CAMPUS DIRECTORY

Educational Background

Ph.D., Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning- Mathematics Education, 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 rehabilitation 

• Student self-assessment & regulation in the K-12 classroom

• Teacher noticing during math instruction

Short Biography

Dr. Bertolone-Smith is an associate professor of mathematics education  in the School of Education at CSU Chico.  She serves as a Co- Program Coordinator of the Multiple Subjects Program and teaches credential program courses on math pedagogy and practice. She has 24 years of classroom experience, teaching grades 1-7 in a variety of education settings (rural, urban, alternative, and public). Her research interests include helping to remove barriers to learning mathematics, understanding how math identities are formed, robust mathematical discourse, and developing students’ self-assessment/management practices in the classroom. 

Grants & Contracts Awarded

US Department of Education Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP). Belong Engage Support Transrom (BEST) Residency Program (August 2024, funded 8.2 million, rescinded by Dept. of Education in 2025). Co-PI. 

Data’s Irresistible Connections to Operations and Number Sense (The “Data ICONS” Institutes) (March 2024, funded, $75,000). PI: Strand, K. CO-PI: Bertolone-Smith, C. 

Northern California (NorCal) Growing Responsive, Equitable, Adaptable and Transformative (GREAT) Teachers Pipeline Program (Fall 2022, funded, $13,349,551) PI: Seipel, B. Co-PIs (alphabetical order): Bertolone-Smith, C., Moffit, C., Schreder, K., Slemrod, T., & Whitney, E.

CSU STEM-NET Faculty Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research SEED Grant: Making Climate Change Research Accessible: Using Visual Design & Storytelling to Leverage STEM Learning (Fall 22, funded, $25,000). PI: Logan Smith, Co-PIs: Bertolone-Smith, C., Hajimorad, M., & Armstrong, F.

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

S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation Grant: Certificate Sequence in Practice-Based Approaches to Methods Instruction University of Michigan fellowship- $16,000 (2020 – 2021).

STEM Together: Family engagement with at home STEM Projects (Fall 2021, funded, $15,000).Francis C and William P Smallwood Foundation. This grant provided funding to create take home STEM activity kits for the fourth and fifth grade students. 

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). PI- Bertolone-Smith,C.

Publications & Presentations

Bertolone-Smith, C. & Moyer, M. (2025) Tools Not Rules: Developing Self-Reguatlion for Improved Student Behavior in Grades K-8. Solution Tree. 

Bertolone-Smith, C., Troup, J., Bondurant, L., Moss, D., Soto, H. (7-22-2025). Expanding the Role of Embodiment and Teacher Noticing in Units Coordination and Construction. Journal of Practitioner Research 10 (1). https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1274&context=jpr

Garner, B., Munson, J., Krause, G., Bertolone-Smith, C., Saclarides, E. (8-19-2023). The landscape of US elementary mathematics teacher education: Course requirements for mathematics content and methods. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-023-09593-4 

Bertolone-Smith, C., Puliatte, A., Dale, S., Unigarro, M., Vantassel, D. (2023).  What pre-service teachers want math to know: Examining self-identified relationships and critical experiences with mathematics. Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning, 15(2), 193-213. https://doi.org/10.14305/jn.19440413.2023.15.2.05

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.

California Mathematics Framework Professional Development for Educators through the Chico Math Project (2024 to present)..Training provided in Sutter, Butte, Glenn, Inyo, Plumas, Lake, Siskiyou and Lassen Counties.