Meet
Kailyn
Kailyn is a PhD student in the Mathematics Education program at Simon Fraser University, working under the supervision of Dr. Rina Zazkis. She is currently students’ concept image formation while studying trigonometry at the secondary school level.
This work builds upon her previous scholarship in the history of trigonometry. Kailyn completed her MSc. in Mathematics, under the supervision of Dr. Tom Archibald and Dr. Glen Van Brummelen, at SFU in 2023.
She completed her undergraduate studies at Quest University Canada in 2019, where she studied mathematics and mathematics education with a particular interest in facilitating exploratory and curiosity-based learning experiences.
Kailyn teaches mathematics to adults at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Over the last two years, she has taught at SFU and Alexander College, and worked with IABE students at the Native Education College. She is thrilled to be entering the world of professional development support and is available to run engaging, interactive Pro-D sessions for elementary and secondary school teachers.
When she is not lost in her new favourite Excel sheet, Kailyn loves to dance West Coast Swing.
For more information on Kailyn’s educational and vocational experience, please see her complete resume.
Explore
Research
Kailyn’s doctoral thesis considers the multiplicity of perspectives from which students are introduced to trigonometry at the secondary level (in relation to triangles, in the unit circle, as functions, as graphs, etc.) and explores opportunities to improve the development of students’ concept images through the use of narratives and storytelling. She is particularly excited to find opportunities to integrate stories from the historical development of mathematics.
This work builds upon Kailyn’s previous scholarship pertaining to the historical development of trigonometry.
Her undergraduate senior thesis research explores the development of the tangent function in Europe in the 1400s and 1500s, specifically, determining the method by which the tangent tables published within that time period must have been computed, as well as the sine and cosine tables underlying those tables.
Her Master’s thesis examines one of these such works more closely, providing a Latin-to-English translation of the text and analyzing the remainder of the tables therein.
For more information and to see either of her thesis presentations, please see Kailyn’s research page.
Seek
Development
Kailyn is very excited to be offering professional development sessions for elementary and secondary school teachers. She has previously run sessions on the following topics:.
- Supporting numeracy development within the mathematics classroom
- Integrating numeracy across the curriculum
- Developing realistic contexts for rich mathematics engagement
If you are interested in hiring Kailyn to work with teachers on another topic, she is happy to develop materials to meet the needs of your district and your teachers.
Discover
Tutoring
Kailyn has been tutoring mathematics since 2011. In that time, she has worked with clients ranging from elementary school students to those studying upper-level mathematics and mathematics education at the university level. Kailyn is thrilled to be able to offer her students with individualized academic support. For further information, or to request tutoring, please see her tutoring website.