A former elementary school teacher, her research has focused on the design of developmentally based curricula highlighting areas of mathematics that are traditionally challenging for students. Her research on early algebra has appeared in numerous international publications. Since 2011, Joan has been a co-Principal Investigator of the Math for Young Children (M4YC) project, which supports the teaching and learning of spatial reasoning in Early Years classrooms. Most recently, she collaborated with the Robertson Program for Inquiry-Based Teaching in Math and Science to expand the M4YC initiative to include collaborations in four First Nations communities and with the Rainy River District School Board. Joan has won many honours and awards, including the award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching.