Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Having completed my PhD in 2017, I am interested in three interelated goals for primary mathematics education:
- For effective, student-centred pedagogies to be embraced across all Australian primary classrooms.
- For mathematics learning to be effectively differentiated, in a manner that is both inclusive and well targeted to student learning needs.
- For mathematics to be enjoyable to learn and teach.
My professional purpose is to shift our edicational system further towards all three of these goals, starting with better supporting teachers.
My major research interest relating to working towards these three goals is in learning design and its implementation in classrooms. This includes looking at issues such as:
- Task design: What is the role of challenging tasks, games and narrative-rich problem-solving tasks as pedagogical approaches to support effective, differentiated and enjoyable mathematics instruction? How are these pedagogies actually utilised in classrooms?
- Lesson structure: How does how the lesson is organised interact with the student learning experience, including their changing emotional states as the lesson unfolds? How can differentiation be effectively built into the structure of a lesson? How does shifting from individual work to collaborative work impact the student learning experience?
- Sequencing learning: How can we effectively sequence learning with effective pedagogies (e.g., challenging tasks, mathematical games)? How does the student emotional experience track across several, interconnected learning experiences?
I am keen to engage with potential higher-degree research students interested in inquiring into issues of learning design and its implementation in a primary mathematics context.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- Mathematics Education
- Maths Education
- Challenging Tasks
- Primary Education
- Games
- Teacher Education
- Teacher Research
- Teacher Emotions
- Teacher Attitudes
- Teacher Beliefs
- Student Emotions
- Student Engagement
- Research and Practice
- Estimation
- Mental Computation
- Number Sense
- Early Childhood Education
- Transforming teaching and learning
- Educating for diversity and inclusion
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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The Benefits of Utilising Visual-Spatial Representations of Numbers
Hopkins, S., Russo, J. & Bobis, J.
Australian Research Council (ARC)
1/01/23 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Collaborative Action for Transforming Mathematics Learning, Teaching and Engagement in the Early Years (K-3) Project
Gervasoni, A., Klooger, M., Downton, A., Kalogeropoulos, P., Livy, S. & Russo, J.
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd
22/11/21 → 23/12/22
Project: Research
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Exploring mathematical sequences of connected cumulative challenging tasks
Sullivan, P., Bobis, J., Downton, A., Livy, S., Russo, J., Stenning, P. & Giannopoulos, J.
Australian Research Council (ARC), Catholic Education Melbourne, Catholic Diocese of Parramatta
3/09/19 → 31/12/23
Project: Research
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Exploring mathematical sequences of connected, cumulative and challenging tasks in the early years
Downton, A., Livy, S. & Russo, J.
30/01/19 → 30/11/19
Project: Research
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Non-digital games that promote mathematical learning in primary years students: a systematic review
Russo, J., Kalogeropoulos, P., Bragg, L. A. & Heyeres, M., 2024, In: Education Sciences. 14, 2, 19 p., 200.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Characteristics of high enjoyment teachers of mathematics in primary schools
Russo, J., Bobis, J., Downton, A., Feng, M., Hughes, S., Livy, S., McCormick, M. & Sullivan, P., 2023, In: Mathematics Education Research Journal. 35, p. 1-21 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus) -
Exploring underachieving students’ views of, and attitudes towards, mathematics across stage of schooling
Russo, J., Kalogeropoulos, P. & Roche, A., Jun 2023, In: Asian Journal for Mathematics Education. 2, 2, p. 240-257 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Gender differences in how students solve the most difficult to retrieve single-digit addition problems
Russo, J. & Hopkins, S., 2023, Proceedings of The 45th Annual Conference of The Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia: Weaving Mathematics Education From All Perspectives. Reid-O'Connor, B., Prieto-Rodriguez, E., Holmes, K. & Hughes, A. (eds.). Adelaide SA Australia: Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA), p. 443-450 8 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
How grade levels shape underperforming elementary student preferences about learning mathematics in the classroom
Kalogeropoulos, P., Russo, J. & Roche, A., 2023, In: International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. 54, p. 1380-1392 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus)
Prizes
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Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia: Research Award
Sullivan, Peter (Recipient), Bobis, Janette (Recipient), Downton, Ann (Recipient), Livy, Sharyn (Recipient) & Russo, James (Recipient), 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
File
Press/Media
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How can teachers integrate maths and science in their classrooms?
Amanda Berry, James Russo, Jennifer Mansfield, Sally Hughes & Colleen Vale
1/02/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature