The USF Established Researcher Grant of $8,933 will fund Danielle Dennis’, Ph.D., research on the educational context of middle school students who were retained in third grade. in order to inform Florida’s third grade retention policy, high school completion initiatives, and utilize data to improve the instructional interventions provided to students before they enter high school. Data will be collected from a local school district during the 2009-2010 school year. FCAT reading scores of all students retained in third grade will be analyzed using time series analysis to determine patterns and predict future scores. Interviews and classroom observations of middle school students who were retained in the third grade will be conducted and analyzed using inductive analysis and critical discourse analysis, respectively, in order to gain insight to the students’ perspective of the instruction they received since retention. State-disseminated documents pertaining to third grade retention, middle school remedial reading interventions, and dropout prevention will be analyzed using relational content analysis to determine similarities and differences between the texts.
Kofi Marfo, Ph.D., (pictured left) has been awarded a residential fellowship for the 2009-2010 academic year at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University. “This has been a career-long dream,” said Marfo. “It is certainly an honor that is as exciting and uplifting as it is humbling, as I anticipate my writing in the context of formal and informal interactions with other scholars who share the value of collective engagement.”
Haichun Sun, Ph.D., and the School of Physical Education and Exercise Science hosted two visitors from the School of Physical Education and Sport Study at Shanghai Normal University in China. The visit by Dr. Keqiang Cao, Professor and Dean of the School, and Dr. Jianhua Shen, Professor of sport sociology and sport pedagogy, provided an opportunity for an exchange of ideas related to preparation of physical education teachers.
Tony Tan, Ed.D., (pictured left, Psychological & Social Foundations) will research on the development of anxiety and depression in adopted Chinese girls with $5,000 in funding provided by the USF Established Researcher Grant. He will investigate whether a serotonin transporter called 5-HTT, together with stressful life events, might play a role. He will be using a combination of genetic research and survey research to answer the question. Genetic analysis will be performed at a state-of-the-art genetic lab in China's Southeast University.
The National Association for School Psychologists advocates the use of a data-based decision making model as best practice in the assessment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Research examining the actual implementation of these guidelines by school psychologists is limited. The USF Established Researcher Grant of $6,730 will fund Julia Ogg’s Ph.D., (pictured left, Psychological & Social Foundations) research to obtain data on the current assessment practices, the application of a data-based decision-making model, and to determine what factors predict practice for school psychologists in the assessment of ADHD. To answer these questions, a national survey with a random sample of school psychologists will be conducted.
Three COEDU Faculty recipients of USF Established Researcher Grant
Grants
Phyllis Jones, Ph.D., Special Education, is the recipient of a $798,008 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for a 4-year “Project S.A.G.E.” Project S.A.G.E will prepare teachers to provide successful access to general education curriculum for students with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder.
Brian Mann, David C. Anchin Center, has been awarded a $10,000, 6-month grant from the
School District of Hillsborough County for the evaluation of "Project Building Relationships and Inter-District Development to Guide Education (BRIDGE)."
Left to right: Dr. Jianhua Shen, Dr. Haichun Sun and Dr. Keqiang Cao
Sabbaticals for the 2009-2010 Academic Year
Jennifer Baggerly, Ph.D., Psychological & Social Foundations, and Ann Barron, Ph.D., Secondary Education, have been awarded Fall sabbaticals.
Kathy Bradley-Klug, Ph.D., Psychological & Social Foundations, Jeffrey Kromrey, Measurement & Research, Kofi Marfo, Ph.D., Psychological & Social Foundations, have been awarded sabbaticals for two Semesters.
Patty Alvarez McHatton, Ph.D. (pictured left) and Pat Jones (Daniel), Ph.D. worked with a Latina Women's Group from T. E. Weightman Middle School recently, this being the 5th year of the project. The purpose is to explore the lives of adolescent Latina’s in the context of school, community, and the world at large. The objective is to provide a space for participants to express themselves through a variety of writing genres. At the end of each year, the girls' work is compiled on a DVD which is shared with the administration and faculty at the middle school.
