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
2009
Book Chapter
Understanding the role of the institutional context in the relationship between teachers and text
McClain, Kay, Zhao, Quing, Visnovska, Jana and Bowen, E (2009). Understanding the role of the institutional context in the relationship between teachers and text. Mathematics teachers at work : Connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction. (pp. 56-69) edited by Janine T. Remillard, Beth A. Herbel-Eisenmann and Gwendolyn M. Lloyd. New York, USA: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203884645
2009
Conference Publication
Classroom statistical activity: Supporting shifts in middle school teachers' pedagogical reasoning in statistics
Visnovska, J., Zhao, Q. and Cobb, P. (2009). Classroom statistical activity: Supporting shifts in middle school teachers' pedagogical reasoning in statistics. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, USA, 13-17 April 2009.
2009
Journal Article
Understanding the Role of the Institutional Context in the Relationship Between Teachers and Text
McClain, Kay, Zhao, Qing, Visnovska, Jana and Bowen, Erik (2009). Understanding the Role of the Institutional Context in the Relationship Between Teachers and Text. Mathematics Teachers At Work: Connecting Curriculum Materials and Classroom Instruction, 56-69.
2009
Conference Publication
Learning about building mathematics instruction from students’ reasoning: A professional development study
Visnovska, J. and Cobb, P. (2009). Learning about building mathematics instruction from students’ reasoning: A professional development study. 32nd Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, 5-9 July 2009. Palmerston North, N.Z: Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia.
2009
Conference Publication
On middle-school teachers' learning to support students' development of informal inferential reasoning
Visnovska, J. (2009). On middle-school teachers' learning to support students' development of informal inferential reasoning. 6th Biannual International Research Forum on Statistical Reasoning, Thinking and Literacy, Brisbane, Australia, 10-16 July 2009.
2008
Journal Article
Learning from and adapting the theory of Realistic Mathematics Education
Cobb, Paul, Zhao, Qing and Visnovska, Jana (2008). Learning from and adapting the theory of Realistic Mathematics Education. Education and Didactique, 2 (1), 105-124.
2008
Conference Publication
Documenting the quality of professional development for ambitious mathematics teaching
Green, Sarah, Visnovska, Jana, Zhao, Qing and Cobb, Paul (2008). Documenting the quality of professional development for ambitious mathematics teaching. Joint Meeting of the International Group and the North American Chapter of Psychology of Mathematics Education, Morelia, Michocan, Mexico, 17-21 July 2008. Mexico: Cinvestav-UMSNH.
2007
Conference Publication
Designing effective professional development: How do we understand teachers' current instructional practices?
Visnovska, Jana (2007). Designing effective professional development: How do we understand teachers' current instructional practices?. 30th Annual Meeting of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA), Hobart, Tas., Australia, 2–6 July 2007. Adelaide, S.A., Australia: MERGA.
2007
Conference Publication
Putting socio-cultural theories to work in supporting mathematics teachers' professional development
Visnovska, Jana, Cortina, Jose Luis and Cobb, Paul (2007). Putting socio-cultural theories to work in supporting mathematics teachers' professional development. 2nd Socio-cultural Theory in Educational Research and Practice Conference, Manchester, United Kingdom, 10-11 September 2007. Manchester, United Kingdom: University of Manchester.
2007
Conference Publication
What does it mean for an instructional task to be effective?
Hodge, Lynn, Visnovska, Jana, Zhao, Qing and Cobb, Paul (2007). What does it mean for an instructional task to be effective?. 30th Annual Meeting of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA), Hobart, TAS, Australia, 2-6 July 2007. Adelaide, South Australia: MERGA.
2007
Conference Publication
Using student work to support teachers' professional development in two contrasting school districts
Zhao, Qing, McClain, Kay and Visnovska, Jana (2007). Using student work to support teachers' professional development in two contrasting school districts. 29th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Lake Tahoe, NV, U.S.A., 25-28 October 2007. ERA -unavailable: ERA -unavailable.
2007
Conference Publication
Situating teaching in histories of participation: Two contrasting visions of teaching
Visnovska, J., Zhao, Q. and Gresalfi, M. (2007). Situating teaching in histories of participation: Two contrasting visions of teaching. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, USA, 9-13 April 2007.
2007
Conference Publication
Revising discourse as an instructional resource: practice that creates spaces for learning and students' contributions
Hodge, L. L., Zhao, Q., Visnovska, J. and Cobb, P. (2007). Revising discourse as an instructional resource: practice that creates spaces for learning and students' contributions. 31st Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Seoul, South Korea, 2007. Prague, Czech Republic: The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education.
2007
Conference Publication
The figured worlds of teaching: Finding coherence in teachers' identities
Gresalfi, M. S., Visnovska, J. and Zhao, Q. (2007). The figured worlds of teaching: Finding coherence in teachers' identities. 29th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education: PME-NA 2007, Reno, Nevada, United States, 25-28 October 2007. Reno, Nevada, United States: University of Nevada.
2006
Conference Publication
Professional-development design: Building on current instructional practices to achieve a professional-development agenda
Visnovska, J., Zhao, Q. and Cobb, P. (2006). Professional-development design: Building on current instructional practices to achieve a professional-development agenda. 28th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Merida, Mexico, 9-12 November 2006. Mérida, Mexico: Universidad Pedagógica Nacional.
2006
Conference Publication
Supporting the mathematics learning of a professional teaching community: Focusing on teachers' instructional reality
Visnovska, Jana (2006). Supporting the mathematics learning of a professional teaching community: Focusing on teachers' instructional reality. AERA 2006 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association: Education Research in the Public Interest, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A., 7-11 April 2006.
2005
Conference Publication
Accounting for teachers' instructional realities when supporting their professional development in statistics
Cortina, José Luis, Zhao, Qing and Višňovská, Jana (2005). Accounting for teachers' instructional realities when supporting their professional development in statistics. ISCOTS7: 7th International Conference on Teaching Statistics, Ondina, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 2-7 July 2006. Auckland , New Zealand: International Association for Statistical Education.
2005
Conference Publication
Same video, different understandings: Co-construction of representations of classroom instructional practices within a professional teaching community
Visnovska, J. (2005). Same video, different understandings: Co-construction of representations of classroom instructional practices within a professional teaching community. 27th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Eugene, USA, 2005.
2004
Conference Publication
Supporting the mathematics learning of a professional teaching community
Zhao, Q, Visnovska, J and McClain, K (2004). Supporting the mathematics learning of a professional teaching community. Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association, San Diego, USA, 12-16 April 2004.
2004
Conference Publication
Using design research to support the learning of professional teaching community of middle-school mathematics teachers
Zhao, Qing, Visnovska, Jana and McClain, Kay (2004). Using design research to support the learning of professional teaching community of middle-school mathematics teachers. 26th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Toronto, Canada, 21-24 October 2004. Ontario, Canada: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
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
Institutional language policies, academic literacies and power: a collaborative investigation of practices in higher education in Queensland
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
An Epistemology of Practice for Political and Existential Citizenship
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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