Associate Dean for Teacher Education Appointed

Dr. Melissa D. Boston has been named associate dean of teacher education in the School of Education at Duquesne University, serving on the administrative staff of the new Dean Dr. Cindy Walker.

In her new role, Boston coordinates the School of Education’s efforts to prepare and certify teachers and to maintain high program standards for state and national accreditation. She oversees the Leading Teacher Program, the Office of Student Academic Services and the Office of Student Teaching and Field Placement.

“Dr. Boston is an excellent choice for this position given her experience and expertise,” Walker said. “I fully expect her to make significant and meaningful contributions that will enhance the experience of our undergraduate teacher education students while they are in our programs. This in turn will impact the experiences they bring to their own students upon graduation.”

Boston teaches mathematics content and pedagogy courses for preservice secondary mathematics and elementary teachers. An associate professor, she is involved in several professional development grants and programs at the local, state and national levels.

She also is the lead developer of the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA) Mathematics Toolkit, a set of rubrics for analyzing mathematics teachers’ instructional practices through classroom observations and collections of students’ work.

Boston has been awarded the Association of Teacher Educators’ 2008 Distinguished Dissertation Award and has published articles in Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education and other publications.

A series editor for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) 2017-2019 Yearbook, Boston is lead author of an NCTM book titled Taking Action In High School Mathematics, and she recently served as associate editor of the journal Mathematics Teacher Educator.

Boston has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and education from Grove City College, and a master’s in mathematics and doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Pittsburgh.

“I am confident that Dr. Boston’s work will further the mission and identity of the School of Education, and the University at large,” Walker said.