By Amy Kurfist
Two doctoral students from the Darden College of Education were recently awarded prestigious national awards during the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2018 Annual Meeting held in New York City, NY. AERA is a national research society, whose mission is to advance knowledge about education, encourage scholarly inquiry, and promote the use of research to improve education.
Delaram Asadzadeh Totonchi, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in educational psychology and program evaluation, was awarded the AERA Division C (Learning and Instruction) Outstanding Poster Award for her poster entitled The Role of Stereotype Vulnerability in Minorities' Declining Science Motivation: A Parallel Growth Curve Analysis. The findings of the longitudinal research study indicated that minority students' vulnerability to stereotypes increased as their college career progressed.
"I am honored to receive the outstanding poster award by AERA division C," said Totonchi. "I am particularly grateful to both my advisor, Dr. Tony Perez, and my department chair, Dr. Steve Myran, who have provided continuous and enthusiastic support to graduate students like myself in pursuing academic professions."
Deana Ford, a Ph.D. candidate in curriculum and instruction, was awarded the graduate student research award by the Studying and Self-Regulated Learning Special Interest Group (SIG) for her study entitled The Effects of Self-Regulation Strategies on Middle School Students' Calibration Accuracy and Achievement. The study investigated the impact self-regulation strategies had on students' awareness of their learning and achievement scores among 7th grade mathematics students.
"I am especially thankful to my mentor and advisor, Dr. Linda Bol, for her support and continuous feedback," said Ford. "I am extremely honored to be the recipient of this award from the Studying and Self-Regulated learning SIG.
Students were selected to receive the awards by their respective division and SIG nomination committees.
Dr. Rachel White, assistant professor of educational leadership in the Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership, also received the outstanding dissertation award from both Division L (Educational Policy and Politics) and the Politics of Education SIG. White will begin her appointment in July.
The Department of Counseling and Human Services, Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership, and Department of Teaching & Learning represented the Darden College of Education at the AERA Annual Meeting. In total, faculty and students participated in more than 30 sessions during the five day conference, which consisted of research paper presentations, research posters and roundtable discussions.
"The AERA Annual Meeting is a great opportunity for faculty and students to showcase their incredible work, to get feedback and learn from other scholars and to expand and strengthen their professional network," said Dr. Steve Myran, department chair of Educational Foundations and Leadership. "I am particularly proud of our award winners as they highlight all the ways that our faculty and students are expanding the knowledge base and making a difference in the field of education."