Bárbara M. Brizuela facts for kids

Bárbara M. Brizuela, born on November 24, 1970, is a leading expert in how children learn math. She is a professor at Tufts University and currently serves as the dean of the Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences. This means she helps lead many different subjects and programs at the university.

Learning and Leading in Education

Bárbara Brizuela was born in the United States. She grew up in different countries like Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela. She earned a special degree called an Ed.D. (Doctor of Education) from Harvard University. Before that, she studied at Tufts University and the Universidad de Belgrano.

She also received a prestigious award called a Fulbright Fellowship in 2008. This award helps scholars study and teach in other countries.

Professor Brizuela started teaching at Tufts University in 2001. She became a full professor in 2015. She has held many important leadership roles there. She was the head of the Department of Education and directed programs for advanced degrees in STEM education. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

In 2024, she became the dean of the Tufts School of Arts and Sciences. Before this, she was also the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She also worked as an Associate Dean focusing on diversity and inclusion. This means she helped make sure everyone felt welcome and had equal opportunities at the university.

Exploring How Kids Learn Math

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

She is part of the Early Algebra Project. This is a long-term study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF is a U.S. government agency that supports scientific research. This project looks at how introducing algebra ideas to elementary school children helps them learn. Professor Brizuela also led a follow-up study to see how these children continued to learn math in middle and high school.

She also helps with other math education projects at Tufts. These include the Noyce Teacher Fellowship Program and the Poincaré Institute for Mathematics Education. These programs aim to improve how math is taught and learned.

Family Life

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

Books About Math Learning

Professor Brizuela has written several books about her research. These books help teachers and parents understand how children learn math.

• In 2004, she published Mathematical Development in Young Children: Exploring Notations. This book was later translated into Portuguese.
• In 2007, she wrote Bringing Out the Algebraic Character of Arithmetic: From Children’s Ideas to Classroom Practice. She wrote this with her colleagues Analúcia Schliemann and David Carraher. This book was later translated into Spanish.
• She also wrote Haciendo números: Las notaciones númericas vistas desde la psicología, la didáctica la historia (Editorial Paidós Mexicana, 2006).
• With Brian E. Gravel, she edited Show Me What You Know: Exploring Student Representations Across STEM Disciplines (Teachers College Press, 2013). This book explores how students show what they know in different STEM subjects.