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Upon graduation, the majority
of our Ph.D. students obtain positions as faculty
members at universities and colleges. For example,
recent graduates have taken positions at the University
of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, and the
University of Maine. Ph.D. graduates also work
as researchers in school districts, state and
area education agencies, educational measurement
institutions, hospitals, private firms, and other
settings in which education takes place. For example,
a recent Ph.D. graduate works at a state department
of education designing and coordinating research
and program evaluation studies and another is
a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Max-Planck
Institute for Human Development in Berlin.
Recent M.A. graduates have taken
a variety of professional positions. One has been
the local site evaluator for a Harvard-based national
study of college-student drinking. Anotherhas
been education coordinator for a program designed
to help women who have dropped out of high school.
Yet another has used her writing and research
skills in a job with a local government and has
taught part-time at a branch campus of her state
university. Several others have gone on to further
graduate study in related disciplines.
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Trav
D. Johnson
Year graduated: 1996
Degree: Ph. D.
Advisor: Dr.
Donald Yarbrough
Current job title: Faculty
Development Coordinator, BYU Faculty Center
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How Ed Psych graduate study
helped prepare you for your job?
I currently work in the Faculty Center
at Brigham Young University where I am in charge
of TA development and assessing teaching. I do
some research and program evaluaton. I also occasionaly
teach Educational Psychology and other courses
at BYU.
In these capacities, I use every
area of my graduate work, especially the training
I received in learning theory, evaluation, and
research methods.
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Advice for current and prospective graduate
students:
1. As you study, constantly look for ways to integrate
and apply what you learn. Even topics that may seem
unrelated to your interests and focus can become
very useful if you broaden your scope and see how
topics relate to one another.
2. Work to better understand yourself--what you
are good at, what you love to do, how you can best
contribute.
3. Become a true scholar (in the broadest sense)
in your attitude, the goals you set for yourself,
and the quality of your work. Identify that which
will best help you become excellent in the areas
that are important to you, and then put forth what
it takes to achieve in these areas.
4. Don't give up. Realize that difficult and depressing
times will pass. Hold on, pull things together again,
keep trying, and success will come--not always exactly
how you envistioned it, but it will come nonetheless.
Personal information:
I have a wonderful wife and six terrific children,
which occupy most of my time away from work. When
I can fit it in, I enjoy the outdoors, gardening,
movies, and working with animals. |
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Stephanie
K. Siddens
Year graduated: 1999
Degree: Ph. D.
Advisor: Dr. Donald B. Yarbrough
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Title of Dissertation: A Case
Study of the Contribution of Situated Cognition
to Evaluation Activities Designed to Promote Evaluation
Utilization.
Current Job Title:
Research and Program Evaluation Specialist Office
of Program Evaluation
Department of Educational Accountability Fairfax
County Public Schools, Virginia. |
Job Responsibilities:
As a research and program evaluation specialist,
I am responsible for several multi-year evaluations
of pilot initiatives in our school system. I am
responsible for evaluation design, instrument
development, data collection, qualitative and
quantitative data analysis, report writing, and
presentation of evaluation findings to various
audiences including, school board, superintendent,
department superintendents, principals, and teachers.
I work with evaluation advisory teams consisting
of program staff, school staff, and/or community
members to gain their input into the evaluation
process. A particular interest of mine stemming
from my dissertation at The University of Iowa,
is promoting utilization of the evaluation results
by school staff members. I incorporate this into
my work by tailoring evaluation reports to a school
level audience and conducting workshops for principals
and teachers on how to interpret and use their
school's evaluation data.
How Educational Psychology Graduate Study
Prepared Me for My Job:
During my graduate studies, I received a well-rounded
education not only in such areas as theory in
learning, motivation, child development, but also
in statistics, measurement, and program evaluation.
Additionally, the educational psychology program
helped me to develop strong applied research design
and writing skills. These skills are critical
for my job as a program evaluator in a school
system. I have also found that my coursework prepared
me for working with a wide variety of educational
programs that focus on early childhood, middle
years, and high school level students. Because
the educational psychology program encourages
students to develop a strong theoretical and applied
background in statistics and measurement, I gained
the skills needed to do such daily job activities
as selecting the appropriate achievement test
to use as part of an evaluation, training school
staff members to administer achievement tests,
or analyzing and interpreting a wide variety of
evaluation data. During my graduate studies in
educational psychology I also took a series of
courses in program evaluation. These courses,
along with my research assistantship in the College
of Education's Center for Evaluation Assessment,
lead to my decision to pursue a career as a program
evaluator.
Advice for Current and Prospective Graduate
Students:
The educational psychology graduate program provides
students with a background for pursuing careers
in many types of organizations. If you complete
your graduate studies in this program at The University
of Iowa, I think you will assuredly have many
appealing career options. While you are at The
University of Iowa, I would encourage you to take
advantage of the wide variety of outstanding courses
and faculty and pursue the diverse opportunities
for research or teaching assistantships. Assistantships
are excellent ways to gain practical experiences
needed for whatever career you pursue.
Personal Information:
In addition to working full-time as a program
evaluator, I am a member of the Kathy Harty Gray
Dance Theatre (KHGDT), a professional modern dance
company in residence at Northern Virginia Community
College in Alexandria, Virginia. KHGDT performs
regularly in the Washington, DC metro area. You
can read more about KHGDT and upcoming concerts
on their website http://www.khgdt.org.
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Jennifer
Coyne Cassata
Year graduated: 2000
Degree: PhD
Advisor: Dr. Nancy Jackson
& Dr. Donald B. Yarbrough
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Title of dissertation: Self-Evaluation
of Writing Ability: A Case Study with Seventh-Grade
Students in their Classrooms
Current job title:
Program Evaluation Specialist,
Fairfax County Public Schools
Job responsibilities:
I am responsible for conducting comprehensive
program evaluations as part of an internal evaluation
office for the school system. This involves designing
evaluations, collecting and analyzing data, and
providing reports to audiences at various levels,
from school level staff to the School Board, to
aid in decision-making. In addition, I help manage
a system of shared accountability for educational
programs, in which we encourage and facilitate
self-evaluation by the people administering the
programs (in the form of ongoing documentation
and biennial reviews).
How Ed Psych graduate study helped prepare
you for your job:
The Educational Psychology program prepared me
on multiple levels. First, the concentration and
commitment needed to complete coursework and requirements
is terrific preparation for a demanding workplace.
Specific to the curriculum, coursework in development,
cognition, and learning theory, combined with
technical work in measurement and evaluation,
have provided me with an incredible background
for my work with the school system.
Advice for current and prospective graduate
students:
Take advantage of the opportunities across the
College of Education to connect what you are learning
in your Educational Psychology courses to the
larger educational realm. Develop your professional
goals, keep that larger picture in mind and do
not isolate yourself.
Personal information: When away
from the office, I spend as much time as possible
with my husband and baby daughter. I try to get
out and enjoy the many opportunities in the Washington
DC area.
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Julie M.
Kearney
Year graduated: 1994
Degree: MA
Advisor: Dr. Nancy Jackson
Current job title:
Evaluation Associate
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Job responsibilities: I just
recently returned to Lindquist and the COE as
an Evaluation Associate in the Center for Evaluation
and Assessment working with Don Yarbrough. There
I am working on the evaluation of educational
programs in K-12 settings and other educational
or training situations. I am
currently evaluating a grant to bring more American
history into the elementary setting
in Washington, IA.
Job history:Before coming back
to the COE, I spent the last six years working
at UI in the Student Health Center as the onsite
evaluator evaluating the "Stepping Up Project,"
a grant UI received to form a community and campus
coalition charged with taking an environmental
approach to finding a solutions to the problem
of high risk drinking and its adverse affects
on college students at Iowa. |
How Ed Psych graduate study helped prepare
you for your job:
Ed Psych graduate study gave me a firm foundation
in educational theory and issues and by giving me
the writing, analytical, and quantitative skills
to contribute to active, interesting research. |
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Reid Christopherson
Year graduated: 2000
Degree: MA, Educational Psychology
Advisor: Dave Lohman
Current job title:
Manager of Corporate Leadership Development,
Pella Corporation
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Job responsibilities:
Responsible for all Corporate training and development
activities, including Succession Planning, Organizational
Effectiveness and Performance Management. As a company
with 7,000 employees, we currently we offer training
classes to all employees in the organization, including
all four divisions within the company. We have four
"formal" programs; Coop/Intern Development,
Professional Development, Manager Development and
Leadership Development. An independent analysis
of our programs by 2 leading national consulting
firms have rated our development programs as "world-class".
A current initiative I am currently leading is "leveraging
technology for training and process deliverables". |
How Ed Psych graduate study helped prepare
you for your job:
The Ed Psych program helped me bring the academic
rigor to the design, creation and implementation
of development programs here at Pella Corporation.
Understanding outcomes and linking to business
strategy is critical, and having studied many
of the different theories of learning, development
and individual differences has been extremely
valuable.
Advice for current and prospective graduate
students:
Have a clear vision for what you want to do and
accomplish and ask yourself how your studies will
contribute to that vision. This will bring greater
meaning and application to the topics that you
are covering.
Personal information:
Married to April, four children, Andrew -10, Brooke
- 8, Tanner - 6, and Hunter - 11 months. Enjoy
outdoor sports, travel and music. |
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