Tharanga Wijetunge
Associate Professor of Mathematics & Faculty Athletic Representative
Contact Information
Office 206 in Derby Center for Science and Mathematics
(870) 307-7274 | tharanga.wijetunge@lyon.edu
Education
PhD (Concentration in Mathematics Education), Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI
BSc (Hons) in Finance, Business & Computational Mathematics, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Classes Offered
College Algebra
Elementary Functions
Math for Liberal Arts
Calculus I & II
Linear Algebra
Modern Geometry
Methods in Secondary Education
Awards
2014 Project NExT fellow, Mathematical Association of America
2022 Lamar Williamson Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Lyon College
Publication
Wijetunge, T. M. K., Premadasa, K., Liyanage, G. W., Appuhami, A., & Rathnayaka, J. (2022). Tale of two countries: Factors influencing to major in mathematics. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice (accepted)
Wijetunge, T. M. K., Spann, A., Liyanage, G. W., & St. John, D. (2020). Significance of Length of Instructions with Technology: What Pre-Service Teachers Say? Journal of Educational Technology, 17(1), 22-34
Wijetunge, T. M. K., & St. John, D. (2018). Empowering communication through advanced student response systems: Perspectives of pre-service mathematics teachers. The Educational Review, USA, 2(6), 339-351.
Premadasa. K., Wijetunge, T. M. K., & Bhatia, K (2016). Using cellphones as virtual clickers in a mathematics classroom. Electronic Journal of Mathematics and Technology, 10(3).
Presentations
Wijetunge, T. M. K. & Premadasa, K. (2018, Jan). How do students select questions in a math exam? Oral presentation at Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego, CA
Wijetunge, T. M. K. & St. John, D. (2017, May). Empowering communication through advanced student response systems: Perspectives of pre-service mathematics teachers. Global Conference on Education and Research, Sarasota, FL.
Wijetunge, T. M. K. & Premadasa, K. (2016, March). Does Process Oriented Student Feedback Help College Math Achievement? Oral presentation at SoTL Commons Conference, Savannah, GA.
Premadasa. K., Wijetunge, T. M. K., & Bhatia, K. (2016). Using cellphones as virtual clickers in a mathematics classroom. Electronic Journal of Mathematics and Technology, 10(3), 165-177.
Wijetunge, T. M. K., Premadasa, K. & Bhatia, K. (2015, Jan). The dreaded word problem: What do students remember? Oral presentation at Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Antonio, TX.
Wijetunge, T.M.K. (2014, March). Student Response Systems and learning mathematics. Oral presentation for Math Club at Lyon College, Batesville, AR.
Wijetunge, T. M. K. & St. John, D. (2014, Jan). Evaluating student understanding and role of the Student Response Systems: What pre-service teachers say? Oral presentation at Joint Mathematics Meetings, Baltimore, MD.
Wijetunge, T.M.K. (2013, March). Classroom Communication and Interactions: The Role of Technology. Oral presentation at Conversations Among Colleagues, Mt. Pleasant, MI.
Wijetunge, T.M.K. (2013, March). Using TI-Nspire CAS calculators and TI-Nspire Navigator in a college algebra classroom: Questions and our answers. Oral presentation was accepted by T3 International Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Wijetunge, T.M.K. & St. John, D. (2013, Jan). The TI-Nspire Navigator CAS system and pre-service teachers: Changing the communication in a mathematics classroom. Oral presentation at Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego, CA.
Wijetunge, T.M.K. (2012, May). Pre-Service Teachers and the TI-Navigator: Do They Identify What They Can Do with Technology? Oral presentation at Michigan Section MAA Meeting, Saginaw Valley State University, Saginaw, MI.
Wijetunge, T.M.K., St. John, D., & Narayan, S. (2011, July). Differential equations: A different perspective of teaching differential equations. Poster presented at the POGIL Great Lakes Regional Meeting, Hope College, Holland, MI.
Wijetunge, T.M.K. & Lin, E.B. (2011, April). Galerkin’s method and wavelet functions. Poster presented at the Student Research and Creative Endeavors Exhibition, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI.
Star, J.R., Chang, K., Lee, K., Rittle-Johnson, B., & Wijetunge, T.M.K. (2007, April). The benefits of comparison in learning to solve equations. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.