Neet Priya Bajwa has joined the Department of Mathematics as an assistant professor of mathematics. She holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in early childhood and elementary mathematics education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Illinois, as well as a master’s degree in education from the University of Delhi, India. She has received several awards, including the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Dissertation Research Grant and the Hardie Dissertation Award (University of Illinois).
Bajwa has worked with preschool and elementary school students in the U.S. and India. Her research centers on the acquisition, understanding, and development of early number and mathematical concepts in young children. She is currently interested in developing conceptual understanding of arithmetic concepts and symbols by using traditional and computer-assisted instruction.
She has presented her research at conferences such as the annual meetings of American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) in addition to presenting her work at several research seminars. She also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Mathematical Thinking and Learning (2016–present), and the annual conferences for AERA and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
