Dissertation Announcements

To request a dissertation announcement, please fill the out Dissertation Announcement Request Form.

To request an invitation to attend a dissertation presentation via teleconference, please contact the College of Education's graduate support staff. Please include the date and time of the presentation in your email.

Upcoming Presentations

Anica Cisneroz

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Examining the Impact of Instructor-Generated Video in Online Graduate Courses

Date: September 28th

Time and Location: 9:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Joshua Cruz (Chair); Dr. Jian Wang; Dr. Kim Livengood

Tamra Kelly

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: A Phenomenological Study of Professional School Counselors Job Performance and Preparedness in Rural Communities

Date: September 28th

Time and Location: 9:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Charles Crews (Chair); Dr. Dusty Palmer; Dr. Ian Lertora; Dr. Lynn Jennings

Becky Kamas

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: K-12 STEM Teachers and Communities of Practice at Non-Formal Education Organizations: A Case Study

Date: September 30th

Time and Location: 1:00 p.m. - via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Gina Childers (chair); Dr. Joshua Cruz; Dr. Jill Hoffman

Sheri Caine, Ed.M., C.A.S.

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Identifying High School Physics Students' Factors of Epistemological Cognition in Electricity Through Online Inquiry Simulations

Date: October 5th

Time and Location: 1:00 p.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Mihwa Park (Chair); Dr. Kwanghee Jung; Dr. Jianlan Wang

Jessica Nadzam

Dissertation Proposal Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Is Authenticity Enough to Keep Teachers in the Classroom? A Quantitative Study of edTPA and Teacher Retention

Date: October 6th

Time and Location: 4:00 p.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Jessica Gottlieb (Chair); Dr. Jacob Kirksey; Dr. Gema Zamarro

Joshuah Ellis

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: The Experiences of Men Related to Help-Seeking, Counseling, and Coping: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

Date: October 7th

Time and Location: 9:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Charles Crews (chair); Dr. Lee Duemer; Dr. Ian Lertora; Dr. Lynn Jennings

Britt W. Sims

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: The Impact of Adaptive Leadership on Burnout in Special Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Date: October 8th

Time and Location: 10:00 a.m., via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Robin Lock (Chair); Dr. Janna Brendle; Dr. Laura H. Brown

Jennifer L. Dixon

Dissertation Proposal Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: A Phenomenological Study of Military Veterans Who Transitioned to Careers in K-12 Education

Date: October 8th

Time and Location: 1:00 p.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Alexander W. Wiseman (Chair); Dr. Ryan Litsey; Dr. Cynthia Miller

Kendra Nwosu

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Teacher DDDM Efficacy, DDDM Anxiety, DDDM Teacher Practices, and the Role of Data Specialists: A Moderated Mediation Analysis of Teacher DDDM Practices

Date: October 11th

Time and Location: 8:30 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Shirley Matteson (Chair); Dr. Fanni Coward; Dr. Soohyun Yi

Guoxiang Wang

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Examine Elementary Preservice Teachers' Transfer of Mathematical Specialized Content Knowledge about Place Value of Whole Numbers

Date: October 11th

Time and Location: 9:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Jian Wang (Chair); Dr. Raymond Flores; Dr. Aaron Zimmerman; Dr. Jerry Dwyer (Graduate Dean's Representative)

Men Thi Nguyen

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Communicative Language Approach in Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language Teacher Preparation and K-12 Context: A Qualitative Case Study

Date: October 12th

Time and Location: 9:)0 a.m., via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Maina Faith (Chair); Dr. Pahom Olga; Dr. Jung Jin Kyeong

Amber Kelly

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: “Clusters of Creativity”: A Narrative Inquiry of Low-Stakes Writing for Identity Development in Community College Populations

Date: October 14th

Time and Location: 9:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Rene Saldana (chair); Dr. Lee Duemer; Dr. Faith Maina

Tami McIver Knight

Dissertation Proposal Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Sink or Swim: The Quest to Prepare Principals for Title I Program Implementation

Date: September 27th

Time and Location: 10:00 a.m. via Zooa

Committee: Dr. Alexander Wiseman (chair); Dr. Jessica Gottlieb; Dr. Irma Almager; Dr. Tia Agan

Loi Le

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: In-between Generation Vietnamese American Teachers' Experiences in K-12 Education: A Postcolonial Narrative Inquiry

Date: September 30th

Time and Location: 10:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Jeong-Hee Kim (Chair); Dr. Jin Jung; Dr. Fernando Valle; Dr. Vanessa de Leon

Dan Long

Dissertation Defense to Doctoral Committee

Title: The Relationships Between Unfunded Tuition Discounts at Public Universities in Texas and Access, Revenue, and Prestige

Date: October 1st

Time and Location: 2:00 p.m. via Zoom

Committee: Bryan K. Hotchkins, Ph.D. (chair); Jon McNaughtan, Ph.D.; Cynthia Hernandez, Ph.D.

Lu Guo

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Influences of Balanced Literacy Instruction on Reading Performances of English Learners and Native-English Speakers: An Analysis of Large-scale Assessment Using PIRLS

Date: October 12th

Time and Location: 9:00 a.m via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Jian Wang (chair); Dr. Mellinee Lesley; Dr. Jaehoon Lee

Annie Blair O'Connor

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: The Impact of Effective Collaboration on Data-Based Decision-Making and Instructional Practice for Teachers Participating in Professional Learning Communities

Date: October 12th

Time and Location: 10:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Mihwa Park (Chair); Dr. Jerry Dwyer; Dr. Joshua Cruz

Michelle Spoonemore

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: A Multi-Case Exploration of Teacher Beliefs of Grading Practices and Their Influence on Student Achievement

Date: October 12th

Time and Location: 1:00 p.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Jian Wang (Chair); Dr. Aaron Zimmerman; Dr. Raymond Flores

Melissa Richert

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: A Mixed Methods Study Utilizing the Early Financial Literacy Assessment to Investigate Elementary Students' Financial Skills, Attitudes, Behaviors, and Socialization

Date: October 13th

Time and Location: 12:00 p.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Shirley M. Matteson (chair); Dr. Aaron S. Zimmerman; Dr. John G. Mendiburu

Ashley Blu Staats

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Counselor Educators and Supervisors' Comfort With and Knowledge of Sex and Sexuality Impacting Discussions with Students and Associates

Date: October 15th

Time and Location: 9:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Loretta Bradley (chair); Dr. Bret Hendricks; Dr. Marcelo Schmidt

Shari Hiltbrand

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: An Exploratory Study to Develop a Framework of Science Giftedness in the NGSS Era

Date: October 15th

Time and Location: 10:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Mihwa Park (Chair); Dr. Jeasik Cho; Dr. Soohyun Yi

Seth Doty

Dissertation Defense Presentation to Doctoral Committee

Title: Online Learning and Personality: Locus of Control, The Big-Five and Technological Self-efficacy

Date: December 8th

Time and Location: 11:00 a.m. via Zoom

Committee: Dr. Jaehoon Lee (Chair); Dr. Soohyun Yi; Dr. Kwanghee Jung