Activities | valisiadat-1

Research Activities

KEYSTONE METHOD

A Synergistic Model for Teaching and Learning

Five Pillars of the Keystone Method:

Frequent assessments of student learning
Time-restricted activities
Immediate feedback and mastery of the topics
Adjusting of teaching practices
Peer tutoring and cooperative learning

The Keystone is the essential piece in an arch: the stone that holds all others in place

Keystone Cycle

Academic Activities

EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL PRODUCED

Logic and its Application to Mathematics. Co-authored with T. Sagher. Produced and distributed by the Chicago Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP). The Project was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in collaboration with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). (1998)

Computer Science with JAVA. Co-authored with D. Zhang, K. Zhou, and Y. Chyu. Produced and distributed by the Chicago Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP). The Project was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in collaboration with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). (2001)

The Effectiveness of the Mathematics Placement Test. (An assessment and evaluation of students). Co-authored with T. Callahan. (1984). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 442484).

Intermediate Differential Equations (by E. Rainville).Translation of the book from English into Farsi (1980)

Some Guidelines for Effective Tutoring (pdf)

SCHOLARY AND LEADERSHIP

Member of the Mathematics Education Advisory Committee at UIC. This was a statutory committee which helped shape the academic direction of mathematics and computer education programs at UIC. (1992-1996)

Fellow of the Academic Partnership Program between the University of Illinois at Chicago and the City Colleges of Chicago. (1986-1990)

Director/Co-Principal Investigator of the Proyecto Access/Chicago PREP (Funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in collaboration with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)). The NASA grant totaled $500,000 for five years (1996-2001).

Director/Co-Principal Investigator of the Proyecto Access/Chicago PREP (Funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in collaboration with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The NASA grant was nearly $300,000 for a three-year period (2001-2004).

Director/Co-Principal Investigator of the Keystone Project at Daley College (An Innovative Mathematics Teaching Project supported in part through a grant of nearly $100,000 by the Gabriella and Paul Rosenbaum Foundation). (1998-2003)

Chair of the Awards Committee and Director - At- Large, Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America (ISMAA). (2005-2008)

Member of the Teacher Education Committee, Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America (ISMAA). (2009-2010)

Member of the Mathematical Association of America’s (MAA) Committee on Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards. (2010-2014)

Member of the Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America’s (ISMAA) Board of Directors and Director for Community Colleges. (2012-2015). Also, a member of the Nominating Committee (2012-2013), Awards Committee (2012-2013), Program Committee (2012-2015), and Program Committee Chair (2013-2014)

Member of the Editorial Board of AUSTIN Statistics - an open access, peer reviewed, scholarly journal dedicated to publish articles in all areas of statistics (2014)

Member of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee of Marla Mutis- Degree Conferred: Doctor of Arts in Educational Leadership (2008). Institution: Roosevelt University, Illinois

Member of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee and Dissertation Director of Hope Essien- Degree Conferred: Doctor of Education in Higher Education and Organizational Change (2015). Institution: Benedictine University, Illinois

External Member of the Roosevelt University's Committee for Evaluation of Dr. Steve Cohen's Dossier for his Promotion from Associate Professor to Full Professor (2021)