Work Steven C. Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education 100 N. University Street West Lafayette Indiana 47907-2098 BRNG 4132work
Work Phone: (765) 494-0491work
Work Email: lbofferd@purdue.eduINTERNET
Laura Bofferding
Associate Professor
Mathematics EducationCurriculum and Instruction
- Ph.D. — Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education, Stanford University, Stanford (2011)
- M.A. — Learning, Design, and Technology in Education, Stanford University, Stanford (2007)
- B.S. — Elementary Education, University of Wisconsin, River Falls (2002)
- 2017 – present
Associate Professor in Mathematics Education
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- 2011 – 2017
Assistant Professor in Mathematics Education
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- 2007 – 2011
Graduate Research Assistant, Instructor, Teaching Assistant, and Supervisor
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
- 2005 – 2006
Math and Science Content Specialist
Waterford Research Institute, Salt Lake City, UT
- 2003 – 2005
First grade teacher
JM Ullom Elementary School, Las Vegas, NV
- 2003
Kindergarten Directed Play Teacher
River Falls School District, River Falls, WI
- NSF CAREER award ($680,504), Leveraging Contrasting Cases to Investigate Integer Understanding (2014 – ongoing)
- NAEd/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship ($55,000), Investigating the conceptual basis for the early introduction of negative numbers (2013-2015)
- Pre-K and elementary students’ cognitive development and understanding of mathematics
- Children’s understanding of negative numbers
- Use of games and contrasting cases to support children’s numerical understanding
- The interplay between teachers’ use of questioning, number talks, and students’ mathematical reasoning
- Teachers’ use of assessment to inform mathematics instruction
- Sequencing of mathematical topics
Selected Publications
- Bofferding, L. & Wessman-Enzinger, N. (Accepted). Subtraction involving negative numbers: Connecting to whole number reasoning. The Mathematics Enthusiast.
- Bofferding, L., Kastberg, S., & Hoffman, A. (2016). Family mathematics nights: An opportunity to improve preservice teachers’ understanding of parents’ roles and expectations. School Science and Mathematics, 116(1), 17-28.
- Bofferding, L. & Kemmerle, M. (2015). Elementary teacher candidates’ use of number strings: Creating a math-talk learning community. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 3(2), 99-115.
- Bofferding, L. & Hoffman, A. (2014, July). Learning negative integer concepts: Benefits of playing linear board games. In C. Nicol, P. Liljedahl, S. Oesterle, & D. Allan (Eds.), Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of PME 38 and PME-NA 36 (Vol. 2, pp. 169-176). Vancouver, Canada.
- Bofferding, L. (2014). Understanding negative integers: Characterizing first-graders’ mental models. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 45(2), 194-245.
- Bofferding, L.*, Kemmerle, M., & Murata, A. (2012). Making 10 my way. Teaching Children Mathematics, 19(3), 164-173.
- Murata, A.*, Bofferding, L., Pothen, B. E., Taylor, M. W., & Wischnia, S. (2012). Making connections among student learning, content, and teaching: Teacher talk paths in lesson study. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 43(5), 616-650.
- EDCI 36400 — Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School
- EDCI 54800 — Teaching Mathematics to Diverse Learners
- EDCI 62000 — Developing as a Mathematics Researcher
- EDCI 63600 — Learning of Mathematics: Insights and Issues