Dr. Jennifer Tobias
Professor
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Selected Research
Current Courses
MAT 130.008 Dimensions Of Numerical Reasoning
MAT 599.007 Dissertation
MAT 408.001 The Teaching And Learning Of Rational Numbers
Teaching Interests & Areas
Elementary Mathematics Education
Research Interests & Areas
Prospective teachers' understanding of rational number concepts and operations.
PhD Mathematics Education Track of the Ph.D. in Education
University of Central Florida
MS Applied Mathematics
University of Illinois
Ed.M. (Master of Education) Elementary Education
University of Illinois
BS Elementary Education
University of Illinois
Outstanding Paper
2024 PMENA conference
2024
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
CeMaST
2012
Outstanding University Teacher – Teaching Initiative Award
Illinois State University
2012
Associate Graduate Faculty Status
Illinois State University
2010
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
Grants and Contracts
The Utilizing Number to Initative Fravtion Inquiry (UNIFI) for Students with Learning Disabilities
Beth L. MacDonald, Allison Kroesch, Jessica Hunt, Jeffrey Barrett, Neet Priya Bajwa, Jennifer Tobias, Julien Corven.
Illinois State University. 2023 - 2024
Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Understanding of Whole Number Multiplication Using the Array Model
Jennifer Tobias.
Illinois State University. 2020 - 2021
Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Understanding of Fraction Concepts and Operations
Jennifer Tobias.
Illinois State University. 2013 - 2014
Mathematical Concept Development through Measurement for teachers of Grades 1 through 5
Jeffrey Barrett, Craig Cullen, Jennifer Tobias, Jae Baek.
Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program. June 2012 - October 2012
Formative Assessment Improving Teachers' Instructional Practices
Jeffrey Barrett, Craig Cullen, Jae Baek, Jennifer Tobias.
Illinois State Board of Education. 2011 - 2013
The knowledge and understandings of rational numbers that prospective elementary teachers bring to teacher education
Jennifer Tobias.
Illinois State University. 2010
Formative Assessment Improving Teachers' Instructional Practices
Jeffrey Barrett, Craig Cullen, Jae Baek, Jennifer Tobias.
Mathematics and Science Partnerships (Illinois State Board of Education). - March 2011
Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program- Mathematical Concept Development through Measurement for teachers of Grades 1 through 5 stage II
Jeffrey Barrett, Craig Cullen, Jennifer Tobias.
Department of Education. - September 2011
Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program-Mathematical Concept Development through Measurement for teachers of Grades 1 through 5
Jeffrey Barrett, Craig Cullen, Jennifer Tobias, Jae Baek.
Department of Education. - June 2011
Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Understanding of Fraction Concepts and Operations
Jennifer Tobias.
Pre-tenure faculty initiative grant. - 2012
Book, Authored
Making Sense of Mathematics for Teaching Grade 3-5
Juli K. Dixon, Edward Nolan, Thomesenia L. Adams, Jennifer Tobias, Guy Barmoha.
(2016)
Book, Chapter
Children’s Measurement Project: Sharing Trajectories with Teachers
Jeffrey Barrett, Megan Wickstrom, Jennifer Tobias, Craig Cullen, Amanda Cullen, Jae Baek.
(2019), Learning Trajectories for Teachers: Designing Effective Professional Development for Math Instruction
Prospective Teachers’ Attention to Children’s Thinking about Integers, Temperature, and Distance
Jennifer Tobias, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Dana Olanoff.
(2018), 213-230, Exploring the Integer Addition and Subtraction Landscape: Perspectives on Integer Thinking
When is a Mathematical Task a Good Task?
Ziv Feldman, Eva Thanheiser, Rachael Welder, Jennifer Tobias, Amy Hillen, Dana Olanoff.
(2016), 9-24, The Mathematics Education of Elementary Teachers: Issues and Strategies for Content Courses
Research-based Modifications of Elementary School Tasks for Use in Teacher Preparation
Jennifer Tobias, Dana Olanoff, Amy Hillen, Rachael Welder, Ziv Feldman, Eva Thanheiser.
(2014), Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education: Using Research to Improve Instruction, Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education: Using Research to Improve Instruction
The Role of Manipulatives in Motivating Preservice Teachers to Develop a Deep Understanding of Multiplying and Dividing Fractions
J K Dixon, J Andreasen, G J Roy, D Wheeldon, Jennifer Tobias.
(2011), 279-289, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2011 Yearbook
Conference Proceeding
Fourth report: Working group on mathematics curriculum recommendations for elementary teacher preparation
Joseph DiNapoli, Tuyin An, Neet Priya Bajwa, Daniel Clark, Julien Corven, Kim Johnson, Bona Kang, Sara Kirschner, Kristy Litster, Valerie Long, Dana Olanoff, Jennifer Tobias, Hartono Tjoe, Jennifer Ward, Corey Webel, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger.
(2025)
Mathematics curriculum recommendations for elementary teacher preparation: Research colloquium
Joseph DiNapoli, Julien Corven, Tuyin An, Neet Priya Bajwa, Daniel Clark, Kim Johnson, Bona Kang, Kristy Litster, Valerie Long, Dana Olanoff, Jennifer Tobias, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger.
(2025)
Mathematics curriculum recommendations for elementary teacher preparation: Establishing a research base
Julien Corven, Joseph DiNapoli, Kim Johnson, Valerie Long, Dana Olanoff, Jennifer Tobias.
University of Nevada, Reno, 2, 659-661, (2023)
Working group on mathematics curriculum recommendations for elementary teacher preparation: Second report
Julien Corven, Joseph DiNapoli, Kim Johnson, Valerie Long, Dana Olanoff, Jennifer Tobias, Tuyin An, Dan Clark, Richard Velasco, Kristy Litster, Bona Kang.
University of Nevada, Reno, 2, 649-658, (2023)
A Research Synthesis of Preservice Teachers' Knowledge of Multiplying and Dividing Fractions
Jennifer Tobias, Dana Olanoff, Jane-Jane Lo.
668-673, (2012)
Preservice teachers’ conceptualization of fraction multiplication
Jennifer Tobias.
1276-1283, (2009)
Developing prospective teachers’ representational fluency of whole number multiplication using array representations
Neet Priya Bajwa, Jennifer Tobias, Dana Olanoff, Rachael M. Welder.
PMENA, 10.51272/pmena.42.2020-272
Instructor's Manual
Making sense of mathematics for teaching grades 3-5: The TQE Process
Juli Dixon, Edward Nolan, Thomasenia Adams, Jennifer Tobias, Guy Barmoha.
(2016)
Presentations
What recent doctorates in mathematics education speak about their work and preparation in doctoral programs
Ok-Kyeong Kim, Sherri Martinie, Jennifer Tobias, Hilda Baffour, Meredith Beggs, Camilla Carpenter.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Research Conference, Atlanta, GA, October, 2025
An analysis of recommendations for mathematics content courses for prospective elementary teachers
Dana Olanoff, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Jennifer Tobias, Neet Priya Bajwa, Kim Johnson.
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education Annual Conference, University Park, PA, October, 2025
Navigating policy recommendations and their alignment for mathematics content courses for elementary teacher preparation
Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Jennifer Tobias, Kim Johnson, Dana Olanoff, Neet Priya Bajwa.
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Reno, NV, February, 2025
A study of competencies and preparations needed for mathematics education doctorates
Ok-Kyeong Kim, Sherri Martinie, Jennifer Tobias.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, hicago, IL., October, 2024
Building elementary students’ multiplicative reasoning through arrays
Neet Priya Bajwa, Jennifer Tobias.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Chicago, IL, October, 2024
Arrays as Quick Images to Elicit Early Multiplicative Ideas
Neet Priya Bajwa, Jennifer Tobias.
International Congress on Mathematical Education, Sydney, Australia, July, 2024
Primary Students’ Use of Counting Strategies in Supporting Their Understanding of Arrays
Jennifer Tobias, Neet Priya Bajwa.
International Congress on Mathematical Education, Sydney, Australia, July, 2024
Modifying tasks to deepen prospective elementary teachers’ understanding of three levels of units with fractions
Jennifer Tobias, Alicia Erwin, Kyle Kimball.
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Orlando, FL, February, 2024
Reflecting on prospective teachers’ responses to understand task effectiveness and inform task modifications
Dana Olanoff, Rachael Welder, Neet Priya Bajwa, Jennifer Tobias.
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Orlando, FL, February, 2024
Reflecting on and evaluating tasks: What happens when learning goals are not met?
Dana Olanoff, Neet Priya Bajwa, Jennifer Tobias, Rachael Welder.
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Reno, NV, October, 2023
Developing Prospective Teachers’ Representational Fluency of Whole Number Multiplication Using Array Representations. North
Neet Priya Bajwa, Jennifer Tobias, Dana Olanoff, Rachael Welder.
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education Annual Conference, Online, October, 2021
Using Arrays to Develop Students’ Strategies for Whole Number Multiplication
Jennifer Tobias, Neet Priya Bajwa, Dana Olanoff.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Online, April, 2021
Deepening Prospective Teachers’ Understandings by Focusing on Reflective Analysis Within Task Design
Jennifer Tobias, Neet Priya Bajwa, Dana Olanoff.
. Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Annual Conference, Online, February, 2021
Tasks for Teachers: Approaches to the Design of Tasks for Preservice and Inservice Learners
Chandra Orrill, Dana Olanoff, Melissa Boston, R Brown, Jennifer Tobias, Neet Priya Bajwa, Eva Thanheiser, Rachael Welder, Amber Candela, Ziv Feldman.
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ, February, 2020
Fostering Representational Fluency: Deepening Prospective Teachers’ Understanding of Multiplication
Neet Priya Bajwa, Rachael Welder, Ziv Feldman, Dana Olanoff, Jennifer Tobias, Eva Thanheiser.
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, February, 2019
Using the Array Model to Develop Prospective Teachers’ Understanding of Multiplication and Its Properties
Dana Olanoff, Neet Priya Bajwa, Ziv Feldman, Eva Thanheiser, Rachael Welder, Jennifer Tobias.
Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Greenville, SC, November, 2018
Designing Tasks for Mathematics Content Courses for Prospective Teachers
Jennifer Tobias, Dana Olanoff.
Northeast Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, New Brunswick, NJ, October, 2018
Knowledge for Teaching Integers: Attending to Realism and Consistency in a Temperature Context
Jennifer Tobias, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Dana Olanoff.
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Indianapolis, IN, October, 2017
Understanding the Progression of Fractions in K-8 Mathematics
Jennifer Tobias, Lisa Brooks.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, San Antonio, TX, April, 2017
Investigating Prospective Teachers’ Evaluation of Children’s Temperature Stories
Dana Olanoff, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Jennifer Tobias.
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Orlando, FL, February, 2017
Learning Trajectories in Content Courses for Prospective K-8 Teachers
Jennifer Tobias, Ziv Feldman, Rachael Welder, Dana Olanoff.
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Orlando, FL, February, 2017
Examining Prospective Teachers’ Justifications of Children’s Temperature Stories
Dana Olanoff, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Jennifer Tobias.
Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, San Diego, CA, February, 2017
Greater Number of Larger Pieces: A Strategy to Promote Prospective Teachers’ Fraction Number Sense Development
Dana Olanoff, Ziv Feldman, Rachael Welder, Jennifer Tobias, Eva Thanheiser, Amy Hillen.
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Tucson, AZ, November, 2016
Prospective Teachers’ Attention to Realism and Consistency in a Child’s Temperature Story
Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Dana Olanoff, Jennifer Tobias.
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Tucson, AZ, November, 2016
Exploring Fraction Equivalence through Complex Fractions
Elif Safak, Jennifer Tobias.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, San Francisco, CA, April, 2016