Photo of David Quarfoot

Research Areas

Mathematics Education

Contact Info

Office:

Phone:

Email: dquarfoot@ucsd.edu

Education

Ph.D., Mathematics and Science Education, UC San Diego & SDSU, 2015

Biography

David Quarfoot is a passionate educator with experience at the middle school, high school, and college levels. His innovative techniques and high standards earned him the 2007 Presidential Scholar teacher award selection for the state of Connecticut. In addition to teaching courses across the math curriculum - from Prealgebra to Abstract Algebra - he has designed multilevel computer science curricula in C++ and Java, and has an extensive background in statistics, machine learning, and data science.

His recent research aims to understand the universe of mathematical problems by studying questions such as: What problems currently exist? What is the structure of those problems and the universe they inhabit? What portions of that universe benefit students the most? In addition, he works to improve math education by creating visualizations that help teachers organize their understanding of complex topics, such as quantitative and abstract reasoning.

Outside of education, David is an accomplished classical musician (playing violin, viola, and cello) and has constructed over 40 crossword puzzles for The New York Times. In the business space, he has sat on the advisory board of multiple companies, focusing on issues related to corporate ethics, platform economies, and quadratic voting.