Overview
Background
I am a senior lecturer in mathematics education at the University of Queensland. My research centres around design and theorising of resources for teaching mathematics well. This includes development of classroom mathematical activities, in which students encounter significant mathematical ideas and joy of the experience; support of mathematics teachers’ work so that they can organise their classrooms for their students' meaningful engagement with mathematics; and inquiries into history of mathematics and education aimed at understanding of possibilities for change. I have served as an editor of the Australian Mathematics Education Journal and currently am the Vice President for Publications within Mathematics Eudctaion Research Group of Australasia (MERGA), and an IPC member for the International Symposium on Elementary Mathematics Teaching.
I completed a Magister degree in mathematics at Comenius University in Slovakia and a PhD in mathematics education at Vanderbilt University in the USA. Before taking my role at UQ, I have taught middle-years mathematics and lectured in mathematics and mathematics education at Comenius, Vanderbilt, and University of California, Santa Cruz. As part of my research, I regularly spend time in schools and classrooms.
Availability
- Dr Jana Visnovska is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Masters (Research) of Mathematics, Comenius University in Bratislava
- Graduate Certificate in Teaching (Secondary), Comenius University in Bratislava
- Postgraduate Diploma in Education, Comenius University in Bratislava
- Doctor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University
Research interests
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Mathematics Education
My research is centred within mathematics education, driven by the need to teach mathematics well. I view my role as a researcher in co-development of teaching resources, and of professional discourse, capable of supporting mathematics teaching.
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Design Research
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Teaching Materials and Resources
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Teacher Professional Development
Works
Search Professor Jana Visnovska’s works on UQ eSpace
2016
Conference Publication
Reciprocal relations of relative size in the instructional context of fractions as measures
Cortina, Jose Luis and Visnovska, Jana (2016). Reciprocal relations of relative size in the instructional context of fractions as measures. 40th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Szeged, Hungary, 3-7 August 2016. Szeged, Hungary: PME.
2016
Book Chapter
Introduction: Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2012–2015
Makar, Katie, Dole, Shelley, Visnovska, Jana, Goos, Merrilyn, Bennison, Anne and Fry, Kym (2016). Introduction: Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2012–2015. Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2012-2015. (pp. 1-12) edited by Katie Makar, Shelley Dole, Jana Visnovska, Merrilyn Goos, Anne Bennison and Kym Fry. City of Singapore, Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-1419-2_1
2015
Journal Article
An alternative starting point for fraction instruction
Cortina, Jose Luis, Visnovska, Jana and Zuniga, Claudia (2015). An alternative starting point for fraction instruction. International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, 1-28.
2015
Journal Article
Learning about whole-class scaffolding from a teacher professional development study
Visnovska, Jana and Cobb, Paul (2015). Learning about whole-class scaffolding from a teacher professional development study. ZDM, 47 (7), 1133-1145. doi: 10.1007/s11858-015-0739-7
2015
Conference Publication
Supporting students to reason about the relative size of proper and improper fractions
Cortina, Jose Luis and Visnovska, Jana (2015). Supporting students to reason about the relative size of proper and improper fractions. 38th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Sunshine Coast, Australia, 28 June - 2 July 2015. Sunshine Coast, Australia: MERGA.
2015
Book Chapter
Developing statistical numeracy: the model must make sense
Lamb, Janeen and Visnovska, Jana (2015). Developing statistical numeracy: the model must make sense. Mathematical modelling in education research and practice: cultural, social and cognitive influences. (pp. 363-373) edited by Gloria Ann Stillman, Werner Blum and Maria Salett Biembengut. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-18272-8_30
2014
Journal Article
Equipartation as a didactical obstacle in fraction instruction
Cortina, Jose Luis, Visnovska, Jana and Zuniga, Claudia (2014). Equipartation as a didactical obstacle in fraction instruction. Acta Didactica Universitatis Comenianae Mathematics (14).
2013
Journal Article
Classroom video in teacher professional development program: community documentational genesis perspective
Visnovska, Jana and Cobb, Paul (2013). Classroom video in teacher professional development program: community documentational genesis perspective. ZDM: The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 45 (7), 1017-1029. doi: 10.1007/s11858-013-0523-5
2013
Book Chapter
On comparing mathematical models and pedagogical learning
Lamb, Janeen and Visnovska, Jana (2013). On comparing mathematical models and pedagogical learning. Teaching mathematical modelling: connecting to research and practice. (pp. 457-466) edited by Gloria Ann Stillman, Gabriele Kaiser, Werner Blum and Jill P. Brown. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-6540-5_39
2013
Journal Article
La equipartición como obstáculo didáctico en la enseñanza de las fracciones
Cortina, Jose Luis, Zuniga, Claudia and Visnovska, Jana (2013). La equipartición como obstáculo didáctico en la enseñanza de las fracciones. Educacion Matematica, 25 (2), 7-29.
2012
Conference Publication
Developing a culture of collaboration
Lamb, Janeen and Visnovska, Jana (2012). Developing a culture of collaboration. MERGA 2012, Singapore, 2-6 July, 2012. Adelaide, South Australia: MERGA.
2012
Conference Publication
Planning for building models of situations: what is involved?
Visnovska, J. and Lamb, J. (2012). Planning for building models of situations: what is involved?. International Congress on Mathematical Education, Seoul, Korea, 8 - 15 July 2012.
2012
Book Chapter
Mathematics teachers as instructional designers: What does it take?
Visnovska, Jana, Cobb, Paul and Dean, Chrystal (2012). Mathematics teachers as instructional designers: What does it take?. From text to 'lived' resources: Mathematics curriculum materials and teacher development. (pp. 323-341) edited by Ghislaine Gueudet, Birgit Pepin and Luc Trouche. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-1966-8_17
2012
Conference Publication
Alternative starting point for teaching fractions
Cortina, Jose Luis, Visnovska, Jana and Zuniga, Claudia (2012). Alternative starting point for teaching fractions. MERGA 2012, Singapore, 2-6, July, 2012. Adelaide, South Australia: MERGA.
2011
Book Chapter
The institutional setting of mathematics teaching and learning: Introduction
Cobb, Paul, Dean, Chrystal, Lamberg, Teruni, Visnovska, Jana and Zhao, Qing (2011). The institutional setting of mathematics teaching and learning: Introduction. A journey in mathematics education research: insights from the work of Paul Cobb. (pp. 199-206) edited by Erna Yackel, Koeno Gravemeije and Anna Sfard. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-9729-3_12
2011
Conference Publication
Learning from a professional development design experiment: Institutional context of teaching
Visnovska, Jana and Zhao, Qing (2011). Learning from a professional development design experiment: Institutional context of teaching. Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) and the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) Conference 2011, Alice Springs, NT, Australia, 3-7 July 2011. Adelaide, SA, Australia: AAMT and MERGA.
2010
Conference Publication
Statistics in the middle years: Analysing data
Visnovska, Jana (2010). Statistics in the middle years: Analysing data. QAMTC'10: Queensland Association of Mathematics Teachers Annual Conference, Twin Waters, Australia, 24 - 26 June 2010.
2010
Conference Publication
Supporting shifts in teachers’ views and uses of problem context in teaching statistics
Visnovska, Jana and Cobb, Paul (2010). Supporting shifts in teachers’ views and uses of problem context in teaching statistics. 8th International Conference on Teaching Statistics, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 11-16 July. Slovenia: Statistical Society of Slovenia.
2010
Conference Publication
Focusing on interest in professional development of mathematics teachers
Visnovska, Jana and Zhao, Qing (2010). Focusing on interest in professional development of mathematics teachers. 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO, United States, 30 April - 4 May 2010. Washington, DC, United States: American Educational Research Association (AERA).
2010
Conference Publication
Documenting the learning of teacher communities across changes in their membership
Visnovska, Jana (2010). Documenting the learning of teacher communities across changes in their membership. MERGA33 - 2010 Shaping the Future of Mathematics Education, John Curtin College of the Arts, Fremantle, Western Australia, 3-7 July 2010. Fremantle, Western Australia: Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia.
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Jana Visnovska is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Fractions and proportional reasoning across the years of schooling
Big part of my research includes exploring, understanding, and developing teaching resources that would aid teachers in making it possible for all students to thrive in mathematics classrooms. Typical resources used for initial teaching of fractions often support students' "performance" in the short run, but later undermine their efforts of making sense of proportionality. In this project, you will explore the types of difficulties students face and how these difficulties relate to the resources used in their teaching, and propose and trial alternative pathways for teaching fractions and proportionality in mathematics classrooms.
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Theorising and design of (mathematics) teachers' resources
Teaching resources (textbooks and their alternatives) reveal how we, as a society, and as researchers and designers, conceptualise teaching. On the one hand, resources can dictate to the teacher what is to be done. On the orther hand, they can collaborate with the teacher on figuring out how to best respond to different situations that arise in different classrooms. To produce resources that would be most useful to teachers in their diverse classrooms, researchers and designers must deal well with and rigorously theorise the complexity of education and teaching. How should we conceptualise teaching and how can we bring a particular conceptualisation of a teacher and teaching into resource design?
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Differentiating instruction in early secondary mathematics
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Stephen Heimans
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Doctor Philosophy
An Epistemology of Practice for Political and Existential Citizenship
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Stephen Heimans
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Master Philosophy
Designing mathematics instructions and tasks for green education
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Katie Makar
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Doctor Philosophy
Institutional language policies, academic literacies and power: a collaborative investigation of practices in higher education in Queensland
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Stephen Heimans
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
The landscape of mathematics vocabulary in Australian secondary school mathematics classrooms
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Merrilyn Goos
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Mathematics Textbooks as Curriculum Resources: Exploring How the Ministry-Published Textbook Supports Indonesian Teachers in Implementing a Student-Centred Teaching Approach
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Robyn Gillies
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding different approaches to mathematics teaching and resulting mathematical classroom discourses in Iran
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Katie Makar
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Supporting Numeracy Development for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Karen Moni
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2023
Master Philosophy
Exploring the design of a framework for embedding arts phenomena in secondary school mathematics instruction
Associate Advisor
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Chinese Tertiary Teachers' Motivation, Their Use of Motivational Strategies, and Their Students' Achievement within the Context of Studying English as a Foreign Language
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Monica Cuskelly
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring the Impact of Inquiry Learning on Students' Beliefs and Attitudes towards Mathematics
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Katie Makar
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Jana Visnovska directly for media enquiries about:
- Ambitious and equitable teaching of mathematics
- Classroom mathematical conversations
- Professional development of mathematics teachers
- Purposes of mathematics education
- Teaching early number
- Teaching fractions
- Teaching Numeracy across curriculum
- Teaching problem solving
- Teaching proportional reasoning
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