & Stigler, J.W. (2019). How teachers introduce algebra and how it might affect students’ beliefs about what it means to “do” mathematics. In C. Kilhamn & R. Säljö (Ed.). First encounters with algebra: A comparative study of classrooms in four countries. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17577-1_7 Reinhardtsen, J. & Givvin, K.B. (2019). The fifth lesson: Students’ responses to a patterning task across the four countries. In R. Säljö (Ed.). First encounters with algebra: A comparative study of classrooms in four countries. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17577-1_8 Stigler, J.W., Hiebert, J., & Givvin, K.B. (2018). Does VAM + MET = Improved Teaching? In R.P. Ferretti & J. Hiebert (Eds.), Teachers, Teaching, and Reform (pp. 56-74). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315186559-4 Stigler, J. W., & Givvin, K. B. (2017). Online Learning as a Wind Tunnel for Improving Teaching. New Directions for Evaluation, 2017(153), 79-91. Givvin, K. B., Moskowitz, A. L., Christie, C. A., & Stigler, J. W. (January 2016). ABCmouse App: Head Start implementation evaluation.  Glendale, CA: Age of Learning. Givvin, K.B., Stigler, J.W., & Thompson, B.J. (2011). What community college developmental mathematics students understand about mathematics, Part II: The interviews, MathAMATYC Educator, 2(3), 4-18. Santagata, R., Kersting, N., Givvin, K.B., & Stigler, J. (2011). Problem implementation as a lever for change: An experimental study of the effects of a professional development program on students’ mathematics learning. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 4, 1-14. Stigler, J.W., Givvin, K.B., & Thompson, B.J. (2010). What community college developmental mathematics students understand about mathematics. MathAMATYC Educator, 1(3), 4-16. Givvin, K.B., Jacobs, J., Hollingsworth, H., & Hiebert, J. (2009).  What is effective math teaching? International educators’ judgments of mathematics lessons from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. In J. Cai, G. Kaiser, R. Perry, & N-Y. Wong (Eds.) Effective mathematics teaching from teachers’ perspectives: National and cross-national studies, 37-69.  Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Roth, K.J. & Givvin, K.B. (May 2008). Implications for math and science instruction from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study, Principal Leadership, 22-27. Jacobs, J., Hollingsworth, H., & Givvin, K.B. (2007). Video-based research made ‘easy’: Methodological lessons learned from the TIMSS Video Studies, Field Methods, 19(3), 284-299. Givvin, K.B., Jacobs, J.K., Hollingsworth, H. (2006). What does teaching look like around the world? ON-Math, 4(1), Available at http://www.nctm.org/eresources/view_article.asp?article_id=7396 Jacobs, J., Hiebert, J., Givvin, K., Hollingsworth, H., Garnier, H., Wearne, D., (2006). Does eighth-grade mathematics teaching in the United States align with the NCTM Standards? Results from the TIMSS 1995 and 1999 Video Studies, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 37(1), 5-32. Givvin, K.B., Hiebert, J., Jacobs, J.K., Hollingsworth, H., Gallimore, R. (2005). Are there national patterns of teaching? Evidence from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. Comparative Education Review, 49(3), 311-343. Hiebert, J., Stigler, J. W., Jacobs, J. K., Givvin, K. B., Garnier, H., Smith, M., Hollingsworth, H., Manaster, A., Wearne, D., & Gallimore, R. (2005). Mathematics teaching in the United States today (and tomorrow): Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 27, 111-132. Givvin, K.B. (2004). Video surveys: How the TIMSS Studies drew on the marriage of two research traditions and how their findings are being used to change teaching practice. In M.J. Høines & A.B. Fuglestad (Eds.), Proceedings of the 28^th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Bergen, Norway: Bergen University College. Hiebert, J., Gallimore, R., Garnier, H., Givvin, K. B., Hollingsworth, H., Jacobs, J., Chui, A. M.-Y., Wearne, D., Smith, M., Kersting, N., Manaster, A., Tseng, E., Etterbeek, W., Manaster, C., Gonzales, P., & Stigler, J. W. (2003). Understanding and improving mathematics teaching: Highlights from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. Phi Delta Kappan, 84 (10), 768-775. Hiebert, J., Gallimore, R., Garnier, H., Givvin, K. B., Hollingsworth, H., Jacobs, J., Chui, A. M., Wearne, D., Smith, M., Kersting, N., Manaster, A., Tseng, E., Etterbeek, W., Manaster, C., Gonzales, P., & Stigler, J.  (2003).   Teaching Mathematics in Seven Countries: Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study, NCES (2003-013), U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Givvin, K. B. (2001). Goal orientations of adolescents, coaches, and parents: Is there a convergence of beliefs? Journal of Early Adolescence, 21(2), 227-247. Givvin, K. B., & Stipek, D. J.  (2001). In the eyes of the beholder: Students’ and teachers’ judgments of students’ motivation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(3), 321-331. Stipek, D. J., Givvin, K. B., Salmon, J. M., & MacGyvers, V. L. (2001). Teachers’ beliefs and practices related to mathematics instruction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(1) 213-226. Stipek, D., Salmon, J. M., Givvin, K. B., Kazemi, E., Saxe, G., & MacGyvers, V. L. (1998). The value (and convergence) of practices suggested by motivation research and promoted by mathematics education reformers.  Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 29(4), 465-488.