Robyn a. Toman, professor of mathematics at Anne Arundel Community College, recently received an Education Excellence Award from the Northern Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce in recognition of her work in redesigning pre-college math curriculum that benefits both AACC students and students at two high schools in the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system.
“Robyn should be highly commended for her outstanding leadership as AACC’s developmental math coordinator and the significant contributions she has made to the success of the developmental math program, both at AACC and with AACPS,” said Alycia A. Marshall, Ph.D., chair of AACC’s mathematics department.
Toman has taught math at AACC since 1999 and is known at AACC for her energy and passion for helping students succeed in math. She is particularly interested in helping students move from developmental math to college-level math and began in 2008 leading a team of colleagues to find a more efficient way to make the transition faster without losing competency. The result was Math FIRS³T, (Focused Individualized Resources that Support Student Success with Technology), a program which allows students to move at their own pace using technology to focus on the concepts and skills where they need improvement. One-on-one faculty-student collaboration occurs in class time, with an open computer lab available 60 hours a week for additional tutoring by faculty or peers.
Through a partnership between the AACC mathematics department and the administrations of AACC and the county public schools, Toman led the effort that integrated the Math FIRS³T with North County and South River high schools’ math class, “Foundations of College Algebra,” so that students who successfully completed that integrated course in high school could transition seamlessly into AACC’s college credit math curriculum. The results have led to improved student learning outcomes at AACC and high school students who are well-prepared for college-level math and who succeed in AACC’s credit math courses.
Toman earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Roanoke College and a Master of Education degree from University of Maryland College Park. For information about AACC’s math programs, visit http://www.aacc.edu/math.
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