Four University of Georgia faculty members—Steve Oliver, Jay Rojewski, Peter Smagorinsky and Sally Zepeda—have been named as the College of Education’s first Distinguished Research Mentors for the 2011-12 academic year.
“Sustained training in the processes of academic research is an integral part of a student’s doctoral education. The research apprenticeshipwith experienced faculty is a key component to prepare students for a career in research,” said Noel Gregg, Associate Dean and UGA Distinguished Research Professor. “The value of the apprenticeship/mentoring model is evidenced by strengthened opportunities for exploring diverse research traditions and epistemologies. The importance of the apprenticeship period and its impact on a student’s subsequent successes cannot be overestimated.”
In recognition of faculty members’ involvement in the preparation of the next generation of education researchers, the COE Research Office is awarding $4,000 to four faculty mentors each academic year to help support their ongoing research activities. The 2011-12 Distinguished Research Mentors were recognized at the Fall Faculty Meeting on Sept. 14 at Joe Frank Harris Commons.
Oliver
Steve Oliver, professor and program coordinator of science education and associate head of the department of mathematics and science education, has several prominent strengths as a research mentor according to his colleagues. The foremost of these is his highly detailed knowledge of statistics, including the most sophisticated multivariate methods, and his practical and theoretical mastery of the identification and measurement of affective factors in science education research.
“From the time he is assigned as a first-year advisor for a doctoral student, he systematically helps them to identify and clarify their own unique academic interests, their range of possible future professional directions, and the set of experiences that will best serve them as individuals. Most students do not appreciate the extent to which the identification and circumscription of significant “researchable questions” is perhaps the key to efficient and effective completion of a research study and its eventual presentation and publication, and Oliver is an absolute master of this subtle skill,” said David Jackson, an associate professor and graduate coordinator for the science education program.
Oliver is also known for his dedication to the hard and long hours of work required to constructively critique multiple drafts of students’ writing efforts. He manages to ensure that his mentees’ dissertations, conference presentations and article manuscripts represent their own voice, yet still conform to professional standards of clarity in communication.
Rojewski
Jay Rojewski, a professor in career and technical education for the past 20 years, sees three separate areas where he has opportunities to mentor graduate students: doctoral-level instruction of all students, service as a member on doctoral committees and major professor to doctoral students.
Teaching doctoral-level research design and methods courses affords him opportunities to collaborate with all doctoral students in the formative stages of developing their dissertation proposals value and the first few chapters. He enjoys this interaction, sometimes for up to 32 weeks, on a variety of cultural and social issues that support the dissertation process.
“This may be the first time our part-time students have had extended exposure to research-intensive discussions about the meaning of the doctoral degree (other than a pay raise) and what it means to be a scholar,” said Rojewski. “The transition for all students from the position of looking for the ‘right’ answer to being able to ask the ‘right’ questions is not always easy but is always rewarding.”
Mentoring through service on doctoral committees, often as a research methodologist, is more subdued and in a support role to the major professor.
The closest level of mentoring occurs with his doctoral advisees. While work with these students takes inordinate amounts of time, he finds the relationships formed and the work accomplished are among the most satisfying at the university.
“Dr. Rojewski works to make sure his doctoral students grow as professionals and scholars. He does this by pushing them to the forefront in recognition for workshops and presentations he has involved them in and the time and attention he gives through advising appointments and outside-of-class attention,” said Roger Hill, professor and head of the department of workforce education, leadership and social foundations.
Smagorinsky
Peter Smagorinsky, UGA Distinguished Research Professor in language and literacy education, divides his approach to mentoring into two categories: broad national efforts and mentoring of students at UGA.
On the national level, he has directed all of the research entities of the National Council of Teachers of English: co-editor of Research in the Teaching of English, chair of the Research Foundation, chair of the Standing Committee on Research, president of the National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy, co-chair of the Assembly for Research, and two terms as chair of the Research Forum. Through these capacities, Smagorinsky has worked to open the field for broader participation and instituted programs and efforts to foster the development of the next generation of researchers.
Smagorinsky’s mentoring style at UGA has been developed over two decades. Any doctoral student who comes under his advisement is required to enroll for four semesters on research apprencticeships with him during which they spend four hours each week working one-on-one in data analysis and manuscript production. During the second year, the student takes more of a leading role in identifying the project, heading the analysis and writing the manuscript. The student is credited as co-author and in the second year is the senior author of the paper produced. The apprenticeships have been highly productive, resulting in high-profile publications for his students and travel to local, national and international conferences.
“Initially, I assumed that all UGA doctoral students had similar kinds of research experiences,” said Ph.D. student Lindy Johnson. “But in talking to other students (both in and outside of my department), I’ve discovered that the amount of time, guidance and support Professor Smagorinsky gives to his students in rare. And this is true on the national level, too.”
Zepeda
She has sponsored 11 doctoral students with her grant projects since 2007 (11 full-time, 20 hours per week for 12 months), enabling the students to gain valuable experience in a variety of areas.
Most notable about Zepeda’s research agenda is her ability to bring her scholarship to the field of practice and her ability to link the field of practice to research, a skill she has shared with her students. This is exemplified with the co-authorship of a book with three of her current and former students, Instructional Supervision in a Standards-Based Environment. Another major project in which Dr. Zepeda included her students in was the writing of the edited book, Real World Supervision: Adapting Theory into Practice (2008, Christopher-Gordon Publishers). The book reports the results of 13 dissertations with as many of Zepeda’s former students who serve as administrators in PreK-12 education and higher education.
Another element essential to being a good mentor is outstanding teaching. Zepeda has received numerous awards for her teaching. For instance, in 2005, she received the University Council for Educational Administration’s first annual Master Professor Award.
Throughout her 18-year career at UGA, Zepeda has carried a substantial advisement load. She has served as a major professor to 45 students who have completed their doctorate, served on 96 dissertation committees and is currently chairing 14 students seeking the doctorate.