Dr. Jennifer Tobias
Professor
Mathematics
Office
Stevenson Hall - STV 326D
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Current Courses
130.008Dimensions Of Numerical Reasoning
585.001Topics In Mathematics Education Seminar
490.002Research In Mathematics, Math Ed & Applied Mathematics
201.002Teaching Mathematics In The Elementary School
408.001The Teaching And Learning Of Rational Numbers
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.