Jo’s career in early childhood education spans over 30 years as a teacher, director, lecturer, researcher, community engagement coordinator, and professional learning manager. Jo is a strong advocate for workforce development and quality improvement, with her area of expertise being emergent mathematics, play-based learning and intentional pedagogy and practice. At the University of Wollongong (UoW), she worked closely with 50 Early Start Engagement Centres across regional and remote areas of NSW and led a team to provide support through communities of practice and targeted professional learning programs to build capacity of educators. Jo holds a PhD from UoW and currently works at Charles Sturt University as an academic and research assistant. Her recent PhD research focuses on the development of a play-based formative mathematics assessment (NUMBBA) for educators to assess children’s numeracy skills with blocks to inform pedagogical decisions in their practice. She has been involved in many large-scale research projects at UoW including: the Fostering Effective Early learning (FEEL) study which involved 90 early childhood education and care services across NSW; Case Studies of Effective Practice: Evidence from the FEEL study; and the validation of the PRSIST and Early Years Toolbox Numeracy measures.
