Nathalie Bisaillon

Nathalie Bisaillon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Didactics at the Faculty of Education Sciences, Université de Montréal. Her research and teaching focus on mathematics education, particularly for primary school students who experience difficulties in learning mathematics.

Dr. Bisaillon began her career as an orthopedagogue in primary education and worked for five years as an educational advisor in school adaptation. She has extensive experience as a sessional lecturer at both Université de Montréal and Université de Sherbrooke, spanning ten years. She earned her Master's degree in mathematics didactics and completed her PhD in mathematics didactics at Université de Montréal in 2021.

Her research interests center on the development of number sense and numeration among primary school students, particularly those experiencing learning difficulties in mathematics. Dr. Bisaillon investigates how visual-spatial skills interact with mathematical cognition and how these can be leveraged to improve mathematics instruction. She has developed innovative assessment tools and teaching sequences to support students struggling with mathematical concepts. Her work bridges theoretical didactics with practical classroom applications, focusing on making mathematical concepts accessible through visual representations and concrete manipulatives.

Dr. Bisaillon's publication record shows a consistent focus on visual approaches to mathematics education, number sense development, and strategies for students with learning difficulties. Her recent work explores the connection between visual-spatial skills and numeration understanding, with particular attention to 'groupitizing' phenomena and their application in teaching practices. She has developed the 'Tour Model' (Model of the Tower) and other visual frameworks that have gained recognition among educators working with students who face challenges in mathematics learning.

Among her notable achievements, Dr. Bisaillon was awarded the Prix Marc Gagnon for the best Master's thesis of the year at the Faculty of Education Sciences of Université de Montréal. Her work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences, including the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME) and various professional associations focused on learning disabilities and primary education.

Dr. Bisaillon actively collaborates with educational professionals and researchers across Quebec. She currently leads two major research projects funded by FRQSC and SSHRC, focusing on orthopedagogical practices that foster number sense development and visual-spatial skills (2024-2028) and an evaluation of mathematics assessment practices in orthopedagogy in Quebec (2024-2027). She also contributes as a co-researcher to a large-scale project on developing highly qualified workforce in applied mathematics for Quebec's cutting-edge domains (2022-2026).