Joan M. Kenney

Joan M. Kenney’s professional career has encompassed a wide variety of experiences in the field of mathematics. She has worked as a research scientist, specializing in operations analysis and risk management; taught mathematics at the secondary and college level; and performed task modeling and pedagogical intervention in elementary and middle school classrooms. Joan served as the national evaluator for the NSF-sponsored Assessment Community of Teachers and Connecting with Mathematics projects, the Instructional Leadership Academy sponsored by the Council for Basic Education, and the Digi-Block program. She has delivered keynote addresses at several national and international conferences, and has written extensively about mathematics education reform and assessment.

Joan recently retired from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where for 10 years she was the Project Coordinator and Co-director of the Balanced Assessment Program. During that time she was involved in assessment task design, student performance evaluation, and outreach to community stake-holders; she also served on the Mathematics Task Force of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, and on the original design committee for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). She continues to consult with school districts on issues of mathematics curriculum and classroom practice, and to provide professional development for teachers and administrators in the areas of mathematics content and assessment. Her book, Literacy Strategies for Improving Mathematics Instruction, was recently published by ASCD. Joan may be contacted by e-mail at Joan_Kenney@post.harvard.edu.