
Authors

Alex Lawson, Ph.D.
Alex Lawson is a professor emerita with Lakehead University. A former elementary classroom teacher, she has been the director of the Multi-Data Convergence Lab for the last two decades, where hundreds of hours of children's thinking have been documented and analyzed to understand and improve elementary mathematical instruction and learning. Alex is the author of What to Look for: Understanding and Developing Student Thinking in Early Numeracy.

Heather Wark
Heather Wark is a Contract Lecturer at Lakehead University. A former Intermediate STEM teacher, she has been a researcher in mathematics education for more than a decade. Heather coaches math teams and teachers across the province to support them as they work with student thinking in action. Her interest in differentiated learning is evident in her creation of many of the games and activities in WTLF 2 that meet students where they are at and help them to build new knowledge and skills.

Melanie Biesenthal
Melanie Biesenthal (‘Coach Mel’) is the K–12 Coordinator of Mathematics at the Thunder Bay Catholic District School as well as a lecturer in Lakehead University’s Teacher Education program. In addition, Melanie is pursuing her PhD, which aims to build understanding of how mathematical concepts are developed and most effectively supported in young learners. You will see her in action (her 'happy place') in some of WTLF2’s classroom videos.