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Dr. Jennifer Tobias

Professor
Mathematics
Office
STV Stevenson Hall 326d
  • About
  • Education
  • Awards & Honors
  • Research

Current Courses

201.008Teaching Mathematics In The Elementary School

408.001The Teaching And Learning Of Rational Numbers

130.008Dimensions Of Numerical Reasoning

130.010Dimensions Of Numerical Reasoning

599.008Dissertation

583.003Professional Projects In Mathematics Education

490.001Research In Mathematics, Math Ed & Applied Mathematics

585.001Topics In Mathematics Education Seminar

Teaching Interests & Areas

Elementary Mathematics Education

Research Interests & Areas

Prospective teachers' understanding of rational number concepts and operations.

Ph D Mathematics Education

University of Central Florida
Orlando

MS Applied Mathematics

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign

Other Elementary Education

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign

BS Elementary Education

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign

Teachers' Choice Award Winner for Professional Development

Learning Magazine
2018

Early Career Award

Association of Mathematics Teacher Education
2017

Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology (CeMaST) Fellow

2012

Outstanding University Teacher – Teaching Initiative Award

Illinois State University
2012

Associate Graduate Faculty Status

Illinois State University
2010

Outstanding Dissertation

College of Education, University of Central Florida
2010

Service, Teaching, and Research for Early Career Mathematics Educators (STaR) Fellow

University of Missouri
2010

Book, Chapter


Barrett, J. E., Wickstrom, M. H., Tobias, J. M., Cullen, C. J., Cullen, A. L., & Baek, J. M., (2019), Chapter 3: Children’s Measurement Project. In P. Sztajn, P. H. Wilson (Eds.), Learning Trajectories for Teachers: Designing Effective Professional Development for Math Instruction. (pp. 48-74). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Tobias, J.M., Wessman-Enzinger, N., Olanoff, D. (2018). Prospective teachers’ attention to children’s thinking about integers, temperature, and distance. In L. Bofferding & N. Wessman-Enzinger (Eds.), Exploring the Integer Addition and Subtraction Landscape: Perspectives on Integer Thinking (pp. 213-230). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Feldman, Z., Thanheiser, E., Welder, R., Tobias, J.M., Hillen, A.F., & Olanoff, D. (2016). When is a mathematical task a good task? In L. C. Hart, Oesterle, S., Auslander, S.S., & Kajander, A. (Eds.), The Mathematics Education of Elementary Teachers: Issues and Strategies for Content Courses (pp. 9-24). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Tobias, J.M., Olanoff, D., Hillen, A.F., Welder, R.M., Feldman, Z., Thanheiser, E. (2014). Research-based modifications of elementary school tasks for use in teacher preparation. In K. Karp (Ed.), Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education: Using Research to Improve Instruction (pp. 181-192). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Dixon, J. K., Andreasen, J., Roy, G. J., Wheeldon, D., & Tobias, J. M. (2011). The role of manipulatives in motivating preservice teachers to develop a deep understanding of multiplying and dividing fractions. In D. J. Brahier & W. Speer (Eds.), Motivation and Disposition: Pathways to Learning Mathematics – 73rd Yearbook 2011 (pp. 279-289). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2011 Yearbook.

Conference Proceeding

Corven, J., DiNapoli, J., Johnson, K., Long, V., Olanoff, D., & Tobias, J. (2023). Mathematics curriculum recommendations for elementary teacher preparation: Establishing a research base. In T. Lamberg & D. Moss (Eds)., Proceedings of the forty-fifth annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Volume 2 (pp. 659–661). Reno, NV.
Corven, J., DiNapoli, J., Johnson, K., Long, V., Olanoff, D., Tobias, J., An, T., Clark, D., Velasco, R., Litster, K., & Kang, B. (2023). Working group on mathematics curriculum recommendations for elementary teacher preparation: Second report. In T. Lamberg & D. Moss (Eds)., Proceedings of the forty-fifth annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Volume 2 (pp. 649–658). Reno, NV.
Tobias, J., Olanoff, D., & Lo, J. A Research Synthesis of Preservice Teachers' Knowledge of Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. Proceedings of the 34th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (2012): 668-673.
Tobias, J. Preservice teachers’ conceptualization of fraction multiplication. Swars, S. L., Stinson, D. W., & Lemons-Smith, S. (EDs), Proceedings of the 31st annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (2009): 1276-1283.
Bajwa, N. P., Tobias, J. M., Olanoff, D., & Welder, R. M. (2021, June). Developing Prospective Teachers’ Representational Fluency of Whole Number Multiplication Using Array Representations. Presented online at the 42nd Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Journal Article

Bajwa, N., Tobias, J.M. (2020). Atypical Arrays to Stimulate Multiplicative Thinking. Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching Pre-K-12, 11, 931 – 935.
Tobias, J.M. (2020). The evolution of classroom structure. Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PreK-12, 113(2), 170 – 171.
Baek, J. M., Wickstrom, M. H., Tobias, J. M., Miller, A. L., Safak, E., Wessman-Enzinger, N. M., & Kirwan, J. V. (2017). Preservice teachers’ pictorial strategies for a multistep multiplicative fraction problem. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 45(1), 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.jmathb.2016.10.005
Cullen, A., Tobias, Safak, E., Wessman-Enzinger, N., Wickstrom, M., & Baek, J. Preservice teachers’ algebraic reasoning and symbol use on a multistep fraction word problem. International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning 18.1 (2017): 109-131.
Thanheiser, E., Olanoff, D., Hillen, A., Feldman, Z., Tobias, J.M., Welder, R.M. (2016). Reflective analysis as a tool for task re-design: The case of prospective elementary teachers solving and posing fraction comparison problems. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 19(2), 123 – 148. (Published online November 2015: DOI: 10.1007/s10857-015-9334-7)

Presentations

Developing Prospective Teachers’ Representational Fluency of Whole Number Multiplication Using Array Representations. North. North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education Annual Conference. (2021)
Using Arrays to Develop Students’ Strategies for Whole Number Multiplication. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. NCTM. (2021)
Tobias, J.M., Bajwa, N.P., Olanoff, D., & Welder, R. (2021). Deepening Prospective Teachers’ Understandings by Focusing on Reflective Analysis Within Task Design. Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Annual Conference.
Tasks for Teachers: Approaches to the Design of Tasks for Preservice and Inservice Learners. Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Annual Conference. AMTE. (2020)
Fostering Representational Fluency: Deepening Prospective Teachers’ Understanding of Multiplication. Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Annual Conference. (2019)
Designing Tasks for Mathematics Content Courses for Prospective Teachers. Northeast Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. (2018)
Using the Array Model to Develop Prospective Teachers’ Understanding of Multiplication and Its Properties. Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. (2018)
Task Design in Mathematics Content Courses for Preservice Elementary Teachers. 35th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. (2013)
Teachers' Noticing of Children's Understanding of Linear Measurement. Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Annual Conference. (2013)
The effects of learning trajectory based professional development on teachers' noticing. North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. (2013)

Grants & Contracts

Mathematical Concept Development through Measurement for teachers of Grades 1 through 5. Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program. (2012)
Formative Assessment Improving Teachers' Instructional Practices. Mathematics and Science Partnerships (Illinois State Board of Education). Illinois State University.
Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program- Mathematical Concept Development through Measurement for teachers of Grades 1 through 5 stage II. Department of Education. State.
Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program-Mathematical Concept Development through Measurement for teachers of Grades 1 through 5. Department of Education. State.
The knowledge and understandings of rational numbers that prospective elementary teachers bring to teacher education. New Faculty Initiative Grant. Illinois State University.