Directory

Irene Mary Duranczyk

Contact information:
362 Appleby Hall
Phone 612-626-4421
Fax 612-625-0709
duran026@umn.edu

Education

  • Ed.D., developmental education and higher education administration and management, Grambling State University (La.)
  • M.Ed., educational leadership, Wayne State University (Mich.)
  • B.A., chemistry, Oakland University (Mich.).

Research areas

Qualitative studies of the outcomes of developmental mathematics; math autobiographies; affective factors effecting mathematics outcomes; use of multicultural, ethnomathematic, social justice and constructivist materials to enhance learning; using Uri Treisman’s emerging scholars program to prepare developmental math students for elementary education careers.

Irene Mary Duranczyk
Assistant professor and adviser for grants and publications

I have been teaching developmental mathematics education since 1990. I was a program administrator of developmental education at the post-secondary level from 1980-2002. My research has been on the impact of developmental mathematics education highlighting the voices and views of the students in four year institutions. I have also taken a critical look at the pedagogy and materials used in developmental mathematics as a result of my research in the impact and effectiveness of developmental education.

I started my career as a high school chemistry teacher in a Detroit, Michigan and worked in a street academy with marginalized students throughout the ‘70s and with community groups during the implementation of court ordered desegregation in the Detroit Public School.

I am a first generation college student; the first women in my family to receive a degree beyond high school.

I was born in Detroit and lived my whole adult life there until 2002. If anyone would have suggested that I uproot myself and family and move to Minnesota, I would have laughed. My family and I are glad to be in Minneapolis to experience its diversity and find our niche.

Academic and professional positions (selected)

Program administrator, developmental mathematics, Eastern Michigan University. Campus Dean/Director, Jordan College

Selected publications

Duranczyk & Higbee (in press 2006). The Case for Developmental Mathematics in Four-Year Colleges. The Journal of Developmental Education.

Duranczyk, I. M., Goff, E., & Opitz, D. L. (in press, 2006). Students’ experiences in learning centers: Socioeconomic factors, grades, and perception of the math center. Journal of College Reading and Learning.

Duranczyk, I. M., Leapard, B., Caniglia, J. & Richards, E. (2005). Math in the city: Connecting mathematics and culture. (a monograph chapter that was invited, peer reviewed, and appears on the Web site of the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics

Duranczyk, I. M., & Opitz, D. L. (2005). Reaching for the standards, embracing diversity: Students’ perceptions of the Mathematics Program. (pp. 479 - 517). In J. L. Higbee, D. B. Lundell, & D. Arendale (Eds.), The General College Vision: Integrating intellectual growth, multicultural perspectives, and student development. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, General College, University of Minnesota.

Duranczyk, I. M., Staats, S., Moore, R., Hatch, J., Jensen, M., & Somdahl, C. (2004) Developmental mathematics explored through a sociocultural lens. In I. M. Duranczyk, J. L. Higbee, and D. B. Lundell (Eds.), Best practices for access and retention in higher education (pp. 43-53). Minneapolis, MN: Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy.