Awards and Recognition – Mathematics Education PhD

Doctoral students receive internal grants

wiesea — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 20:33:54 +0000

Doctoral candidates Amy Daniel, Elise Lahiere, and Amanda Provost each recently received an internal grant award from �鶹��ý��’s Student-Led Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RSCA) program. This RSCA funding will support each candidate’s dissertation research, providing funding for supplies, participant support, research tools, and more. These are incredibly competitive awards that require a rigorous application process. The doctoral program is so proud of Amy, Elise, and Amanda for their hard work and perseverance in earning these funds. Congrats to the faculty mentors, too, for all their hard work in this process – Dr. Mika Munakata (Amy), Dr. Joseph DiNapoli (Elise), Dr. Nicole Panorkou (Amanda). The next step? Completing the dissertation! Check out the provided photos for a peek into these projects. Check out all of the RSCA recipients!

Samples from Awardees

A sample task from Amanda’s work
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Shoebox Sleuth task by Elise Lahiere
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A snapshot from Amy’s pilot work on math anxiety
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Doctoral Candidate receives District Award

wiesea — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 15:25:42 +0000

Christa Mawn, was recently awarded Staff Member of the Year by the , where she serves as Supervisor of STEAM. This honor recognized Christa as an exceptional supervisor working with the Math, Science, Arts, Technology and Business departments at the School. Formerly a High School Math Teacher, she also teaches at the college level, helping to prepare preservice teachers for math education.

Mrs. Mawn has done a remarkable job of building a positive culture and climate in the various STEAM departments. She has developed strong relationships that allow her to support teachers which in turn impacts student learning. This year she took on the added challenge of planning the district’s INSIGHT conference. This event included teachers and administrators from districts across the state and was a great success.

Congratulations Christa!

Doctoral Alumnus receives Outstanding Reviewer Award

wiesea — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:46:15 +0000

Mark Russo is an alumnus of the Mathematics Education Doctoral Program, a current adjunct for the Department of Mathematics, and District Supervisor of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Pascack Valley Regional High School District. Recently, Mark received an outstanding reviewer award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ journal MTLT. […]

Doctoral candidate speaks at Ramapo College’s mathematics honor society induction ceremony

wiesea — Tue, 14 May 2024 15:31:51 +0000

Geena Taite earned her bachelor’s degree at Ramapo and was a member of the . She was invited back to speak about her time at Ramapo and how it influenced her successful career as a math educator. It was an inspiring speech, congratulations Geena!

Mathematical Modeling Day honors Dr. Pollak

wiesea — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 16:05:55 +0000

The Department of Mathematics at CSAM and the New Jersey Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators recently hosted an event about the teaching and learning of mathematical modeling. The event featured several interesting presentations. Dr. Catherine Roberts, the CEO of The Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications, spoke about the organization’s competitions, resources, and new initiatives. Dr. Roberts also presented the Sol Garfunkel award for outstanding achievement in mathematical modeling education to the famous Dr. Henry Pollak, who was in attendance. Additionally, students from our PhD program and local math modeling research group presented their original work on modeling. This was a wonderful event filled with wonder, mathematics, and laughter. Special thanks to Dr. Nicole Panorkou for organizing such a successful evening.

PhD Candidate, Geena Taite, Receives Educator of the Year Governor’s Award

wiesea — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 15:33:46 +0000

Geena was chosen for this award due to her unparalleled prowess as a classroom teacher, as well as her unwavering commitment to professional development in her school. Regarding the latter, Geena has led several professional development efforts at with her colleagues, many of which were focused on improving the teaching of mathematical modeling. In fact, Geena’s own dissertation work is centered on the design, facilitation, and effect of these professional development endeavors.

Much of my success has been the intersection of my work as a teacher and my work in the doctoral program. I’ve leveraged my work and knowledge from the doctoral program to impact real change within my district for both teachers and students. I’m so honored to receive the award this year!

Geena Taite

This is a prestigious award and the Mathematics Department is incredibly proud of Geena and all that she has accomplished.

Congratulations, Geena!

Doc Program Grad Receives NSF CAREER Grant

wiesea — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 21:36:55 +0000

Zareen Aga, graduate of the PhD program in Mathematics Education and current Assistant Professor at James Madison University was awarded an NSF CAREER grant!

Zareen’s project is titled, “.” Its main objective is to develop a cohesive system of support for middle and high school pre-service teachers to become critical mathematics teachers (CMTs). CMTs are teachers who question existing power structures and conceptualize teaching mathematics as a political act.

Congratulations Zareen!

Geena Taite named PAEMST Finalist

wiesea — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:29:49 +0000

Geena teaches mathematics full time at the in Wayne, NJ. This prestigious award recognizes the contributions of extraordinary teachers who have both a deep subject knowledge and an ability to motivate and enable students to be successful in those areas.

To be named a state finalist for this award is a huge accomplishment and the Department of Mathematics could not be more proud of Geena. Please join us in wishing her the best of luck as Geena’s application is considered by the national committee that grants the award.

Congratulations, Geena! We hope you win!

Student Wins 2022 EdTech Leadership Award

wiesea — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 16:00:32 +0000

Check out that certificate from NJ Assemblywoman Aura Dunn! Anthony received this award in recognition of the innovative ways his team has leveraged student laptops and redesigned science classrooms to promote student-centered instruction in dynamic classrooms. Read more about Anthony’s work in this .

Team from organization co-founded by doctoral student win international competition

wiesea — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Mathematics Education doctoral student, Denish Akuom, is the Founder of , a non-profit organization that aims to promote STEM education in Africa and beyond. We’re thrilled to share the news that a team of girls from the school participated in the ‘’ organized by ISSET, the International Space School Educational Training, with their project, “Zero Gravity Project: Using Arduino UNO to Design a Dust-Repellent Surface.” 220 teams from around the world participated and the team from STEM Center Africa won!! The announcement was made in a ceremony with NASA’s Sarah Murray & Astronaut Barbara Morgan.