Math has been called many things, some of which can’t be printed in this column. Yet, CMN’s faculty of the year awardee Audra Castonia sees the subject as an attractive means to enrich her students’ lives.
“I believe in the beauty of mathematics that surrounds us and the power of numbers to shape our everyday lives,” she said. “My goal is to help all students appreciate and understand math by fostering curiosity, using songs and analogies to build strong, relatable connections to the material, and inspiring them to grow, learn and strive for their best.”
Teaching at the college since January 2020, Castonia completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and her master’s degree at the UW-Oshkosh. CMN is not her first teaching gig, thereby giving her a depth of experience to draw from.
“I taught high school math for six years but yearned for a more mature audience,” she said. “I started teaching as an adjunct for a couple of the post-secondary institutions in the Green Bay area. The schools were not looking to hire full-time instructors so a couple schools became several schools. One semester, I taught at five different schools.”
While her work history proves her commitment to education, she explained how the complexity of part-time employment caused her to keep searching for a more permanent position.
“Having to rely on several schools to have enough classes fit into a schedule to pay the bills was stressful,” she said. “I was looking for a place to call ‘home’ while at work.”
At CMN, Castonia found a place where she could thrive.
“There are many ways that I am growing with the experiences at CMN,” she said.”My teaching style has adjusted along with my approach to students and to adult learning. I want the students to improve their skills and their attitudes toward difficult situations in life so I need to do the same.”
Castonia wears multiple hats beyond teaching at CMN. She is the chair of the math and sciences department, vice president of the faculty committee and a member of the committee of academic quality, which upholds the college’s curriculum standards.
At CMN’s May commencement, Chief Academic Officer Geraldine Sanapaw listed the additional honors that garnered Castonia this year’s award.
“Audra has also served as the CMN faculty representative implementing Carnegie Math Pathways as an initiative within Project Success and Achieving the Dream,” Sanapaw said. “She has also assisted the full-time faculty in creating the Regular and Substantive Interaction Training for in-person and online faculty at CMN and has participated in the Quality Matters training to adapt and teach our college algebra course in the online format.”
Still, Castonia did not expect to win this year’s award.
“I was very surprised,” she said. “Honestly, one doesn’t dream of receiving accolades for teaching the subject most students love to hate.”
Castonia did share her best advice to faculty, regardless of which subject they teach.
“Make a checklist of everything that needs to be done,” she said. “Do your best when completing each step. Review and change 10% of any lesson plan every term.”
Her advice to incoming students followed a similar pattern.
“Make a checklist for everything that needs to get done,” she said. “Make a schedule and stick to it. Do your best when completing each step. Review and study 10% of the material each week.”
Castonia offered how she plans to take her own advice on both creating task lists and striving for continuous improvement over the next academic year.
“I’m looking forward to tweaking lesson plans so students continue to gain confidence in their abstract problem-solving skills,” Castonia said.
Considering the rationale for this accolade, it’s easy to see why Castonia was selected for CMN’s most distinguished faculty award. Her dedication to her teaching and her students’ success makes for a winning formula. One might even call it a thing of beauty.
Ryan Winn, Ph.D., teaches communications, English, history and theater at the College of Menominee Nation. Visit www.menominee.edu for more information about the school.
It adds up for CMN faculty member of the year
