Rachael M. Welder is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Nevada, Reno. She earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics with an emphasis in Mathematics Education from Montana State University in 2007, after receiving undergraduate and master’s degrees in Mathematics. Prior to joining UNR, she held mathematics education faculty positions at Hunter College, The City University of New York (2007-2015), Western Washington University (2015-2019), and Texas A&M University (2019-2022).

Dr. Welder has over 20 years of experience teaching a variety of graduate and undergraduate mathematics content and methods courses for prospective and inservice K-12 teachers and mathematics courses for a broader audience. She specializes in content courses for prospective elementary and middle grades (K-8) teachers of mathematics.

Dr. Welder’s research focuses on informing and supporting the preparation and professional development of K-8 teachers and the mathematics teacher educators who work with them. She is particularly interested in the ways in which mathematics teacher educators can facilitate prospective K-8 teachers’ development of mathematical knowledge for teaching while simultaneously supporting their social-emotional needs. In 2020, she served as a guest editor producing a two-volume Special Issue of The Mathematics Enthusiast on “Supporting Mathematics Teacher Educators’ Knowledge and Practices for Teaching Content to Prospective (Grade K-8) Teachers.” She is currently involved in multiple, cross-institutional efforts to (a) examine the design and implementation of tasks in mathematics courses for K-8 teachers, (b) employ mindfulness-based interventions for mitigating the adverse effects of stress and anxiety on teachers and learners, and (c) conceptualize the knowledge needed by mathematics teacher educators for this work.

For more information please see publications, presentations, and teaching experience or view her academic research profile on ResearchGate. Information regarding her work with the Task Masters research team can be found on their website.