About
Rebecca Burtenshaw is a teacher and researcher in mathematics education at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She has completed her PhD in Mathematics Education, which examined how ‘success’ in mathematics is conceptualised, enacted and evaluated in mathematics classrooms, including the ways competing conceptions of success shape what is valued, recognised and overlooked in mathematics learning, teaching and assessment. Her work seeks to challenge narrow narratives of success in mathematics and to create space for richer understandings of what it means for students to learn, participate and flourish mathematically, with particular attention to assessment and the ways assessment practices can both reflect and shape what counts.
Rebecca has taught and worked with educators across primary, secondary and tertiary contexts, including metropolitan and remote settings. In 2026, she received the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia Early Career Award. She has presented her research nationally and internationally, including at the International Congress on Mathematical Education and on the TEDx stage, and is particularly interested in creating meaningful connections between research and classroom practice.