Katherine McClelland and mathematics: an extraordinary union

Katherine McClelland is the director of the Math Lab at Grinnell College, but she never took a math class in college. Her journey has been extraordinary.

McClelland excelled at math and science in high school, but often faced gender barriers. For example, she was not one of the six students (all male) at her school to be invited to study calculus. She describes herself as "not politically aware enough" at the time to realize the gender bias going on, so after graduating from high school, she pursued a religious studies degree from Oberlin College, and eventually became certified as an elementary school teacher.

It wasn't until after earning a master's degree in elementary education that she took a pre-calculus class at the University of Miami. McClelland loved her return to mathematics enough to consider incorporating more math into her elementary school teaching or perhaps becoming an elementary math specialist.

When her husband Kent was offered a position on the sociology faculty at Grinnell College nearly 30 years ago, she took the opportunity to enroll in a calculus class. "At the time, I had a 4-year-old," she says, "and this was my time out of the house." After performing well, she applied for the open position as Math Lab director and was given the job.

As director, McClelland hires student tutors, assists with statistics classes, interacts frequently with math faculty, and tutors students herself. In fact, she spends half of her time working one-on-one with students, helping them bridge the gap between varying levels of high school knowledge and college-level mathematics. As for the environment in the Math Lab, she makes clear, "I work really hard to make the math lab a place where students feel unthreatened—a place where they can get help and ask questions without being put down."

The tutors she hires put this unthreatening methodology into practice. She gets a lot of satisfaction out of hearing her tutors asking questions instead of giving answers away. When tutors make these supportive moves, she can't help but say, "Yes! That's good education going on."

Several years ago, Grinnell decided to strike pre-calculus from the curriculum and instead offer a slightly slower-paced version of Calculus 1, a change McClelland was comfortable with. She was happy because the new curriculum means that math students are sure to take calculus. Quoting one of the math profs, she says, "Taking pre-calculus is a bit like taking pre-Shakespeare. Why not jump right into it, so that students can experience the really beautiful material that is calculus?"

With grandchildren in far-flung places, McClelland may not privilege Grinnell with her services much longer. She has been patient, accepting of all students, and aware of how difficult calculus can be for some people. In McClelland, Grinnell has enjoyed a great mentor, and students can take advantage of her services by scheduling an appointment with her for help with their basic math skills, statistics and calculus.

—Mark Wilcox '09