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Gloriana González is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Gloriana González earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics
education from the University of Puerto Rico and master’s degree from Cornell University. She is a former
middle school and high school mathematics teacher with experience teaching in Massachusetts and
Puerto Rico. She earned a doctorate from the University of Michigan and since then has been teaching
methods courses for teacher candidates in the secondary mathematics teacher education programs at
the University of Illinois. Additionally, she has been teaching graduate courses focusing on mathematics
education, discourse analysis, and teacher professional development. She earned the University of Illinois
College of Education’s Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award (2013) and Distinguished Scholar
Award (2015-2016). She also received the 2015 Emerging Scholar Award from the North American
Systemic Functional Linguistics Association. In 2013, Gloriana González earned a National Science
Foundation’s CAREER grant. Since then, she has been awarded other National Science Foundation
grants. Her work has been published in top peer-reviewed journals including the Journal for Research in
Mathematics Education, Cognition and Instruction, Linguistics and Education, the Journal of Mathematical
Behavior, Thinking Skills and Creativity, and the Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. She was the
chair of the Mathematics Teacher Educator’s Editorial Panel (2018-2019). In 2021, she was named New
Leadership Academy Fellow, a program sponsored by the National Forum on Higher Education for the
Public Good at the University of Michigan and American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education.
Through this fellowship, Gloriana González solidified her commitment to supporting Latine students and
faculty through mentoring and leadership opportunities. She received the 2022 Mid-Career Award from
the American Educational Research Association’s Division K, Teaching & Teacher Education. In 2022,
Gloriana González was named University Scholar at the University of Illinois.
Gloriana González’s scholarship seeks to support teachers’ implementation of problem-based instruction
through professional development innovations that validate teachers’ knowledge within a collaborative
environment. Gloriana González loves geometry and wants all students to find geometry knowledge
valuable. To this end, Gloriana González has investigated curricular approaches for teaching geometry
and teachers’ implementation of problem-based lessons in geometry classrooms. She has adapted the
lesson study professional development model to engage teachers in envisioning creating innovative
lessons. Her adaptations include using prototypes of lessons, in some cases with animated vignettes, for
promoting teachers’ creativity in developing research lessons. Additionally, she engages teachers in video
clubs during the lesson study reflection step for them to analyze examples of student thinking during the
lesson. Gloriana González has proposed the notion of “noticing students’ prior knowledge” for teachers to
pay attention to the ways in which students bring their knowledge and experiences to mathematical
problem-solving. Most recently, Gloriana González has been invested in introducing a design-based
approach to geometry instruction. In 2024, Gloriana González was a Visiting Scholar at the Design
School Kolding in Denmark. She is the Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation’s grant in
collaboration with Saad Shehab at the University of Illinois Siebel Center for Design. The grant’s objective
is to engage teachers in developing problem-based geometry lessons using a human-centered design
approach. This scholarship seeks to leverage on students’ creativity and problem-solving skills to extend
their geometry knowledge. Gloriana González aims to transform education so that students can find
relevance in their mathematics learning by addressing social justice issues that are relevant to them and
their communities.
“The Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate our cultures, thank people who opened new
paths, and advocate for better futures for our communities.”