Margaret Borden ‘15 is the first Park Scholar to earn a Ph.D. from the College of Education
This article was originally published by the NC State College of Education to recognize Margaret’s dedication to the field of mathematics education. We are elated to celebrate this milestone with her and uplift her service-based mission to transform math education into an empowering, accessible experience for all learners.
Margaret Borden ’16, ’21MED, ’25PHD: ‘I Wanted To See If I Could Make a Difference in the Way That We Teach Mathematics’
Margaret Borden ’16, ’21MED, ’25PHD was introduced to project-based learning when she was an undergraduate mathematics education major in the NC State College of Education.
That experience inspired her to earn return to the college as a graduate student and, over the past few years, she has worked on two research projects, Project-Based Inquiry Global and Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM, that have fostered her creativity and prepared her to inspire others.
Borden is also the first Park Scholar to go on to earn her doctoral degree from the College of Education.
Meet Margaret:
Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Why did you choose the NC State College of Education?
“I knew from my mentors that it had an awesome mathematics education program, and I was approached by my advisor and principal investigator, Erin Krupa, with the opportunity to do research on the exact type of learning, project-based learning, that I cared about.”
Tell us about an experience you had with the College of Education that had the biggest impact on you:
“Working with the Design & Pitch Challenges has had a huge impact on me. I have really learned a lot from the team’s approach to developing materials, finding inspiration out in the world, critiquing each other to make things better and creating awesome experiences for the community. I now feel more capable of finding authentic and relevant contexts out in the world and teasing the mathematics out of it, so that my students can learn what they need to while doing something meaningful in school.”
What’s next for you?
“I have accepted an upper-school mathematics teaching position at an independent pre-K-12, project-based learning school in Davidson, North Carolina. I will be teaching AP Statistics, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Intro to Research. I will also be serving as a mentor to the other STEM teachers in the school and helping them find more authentic projects to do within their standards. I hope to continue partnering with research teams and giving presentations at conferences.”
How has the College of Education prepared you for your next step?
“The College of Education introduced me to project-based learning back in my undergraduate program and fostered my creativity as I learned about it all along the way. Through my research teams, I got to see the curriculum development and professional development sides of working with project-based learning. I feel like I am going into this teaching and mentoring role with a host of resources to draw on and a large community of other people doing this work.”
Why did you choose mathematics education?
“Through the service work I did in high school, I realized mathematics was an area of education where many people fell out of love with learning, and it could become a barrier to accomplishing life goals. I wanted to see if I could make a difference in the way that we teach mathematics, so that maybe I could help change this experience for people.”
We’re proud to celebrate Margaret’s accomplishments and excited to see the impact she’ll continue to make as a teacher, mentor, and advocate for authentic, engaging learning experiences.
Margaret Borden’s journey from undergraduate to doctoral scholar at NC State is a powerful example of how passion, purpose, and mentorship can shape a meaningful career in education. As the first Park Scholar to earn a Ph.D. from the College of Education, she not only breaks new ground but also carries forward a deep commitment to transforming mathematics education through project-based learning.