Anita Cuttita Ferdenzi is a professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the City University of New York (CUNY), Queensborough Community College. Dr. Ferdenzi has served as the principal investigator for the NASA/MUSPIN grant to promote a greater understanding of mathematics associated with the study of astronomy among pre-service teachers who are representative of minority populations. Her research focus has been the integration of innovative teaching and learning strategies in math and science designed to increase achievement and efficacy for minority groups historically underrepresented among the ranks of science and math teachers. Dr. Ferdenzi has also led an interdisciplinary team of faculty to investigate the effects of constructivist pedagogy on pre-service community college students’ self-beliefs about math, physics, and metacognitive awareness of self-regulated learning in a cornerstone Physics/Education Learning Community. She has also collaborated with mathematics faculty to design and deliver an interdisciplinary cognitive foundations of secondary mathematics course for the NSF grant TIME QCC – an initiative to increase the number of teachers of secondary mathematics entering the workforce. Dr. Ferdenzi was also involved in developing the Learning Communities and Academic Service Learning initiatives at Queensborough Community College. She has collaborated with colleagues from a variety of disciplines to develop learning communities between her Education course and disciplines such as Physics, Chemistry, English Composition, Writing in the New Media and Basic Skills. She has also developed Academic Service Learning opportunities such as “Physics Friday” so that her preservice education students may share their knowledge of course content with authentic audiences in community schools. These pedagogies have evolved into the menu of High Impact Practices Dr. Ferdenzi employs in her practice.

Dr. Ferdenzi’s participation in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning study group, Pedagogies of Underserved Minority Students, led to an investigation of the relationship between persistence and expectancy, motivation and self-regulated learning among community college students. The findings are published in What Predicted Persistence and Academic Performance at an Urban Community College? The Implications of Self-Efficacy and Motivation of Queensborough Community College Students and International Students at an Urban Community College: Motivation, Self-Regulated Learning Efficacy, and Academic Achievement.

The work her collaborative team conducted on the impact of academic service learning projects on pre-service elementary education program physics students’ confidence in learning science and perceived professional competency skills in the discipline is published in the Research In Science Education series volume dedicated to Science and Service Learning ~Academic Service Learning~ Community College Pre-Nursing and Teacher Education Programs.

Contact her at: AFerdenzi@qcc.cuny.edu