Tatiana Shubin facts for kids

Tatiana Shubin is a smart mathematician from the Soviet Union and America. She is famous for creating "math circles." These are fun groups where middle and high school students learn extra math. She especially helps Native American students, like the Navajo people. Today, she is a math professor at San José State University in California.

Her Early Life and Studies

Tatiana was born in Ukraine. Her parents were a criminologist (someone who studies crime) and a lawyer. When she was ten, her family moved to Almaty in Kazakhstan. She was very good at math! After a big math competition, she was invited to a special science school.

She studied for five years at Moscow State University. She earned a bachelor's degree there. Later, she earned a master's degree at Kazakh State University in Almaty.

In 1978, Tatiana moved to the United States. She continued her studies and earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1983. In 1985, she started teaching math at San José State University.

Helping Kids Learn Math

Tatiana Shubin is well-known for her work with math circles.

What are Math Circles?

Math circles are like clubs where students explore math in fun and creative ways. It's not like regular school math; it's about solving puzzles and thinking deeply about numbers. Tatiana started the San José Math Circles.

Math Teachers' Circles

In 2006, she helped start the first math teachers' circle. This group helps math teachers learn new ways to teach and make math exciting. She is now a leader in the Math Teachers’ Circle Network, which grew from this idea.

Helping Native American Students

Tatiana also cares a lot about helping Native American students. In 2012, she helped create the Navajo Nation Math Circles project. This project brings math circles to students in the Navajo Nation. She is also a director of the Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles, which helps even more Native American students learn math.

Awards and Honors

Tatiana Shubin has received many awards for her amazing work.

• In 2006, she won an award for excellent college or university teaching from the Mathematical Association of America.
• In 2017, she won the Mary P. Dolciani Award, another big award from the Mathematical Association of America.

She has also been named a Sequoyah Fellow by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. This is a special honor for people who support Native American students in science and engineering. The Navajo Todích’íí’nii (Bitter Water) clan has even adopted her as a member, which is a great honor!