Dona Boccio
Professor, Mathematics & Computer Science Department
Dona Boccio is celebrating her 40th year in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at Queensborough. As the most senior member in the department and as a professor who has interest in best teaching practices, her experience is highly valued by her colleagues. We, as the eLearning Committee, would like to take this opportunity to share some of her experience and advice with other members of the Queensborough family.
When did you start offering courses online/partially online?
I have been developing and teaching partially online Elementary Algebra, College Algebra, and Trigonometry since 2011.
What trainings have you completed and how do you stay up to date with the current online teaching methods?
First, I attended the eLearning Institute at Queensborough. It was a good starting point as it introduced a variety of technologies and provided the opportunity to deepen experience in some of them. I then completed Preparation for Teaching Online course through the CUNY School of Professional Studies, and completed Quality Matters training as well. This further training was immensely helpful and I recommend them to anyone who wants to improve their online teaching skills.
Tell us about your involvement in professional organizations.
I am a member of American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) since 1985 and served in many positions including President and Secretary of NYSMATYC, AMATYC's New York State Affiliate. In these organizations, I actively participate in discussions on innovations and best practices in teaching mathematics in all modalities.
You received a Teaching Excellence Award from AMATYC in 2018, and the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Mathematics Education from NYSMATYC in 2005. What were some of your accomplishments that resulted in these awards?
The awards were not specifically for online or face to face, but about my accomplishments in numerous areas. I mentored many faculty in eLearning in diverse disciplines; conducted research as a faculty fellow at NASA; mentored student researchers; led faculty inquiry groups; and have been involved in many interdisciplinary collaborations.
What are some of the challenges of teaching STEM courses in an online format?
Mathematical notation, graphs, and other scientific diagrams are difficult to represent in Blackboard or other online venues. This is especially challenging for students in introductory level classes. They are just learning the mathematical and scientific concepts, and must also master accurate symbolic representation.
Could you talk a little about how things have changed in terms of technology in 40 years at Queensborough and even further in education in general?
I experimented with technology way back in the 1990's and even in the 1980's. I was a co-PI (one of several co-PI's where Dr. Sylvia Svitak was PI) of an NSF grant to get computers for the math department's first computer lab. The technology was primitive compared to what is available now, but we used what we had in innovative ways.
You had mentioned a study of new instructional methods that you were involved when you first started teaching at Queensborough in 1980. Could you share with us some details about it?
The research was organized by senior faculty in our department (most of whom have since passed away). The experiment involved using a modular learning approach in elementary algebra. Our colleagues in the Math Dept have always been interested in experimenting with new ways to engage students and improve learning outcomes and student success.
I would also like to ask about your experience on the sudden switch to online learning due to the Coronavirus pandemic. You took an active role in the Math & CS department during this transition in creation of departmental guidelines. What are some of the challenges you have experienced so far?
To successfully teach online, faculty must be proficient with both the technology and the pedagogy. In the brief period that faculty had to redesign their courses for online platforms, most of the attention was to the technical issues. There was not sufficient time to fully address the pedagogical aspects of online learning.
For years, I have advocated for increased training for online instruction, to include hardware, software, and most importantly, the unique attributes of online pedagogy. To continue successful implementation of fully online instruction in the future, more resources must be committed to providing the necessary training and technology.
What advice would you give during this remote education period to faculty that have little or no experience in online teaching?
Learning to teach online cannot happen overnight. I would suggest that colleagues share experiences and best practices as we move forward to increased online education.
