Bárbara M. Brizuela facts for kids

Bárbara M. Brizuela, born on November 24, 1970, is a professor and expert in teaching mathematics. She works at Tufts University and is currently the dean of the Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences. This means she helps lead and manage the university's arts and sciences programs.

Her Journey in Education

Bárbara Brizuela was born in the United States but grew up in Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela. She has a special doctorate degree in education, called an EdD, from Harvard University. Before that, she earned a Master of Arts degree from Tufts and other degrees from the University of Belgrano in Argentina.

She received special fellowships, like the Spencer Fellow and Roy E. Larsen Fellow, which helped her continue her studies at Harvard. In 2008, she also received a Fulbright Fellowship, which is a prestigious award for international educational exchange.

Working at Tufts University

Dr. Brizuela started working at Tufts University in 2001 as an assistant professor. She became a full professor in 2015. She has held many important roles at Tufts. She was the head of the Education Department and directed programs for advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

In 2022, she became the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In November 2024, she was chosen to be the dean of the entire Tufts School of Arts and Sciences. This is a very important leadership role at the university.

Exploring Math Education

Dr. Brizuela's main research focuses on how young children learn mathematics. She studies how kids understand written math symbols and how they start to learn algebra concepts early on. This area of her work is often called "Early Algebra."

She is part of the Early Algebra Project, which is a long-term study supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This project looks at how introducing algebra to elementary school children affects their learning. She also led a follow-up study for these children as they moved into middle and high school, also funded by the NSF.

Her Books

Dr. Brizuela has written and edited several books to share her research and ideas about math education.

• In 2004, her book Mathematical Development in Young Children: Exploring Notations was published. It was later translated into Portuguese.
• In 2007, she co-authored Bringing Out the Algebraic Character of Arithmetic: From Children’s Ideas to Classroom Practice with her colleagues. This book was later translated into Spanish.
• She also wrote Haciendo números: Las notaciones númericas vistas desde la psicología, la didáctica la historia (which means "Making Numbers: Numerical Notations from the Perspective of Psychology, Didactics, and History") in 2006.
• With Brian E. Gravel, she edited Show Me What You Know: Exploring Student Representations Across STEM Disciplines in 2013. This book looks at how students show what they know in different science and math subjects.

Her Family

Bárbara Brizuela is married to Sebastian Martellotto. They have two daughters.