Several students recently received awards for their work during the College of Education's second annual Graduate Student Research Conference.

Front: (L-R) Sun-Joo Cho, Feiming-Li, Mi-young Webb. Sanwong Kim Back: (L-R) Justus Inyega, Peter Rich, Michael Barbour

The research conference, which provides an opportunity for doctoral students to present and share their research findings, was begun through the educational psychology program's involvement in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate (CID), a national research project aimed at improving doctoral education at American universities.

In the Qualitative Research Division, Justus Inyega, a recent Ph.D. graduate in science education, received the first-place prize of $300 for his work on designing and implementing chemistry lessons in Kenya. Peter Rich, a second-year doctoral student in instructional technology, received the second-place prize of $200 for his research titled, “Evidenced-Based Inquiry in Elementary Education.” Michael Barbour, a second-year doctoral student in instructional technology, received an honorable mention of $50 for his research on teacher and developer perceptions of effective web-based design for secondary school students.

In the Quantitative Research Division, Sangwon Kim, a doctoral student in educational psychology, received the first-place prize of $300 for her work titled, “Trajectories of Aggression in Early Adolescence.” Sun-Joo Cho, a second-year doctoral student in research, evaluation, measurement, and statistics, was awarded the second-place prize of $200 for her study of the Multilevel Rasch Testlet Model. Feiming Li, a first-year doctoral student in research, evaluation, measurement, and statistics, received an honorable mention of $50 for her research on the application of Multilevel IRT Model in the analysis of NAEP Reading Achievement. An honorable mention of $50 was also awarded to Mi-young Webb, a second-year doctoral student in research, evaluation, measurement, and statistics, for her research on phonological awareness and decoding skills.

Conference coordinators included Deborah Bandalos and Bonnie Cramond, professors in the department of educational psychology and instructional technology, as well as Caitlin Herzinger, a graduate student in the department.

The judges for the Qualitative Research Division were Kathleen deMarrais, the associate dean for students, curriculum and accreditation; Tom Hébert, an associate professor in educational psychology and instructional technology; and Tricia Reeves, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work.

The judges for the Quantitative Research Division were Al Cohen, professor in educational psychology and instructional technology and director of the Georgia Center for Assessment; Noel Gregg, a professor in communication sciences and special education and director of UGA's Learning Disabilities Center; and Steve Olejnik, a professor in educational psychology and instructional technology.

© 2006 University of Georgia