Dr. Olga Fellus

Assistant Professor (PhD, MA, MEd)

Dr. Olga Fellus is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the Faculty of Education at Brock University. Dr. Fellus holds a PhD (2018) in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment from the University of Ottawa. She has more than 20 years of experience in the field of education as a researcher, instructor, and reviewer in higher education; and as a teacher, subject coordinator, academic director, educational consultant, and teacher educator.

Dr. Fellus’ research focuses on identity in mathematics education; STEM; TPACK in mathematics education; discourse analysis; learning theories; early algebra; spatial reasoning; educational change; SEL; and complexity theory. Dr. Fellus has a wide interest in children’s developing identities as users and doers of mathematics and STEM-related teaching and learning.

  • Early algebra
  • Intuitive knowledge of mathematical ideas
  • Teachers’ noticing of learners’ mathematical thinking
  • Change in mathematics education
  • Fiction and mathematical identity making
  • Identity in mathematics education
  • American Educational Research Association (AERA) – Educational Change SIG
  • American Educational Research Association (AERA) – Chaos and Complexity SIG
  • American Educational Research Association (AERA) – Literature SIG
  • American Educational Research Association (AERA) – Mathematics Education SIG
  • Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG)
  • International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME)
  • North American Chapter of PME (PME-NA)
  • Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME)

Chapters in books

Polotskaia, E., Savard, A., Fellus, O., Freiman, V. (in process). Equilibrated development approach to word problem solving in elementary grades: Fostering relational thinking. In K. Robinson (Ed.), Mathematical learning and cognition in middle childhood and early adolescence: Integrating interdisciplinary research into practice. Springer.

Papers in Refereed Journals

Fellus, O., Segal, R., Shriki, A., Silverman, B., & Movshoviz-Hadar, N. (in progress). When the future lands on us: Reflections on initiatives in mathematics education during a time of crisis.

Hall, J., Fellus, O. (in progress). What’s in a name? Exploring mathematician identities: Navigating spaces and negotiating binaries.

Fellus, O., Low, D. E., Guzmán, L. D., Kasman, A., & Mason, R. T. (2022). Hidden Figures, Hidden Messages: The Construction of Mathematical Identities with Children’s Picturebooks. For the Learning of Mathematics 42(2), 2−8.

Polotskaia, E., Fellus, O. O., Cavalcante, A., & Savard, A. (2022). Students’ problem solving and transitioning from numerical to relational thinking. Canadian Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s42330-022-00218-1.pdf

Farzi, R., & Fellus, O. (2022). Mission Possible: Incorporating academic literacy and readiness into an English intensive program. Bilingualism and Beyond. Canadian Centre for Studies and Research on Bilingualism and Language Planning (CCERBAL). Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI) Journal / Cahiers de l’OLIB, 12. 263–283. https://uottawa.scholarsportal.info/ottawa/index.php/ILOB-OLBI/issue/view/584

Khamisa, K., Fellus, I. A., Fellus, O., Cheung, W. J., Rousseau, M. (2022). Developing the next generation of medical educators: assessing the impact of a clinical teaching elective offered to senior medical students. International Journal of Medical Education. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9017498/

Kew, K., & Fellus, O. (2022). Borderland education beyond frontiers: Policy, community, and educational change during times of crisis. Policy Futures in Education. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14782103221076642

Freiman, V., & Fellus, O. (2021). Closing the gap on the map: Davydov’s contribution to current early algebra discourse in light of the 1960s Soviet debates over word-problem solving. Educational Studies in Mathematics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-020-09989-6

Pelczer, I., Polotskaia, E. & Fellus, O. (2020). La résolution des problèmes écrits : l’étude auprès d’une élève présentant une dyslexie. McGill Journal of Education / Revue des sciences de l’éducation de McGill, 55(2), 326–351. https://doi.org/10.7202/1077971ar

Fellus, O. (2019). Connecting the dots: Toward a four-dimensional conceptualization and operationalization of identity in mathematics education. ZDM Mathematics Education, 51(3), 445−455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-019-01053-9

Conference Proceedings

Freiman, V., Fellus, O., Lurette, O., (2022). Kindergarten students solving engineering challenges in a STEM lab: Manifestations of spatial reasoning skills. In J. Bobis & C. Preston (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th International STEM in Education Conference (STEM 2022), University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, University of Sydney.

Fellus, O. (2022). Literature and the construction of the mathematical self: The case of picturebooks. Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and Sciences. MACAS.

Fellus, O., Freiman, V., Lurette, O. (2022). Rapturousness in the making: Kindergarten children working in makerspaces. Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and Sciences. MACAS.

Cavalcante, A., Polotskaia, E., Savard, A., & Fellus, O. (2019). Teacher noticing of student thinking: An analysis of a teacher’s interpretation of mathematics problem solving. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Series VII, Social Sciences and Law12(1), 9−18. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2283952048?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true

Polotskaia, E., Savard, A., & Fellus, O. (2019). Teaching and learning multiplicative relationships: Action research in elementary school. In A. Shvarts (Ed.), Proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education and Yandex Russian Conference (p. 260). Moscow, Russia: HSE Publishing House.

Biton, Y., & Fellus, O. (2019). Kept cheek by jowl: Technology and a math-teachers and student-teachers’ community of practice. In Y. Eshet-Alkalai, I. Blau, A. Caspi, S. Etgar, N. Geri, Y. Kalman, V. Silber-Varod (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Technological Era. (p. 25E). February 2019. Raanana: The Open University of Israel. https://www.openu.ac.il/innovation/chais2019/f/d1_4.pdf

Polotskaia, E., Savard, A., Cavalcante, A., & Fellus, O., (2019). Middle school students’ difficulties in problem solving and their roots in elementary education: What went wrong for them? In J. Novotná & H. Moraová (Eds.), Opportunities in Learning and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Proceedings of the International Symposium Elementary Mathematics Teaching (SEMT), (pp. 305–314). Prague, Czech Republic. https://www.semt.cz/proceedings-19.pdf

Ovadiya, T., Fellus, O., & Biton, Y. (2019). Promoting three-dimensional spatial perceptions of prisms: The case of elementary-school students using augmented reality technology. In J. Novotná & H. Moraová (Eds.), Opportunities in Learning and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Proceedings of the International Symposium Elementary Mathematics Teaching (SEMT), (pp. 288–295). Prague, Czech Republic. https://www.semt.cz/proceedings-19.pdf

Refereed Conferences

Marquez, H. & Fellus, O. (2023/June). Fitting the puzzle pieces: Student engagement and educational technology. Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education / La société pour l’avancement de la pédagogie dans l’enseignement supérieur.

Fellus, O., Freiman, V., Robichaud, X., Lingley, J. (2023/March). A ray of hope in the socio-ecological turn in mathematics education: What does it take for grade-3 students to build a village? The New Brunswick context. Mathematics Education and the Socio-ecological Turn. International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) Symposium on Mathematics Education and the Socio-Ecological.

Segal, R., Fellus, O., Shriki, A., Silverman, B., Movshoviz-Hadar, N. (2023/June). Grassroots level trends in mathematics education in a time of crisis. Symposium. Eighth International Conference on Teacher Education Passion and Professionalism in Teach Education. The MOFET Institute, Israel.

Freiman, V. & Fellus, O. (2022/July). Perseverance in making: How kindergarten students solve complex STEM challenges. Paper presentation. The Wonders of STEM and STEAM Education: What, Why, and How? Jerusalem, Israel.

Segal, R., Nachshon, M., Fuhrmann, T., Fellus, O., Miedijensky, S., & Biton, Y. (2022/July). Implementing STEAM Education: Towards a scalable pedagogical paradigm. Research and development working group. The Wonders of STEM and STEAM Education: What, Why, and How? Jerusalem, Israel.

Biton, Y., Segal, R., & Fellus, O. (2022/February). Students’ perceptions of learning mathematics in the WhatsApp environment through the Bagroup project. Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME12), Bolzano, Italy.

Fellus, O., Mujawamariya, D., Mavriplis, C., Fournier, J., & Adatia, S. (2022/April). Blind spots, black holes, and blotted vision: Marshaling deeper understandings of data analysis in research teams. In Leveraging and un-structuring techniques and analysis in qualitative research. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Diego, CA.

Hnatyshen, K., & Fellus, O. (2021/November). Border crossings and discourse spaces: Creating spatial identities through translations of blockheads, potatoes, and fish soup. VocUm: Language, Norm, and Power, November, Montreal, QC.

Farzi, R., & Fellus, O. (2021/April). Mission possible: Developing academic literacy in an English intensive program. Bilingualism and Beyond: Advancing the Thinking on Pedagogies, Policies, and Practices, Canadian Centre for Studies and Research on Bilingualism and Language Planning (CCERBAL), University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.  

Li, R., & Fellus, O. (2020/Nov. 20). The discourse in translated children’s fiction: A case study of the Chinese translation of The Boy in The Dress. VocUm: Language, Norm, and Power, November, Montreal, QC.

Fellus, O. (2019/April). Connecting the dots: Toward a multi-dimensional conceptualization and operationalization of identity in mathematics education. In J. M. Langer-Osuna (Discussant), Teaching and learning mathematics: How identity keeps count as a system premised on multidirectional dimensions. Symposium conducted at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Toronto, ON.

  • EDBE-8P44 Mathematics II Primary/Junior
  • EDBE-8P39 Teaching Primary / Junior Mathematics I