Sarah Hicks, Ph.D.

Sarah Hicks, Ph.D., a 2003 graduate of Rockhurst University, is an associate professor in the department of education. She joined the Rockhurst faculty in 2010 after teaching high school mathematics in Colorado and then earning an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Missouri in Columbia. 

Hicks teaches in the undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs. She believes teachers need to develop a variety of knowledge bases, including pedagogical content knowledge and technological pedagogical content knowledge — frameworks she also uses for research. She strives to help all students learn by providing authentic tasks, asking students to work independently and collaboratively, facilitating discussions of ideas and adjusting instruction based on informal and formal assessments of students' knowledge, reasoning and beliefs. 

Her primary research interests include teacher knowledge, teacher learning, mathematics curriculum, and meaningful use of technology in the classroom. In addition to teaching and researching, Hicks serves as the faculty adviser for the Psi Psi chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, an international education honor society. She also serves as the president for the Kansas City Area Teachers of Mathematics organization, an affiliate group of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.