Nebraska Wesleyan University professor Kristie Pfabe is this year’s recipient of the Kenneth R. Holder Fellowship for Instructional Improvement.

Pfabe, an associate professor of mathematics and computer science, will use the funds to purchase videos and manipulatives — blocks, rods, circles and cubes — for use in the engaged learning environment of her newly revised course, “Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers.”

In selecting Pfabe for the fellowship, the Faculty Development Committee recognized her active approach as having a ripple effect by providing a solid math foundation for her students majoring in elementary education, with the ripple extending to the future elementary students of those future teachers.

Pfabe said manipulatives are used to help children understand mathematical operations, visualize geometrical concepts, and understand many other mathematical topics.

“Ultimately I would like my students to have tools to take into their classrooms when they begin their teaching careers,” Pfabe wrote in her application. “I also want my classroom to be a model for theirs, so that they can appreciate the importance of hands-on activities.

The Kenneth R. Holder Fellowship for Instructional Improvement is an annual grant designed to encourage individual instructional innovation and teaching excellence. The fellowship honors Dr. Kenneth R. Holder who, as Provost of Nebraska Wesleyan University (1987-1991), stimulated and supported faculty efforts for improving classroom instruction and enriching the educational experience of all Nebraska Wesleyan students.