During Donald J. Dessart's career, he served on the board of the Tennessee Mathematics Teachers Association as vice-president and president. He wrote more than 60 articles published in journals, including the
American Mathematical Monthly, Review of Educational Research,
and
School Science and Mathematics.
Dessart also contributed articles and refereed submissions for NCTM's journals. One of these articles-"Effects of Hand-Held Calculators in Precollege Mathematics Education: A Meta-Analysis," which he coauthored with Ray Hembree for the March 1986
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education(JRME)
-is perhaps the most frequently cited research article regarding the relationship between calculator use and student achievement.
Dessart's service to NCTM includes a broad array of activities. He served as a member of the Publications Committee, member and chair of the
JRME
Editorial Board, member of the Nominations and Elections Committee, and member of the Editorial Panel for the 1990 Yearbook, and he makes presentations at regional conferences and annual meetings.
Although Dessart retired in 2000, he graciously accepted a postretirement position at the University of Tennessee. At the time of this writing, he is teaching a class there in statistics, and he chairs doctoral committees for students.