Madelyn Williams Colonnese

Madelyn W. Colonnese is an associate professor in the Reading and Elementary Education Department. She teachers undergraduate elementary education courses and graduate courses in mathematics education. Her research focuses on mathematical writing. Students are often encouraged to write in mathematics class however, this writing does not always engage students in writing to advance their mathematical understanding. As a member of the Elementary Mathematical Writing Task Force, she helped to clarify the purpose of mathematical writing, as writing to reason and to communicate mathematically. She is currently investigating ways to support teachers with this instructional practice.

Education

Ph.D. – Curriculum and Instruction, University of Connecticut, 2017
M.A. – Elementary Education, University of Connecticut, 2010
B.S. – Elementary Education, University of Connecticut, 2009

Teaching

Instructional Design and Technology Integration with Elementary School Learners
Assessing, Modifying, and Integrating Mathematics

Research Interests/Areas of Expertise

Elementary Mathematics Education
Classroom Discourse
Curriculum Development
Teacher Education

Awards & Honors

“Connecting class talk with individual student writing” honored by the Editorial Panel as the Volume-Year favorite article published in Teaching Children Mathematics: 2012

Selected Publications

Casa, T. M., Evans, K., Firmender, J. M., & Colonnese, M. W. (2017). Why should students
write in math class? Educational Leadership, 74(5), available at http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb17/vol74/num05/Why-Should-Students-Write-in-Math-Class%C2%A2.aspx

Casa, T. M., Firmender, J. M., Cahill, J., Cardetti, F., Choppin, J. M., Cohen, J.,
Cole, S., Colonnese, M.W.… Zawodniak, R. (2016). Types of and purposes for elementary mathematical writing: Task force recommendations. Retrieved from http://mathwriting.education.uconn.edu.

Colonnese, M. W., Cohen, J.A., & Casa, T.M. (2015). Characteristics of second
graders’ mathematical writing: Companion paper. School Science and Mathematics, 115(7), 344-355.

Williams, M. M., & Casa, T. M. (December 2011/January 2012). Connecting
class talk with individual student writing. Teaching Children Mathematics, 18(5), 314 – 321.