Dr Jillian Cheeseman - Researcher Profile

Biography

Jill Cheeseman is a Lecturer of mathematics education in the Faculty. Before embarking on a career as an academic, Jill had extensive professional experience as a teacher of primary school and has worked as a teacher-educator in a range of settings in Australia and overseas.

Jill’s research interests centre on how children learn mathematics and how teachers challenge children’s mathematical thinking.

Jill’s PhD thesis, entitled, Challenging children to think: An investigation of the behaviours of highly effective teachers that stimulate children to examine their mathematical understandings was completed in 2010. This work built on earlier research in the Early Numeracy Research Project which identified features of “highly effective teachers of mathematics with young children”. The dissertation looked in greater depth at one of the specific characteristics of such teachers: Learning community and classroom interaction behaviours. The research was able to paint a picture of the one-to-one teacher-child interactions during the course of everyday mathematics lessons. These exchanges were shown to challenge children to think deeply and to stimulate leaps in learning by children. Little was known about these conversational interactions prior to this study.

The theme of challenge is one that Jill continues to explore through her participation as a Chief Investigator for an Australia Research Council (ARC) Discovery grant entitled, Encouraging Persistence, Maintaining Challenge: Investigating the relationship between teacher expectations, student persistence and the learning of mathematics. Together with Professor Peter Sullivan, Professor Doug Clarke of the Australian Catholic University and Professor Jim Middleton of Arizona State University. We are exploring what is needed to encourage students to embrace challenges and to persist even when tasks are difficult. We are also examining what is needed to support teachers in developing the strategies needed to pose challenging tasks and to encourage students to engage with those tasks. The outcome will be enhanced mathematics learning and improved self confidence in students.

Jill’s other research project is entitled, Investigating Early Concepts of Mass. This research involves collaboration between Monash University, Dr Andrea McDonough and Dr Sarah Ferguson of the Australian Catholic University. The measurement of mass is an aspect of children’s thinking about which little mathematics education research literature is written, we are confident that the research will inform mathematics educators around the world.

Jill was very proud to be a member of the Early Numeracy Research Project team to which the MERGA Research Award was presented in July 2011. The award was given “in recognition of an outstanding contribution to mathematics education research”. It is presented to long-term active Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia members who have made a sustained and distinguished contribution to research in mathematics education in Australasia and internationally (1999-2011).

Research & Supervision Interests

Creating challenging learning environments for young children
Measurement curriculum initiatives
Teacher leaders of mathematics
Girls and mathematics

Qualifications

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Institution: Monash University

Year awarded: 2010

MASTER OF EDUCATION

Institution: Australian Catholic University

Year awarded: 2004

MASTER OF EDUCATION

Institution: Ayustralian Catholic University

Year awarded: 2004

BACHELOR OF EDUCATION

Institution: Deakin University

Year awarded: 1986

ADVANCED CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION

Institution: ATTI (Mercer House)

Year awarded: 1973

Publications

Book Chapters

Clarke, D., Cheeseman, J., McDonough, A., Clarke, B.A., 2003, Assessing and developing measurement with young children, in Learning and Teaching Measurement: 2003 Yearbook, eds Clements, Douglas H; Bright, George, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc., Reston USA, pp. 68-80.

Journal Articles

Clarke, B.A., Clarke, D., Cheeseman, J., 2006, The mathematical knowledge and understanding young children bring to school, Mathematics Education Research Journal, vol 18, issue 1, Mathematics Educational Research Group of Australasia, Inc., Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 78-102.

Conference Proceedings

McDonough, A., Cheeseman, J., Ferguson, S., 2012, Insights into children's understandings of mass measurement, Proceedings of the 36th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, 18 - 22 July, 2012, International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME), Taipei, Taiwan, pp. 201-208.

Cheeseman, J., McDonough, A., Ferguson, S., 2012, The effects of creating rich learning environments for children to measure mass, Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2 - 6 July, 2012, Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia Inc. (MERGA), Adelaide, SA, Australia, pp. 178-185.

Sullivan, P., Cheeseman, J., Michels, D., Mornane, A., Clarke, D., Middleton, J., Roche, A., 2011, Challenging mathematics tasks: What they are and how to use them, Maths is Multi-Dimensional, The Mathematical Association of Victoria, Brunswick, Victoria, pp. 33-46.

Cheeseman, J., McDonough, A., Clarke, D., 2011, Investigating children's understanding of the measurement of mass, Proceedings of the AAMT-MERGA Conference, 3 - 7 July, 2011, AAMT Inc. & MERGA Inc., Adelaide, SA, Australia, pp. 174-182.

Cheeseman, J., 2009, Challenging children to think: Teacher behaviours that stimulate children to examine their mathematical thinking, Proceedings of the International Symposium Elementary Maths Teaching (SEMT '09), 23 - 28 August, 2009, Faculty of Education, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, pp. 11-23.

Cheeseman, J., 2009, Challenging mathematical conversations, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA 32), 5 - 9 July, 2009, Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia Inc., Massey University College of Education, New Zealand, pp. 113-120.

Cheeseman, J., 2009, Cute idea: Where's the maths?, Proceedings of the 22nd Biennial Conference of The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers Inc., 13 - 16 July, 2009, The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers Inc. (AAMT), Adelaide, SA, pp. 71-76.

Cheeseman, J., 2008, Young children recollect their mathematical thinking, Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of PME32 and PME-NA XXX. Vol. 2, 17 July 2008 to 21 July 2008, International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Mexico, pp. 289-296.

Cheeseman, J., Clarke, B.A., 2007, Young children's accounts of their mathematical thinking, Mathematics: Essential Research, Essential Practice - Volume 1, 2 July 2007 to 6 July 2007, MERGA Inc., Adelaide, pp. 192-200.

Cheeseman, J., Clarke, D., 2006, Examining the changed roles of numeracy coordinators, Identities, Cultures and Learning Spaces: Proceedings of the 29th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 1 July 2006 to 5 July 2006, MERGA, Inc., Adelaide SA Australia, pp. 123-130.

Cheeseman, J., Clarke, D., 2005, Early numeracy coordinators in Victorian primary schools: components of the role, highlights and challenges, Building connections: Theory, research and practice. Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 07/07/2005 to 09/07/2005, MERGA, Inc., Sydney NSW Australia, pp. 225-232.

Cheeseman, J., 2005, Empty number lines: how can we help children to use them?, MAV Annual Conference 2005, 01 December 2005 to 02 December 2005, The Mathematical Association of Victoria, Brunswick Vic Australia, pp. 49-58.

Cheeseman, J., McIntosh, J., 2005, So I'm the numeracy coordinator: what do I do now?, MAV Annual Conference 2005, 01 December 2005 - 02 December 2005, The Mathematical Association of Victoria, Brunswick Vic Australia, pp. 59-65.

Sullivan, P.A., Clarke, D.M., Cheeseman, J., Mulligan, J., 2001, Moving beyond physical models in learning multiplicative reasoning, Proceedings of the 25th Conference ot the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, 12-17 July, Freudenthal Institiute, Amersfoort, The Netherlands, pp. 233-240.

Clark, D., Sullivan, P., Cheeseman, J., Clarke, B.A., 2000, The early numeracy research project: developing a framework for describing early numeracy learning, Mathematics Education Beyond 2000. Proceedings of the Twenty-third Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia Incorporated, Fremantle, WA, Australia, 5-9 July 2000, Mathematics Educat'n Research Group of Australasia, Perth WA Australia, pp. 180-187.

Other

Clarke, D., Cheeseman, J., Gervasoni, A., Gronn, D., Horne, M., McDonough, A., Montgomery, P., Roche, A., Sullivan, P., Clarke, B.A., Rowley, G., 2002, Early Numeracy Research Project Final Report, February, 2002, Department of Education, Employment and Training, Australia, pp. 1-275.

Teaching Commitment

• EDF1307
• EDF3301
• EDF2323
• EDF6402

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:

(MASTER'S BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Young Children, measurement and the curriculum.

Supervisors:

Cheeseman, J (Main), Clarke, B (Associate).