Mathematics & Physics
Dr.
Professor; Mathematics & Physics
Room 318J

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, B.S., Physics;
Plymouth State University, M.Ed., Mathematics Education;
Plymouth State University, Doctor of Education, Ed.D.

Dr. Eckhardt-Houle is a mathematics professor at MCC, and also serves as Department Chair for Math/Physics. Raina received her Doctor of Education with research in technology-enhanced mathematics education and program evaluation from Plymouth State University (PSU). She also received her Master of Education in Mathematics Education from PSU and her Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Raina spent the first 15 years of her career working in Earth science, cloud and space physics research and software engineering. In 1999, she made the transition into formal STEM education and spent 16 years teaching mathematics, physical science and computer technology at the middle, secondary, and post-secondary levels before joining the Mathematics and Physics Department at MCC in 2014. Raina’s passion for leveraging technology to make mathematics content accessible to all students has dictated most of her research topics, which range from technology-enhanced learning, to the development of students’ growth mindsets, and the development of effective online learning. In 2015, Raina redesigned the MCC’s developmental mathematics program using a self-paced student-centered emporium teaching model, which has increased the persistence of students through the college’s developmental math program. Currently she is working on the development of a data analytics program and Open Education Resources at the college. Raina teaches all levels of mathematics at Manchester Community College. Raina also collaborates with high school faculty in the Manchester area as a Running Start partner.

Raina has presented her research at numerous professional conferences and institutions including the American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges, the Northeast Educational Research Association, the American Evaluation Association, the Hudson River Undergraduate Research Conference, the University of Notre Dame, and the Rivier University Doctoral Conference on Leadership and Learning. Her research is published in the InSight Rivier Academic Journal and ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.