Claudia Bertolone-Smith, PhD

Educational Background

Ph.D., Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning, University of Reno Nevada, 2016

M.S., Mathematics Education, Walden University, 2008

B.A., Elementary Education, minor in Italian, University of Oregon, 1989

Areas of Expertise

• Math education
• Mathematical discourse, motivation & identity rehabilitations 
• Student self-assessment & regulation in the K-12 classroom

Short Biography

Dr. Bertolone-Smith has 24 years of classroom experience, teaching grades 1-7 and she has taught in a variety of different education settings (rural, urban, alternative, public). Her research involves helping to remove barriers to learning math by investigating people’s math stories, understanding how math identities are formed, and motivating students to engage in mathematics. Dr. Bertolone-Smith also investigate developing a fraction as measure understanding in children and pre-service teachers. She co-created a program (Tools Not Rules) that fosters student self-assessment and regulation to promote academic success in the classroom, and am currently involved in training teachers and administration how to use it. 

Grants & Contracts Awarded

CSU Center for Transformational Educator Preparation Programs (CTEPP); Increasing BIPOC Teacher Candidates in Chico Unified School District $155,000 (2022)

Smallwood Foundation: STEM Together: Family engagement with at home STEM projects- $15,000 (2021)

S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation Grant: Certificate Sequence in Practice-Based Approaches to Methods Instruction University of Michigan fellowship- $16,000 (2020 – 21).

Francis C and William P Smallwood Foundation- Food for Thought: Welcoming families to schools for a healthy meal and parent education ($185,000/funded from 2001 – 2019).

Publications & Presentations

Dale, S., Unigarro, M., Vantassel, D., Bertolone-Smith, C., & Puliatte, A., (2022). Draw a picture of yourself learning math: What pre-service teachers’ self-portraits illustrate about their complex relationships with mathematics. Journal on Empowering Teacher Excellence 6 (1), 27-43.

Moss, D., Bertolone-Smith, C., Boyce, S., MacDonald, B., Grabhorn, J., & Roman, C. (2022). Tensions between objectivism and constructivism in organizing and enacting student learning in online STEM education. The Educational Forum.

Bertolone-Smith, C. & Spagna, A. (2019). What’s seen and unseen: The Gen Z experience in the classroom. In Schnackenberg, H. L., & Johnson, C. (Eds.) Preparing the Higher Education Space for Gen Z. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Bertolone-Smith, C. & Koyen, L. (2019). Making Mathematical Discourse Worth Your While. Teaching Children Mathematics 25 (4), 243-248.