Norma G. Hernandez

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Norma G. Hernandez (born May 19, 1934 in El Paso (Texas) ) is an American mathematician and university professor . She is one of the first US-born Latinas to graduate in mathematics.

Life and research

Hernandez was born the eldest of four surviving children to Manuel Gonzalez and Ramona Rodriguez. She grew up in an extended family with two aunts, one of whom taught her. Her family later owned a grocery store, which she ran after school. She experienced discrimination based on gender and Mexican ancestry while in high school and later college. Gender and ethnic discrimination continued in university and in professional life. She enrolled at the University of Texas at El Paso immediately after graduating from high school and studied mathematics. In 1954 she received a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and married Rodolfo Hernandez, with whom she had four daughters. In 1955 she taught as a primary school teacher in the El Paso Independent School District and from 1957 to 1960 she taught in the Austin School District. In 1960 she received her Masters of Arts in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin . She was a secondary mathematics supervisor in the El Paso School District until 1967 and then received her PhD from the University of Texas. In 1970 she was the first Latina born in the USA to complete her doctorate in mathematics with the dissertation: An observation system to analyze cognitive content of teacher discourse in a mathematics lesson. She then worked as an assistant professor at the University of Texas at El Paso College of Education until her retirement in 2000. She has published many articles, has also co-authored several books on sociopolitical issues affecting Latinos in the United States, and she wrote monographs on various educational topics.

Publications (selection)

  • 1972: Mathematics For the Bicultural Student. Paper presented at the Mathematics Colloquium New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, April 5th ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. ED 060 987. ( online ; PDF; 737 kB).
  • 1973: Variables Affecting Achievement of Middle School Mexican-American Students. In: Review of Educational Research , Volume 43, No. 1 (Winter), pp. 1-39. doi: 10.3102 / 00346543043001001 .
  • 1985: with Jorge A. Descamps: Factors affecting the achievement of Mexican-Americans. Bilingual Education Paper Series. Los Angeles, CA: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles.
  • 1988: with Roberto E. Villarreal, Howard D. Neighbor: Latino Empowerment; Progress, Problems, and Prospects , Praeger Publishers Inc, ISBN 978-0-313-26347-7 .
  • 1999: with Luis Ortiz-Franco: Perspectives on Latinos (Changing the Faces of Mathematics) (English), ISBN 978-0873534642 .
  • 2005: Teaching Mathematics to the New Standards: Relearning the Dance. In: School Science and Mathematics , Volume 105, No. 6.

literature

  • Janet L. Beery, Sarah J. Greenwald, Jacqueline A. Jensen-Vallin, Maura B. Mast: Women in Mathematics , 2017, ISBN 978-3-319-66693-8

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hernandez, Norma G.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American mathematician and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH May 19, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH El Paso, Texas