Ph.D. Program in Evaluation Statistics and Methodology is Preparing to Launch its New Blog to Inform New Students About the Advancements in the Profession
By Vanessa Slay, CEHHS Student News Reporter, Class of 2023
Are you MAD about Methods? Mad about something “Meaningful” and “Action Driven?” Then you can look forward to the Evaluation, Statistics, and Methodology (ESM) program’s new blog: MAD about Methods launching in the fall of 2023.
Jennifer Morrow, associate professor of Evaluation, Statistics, and Methodology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and several students, felt the need to develop a blog focused on ESM in the Spring of 2020. It was, however, forced to take a back seat to more pressing priorities due to the pandemic.
Nevertheless, Morrow refused to let the idea stay just that. Morrow, faculty, and students of the ESM program are working diligently to develop a blog that will “become the go-to place to find the latest happenings in the world of evaluation, assessment, and research methodology,” according to Louis Rocconi, associate professor and program coordinator in Educational Psychology and Research.
The ESM program plans to launch a blog focusing on “meaningful, action-based research in methodology, evaluations, statistics, and assessment,” Rocconi notes. He goes on to say that he wants this blog to be: “a place where scholars and practitioners can both contribute to the conversation and learn from one another…a way to increase the visibility of all the great work our faculty and students are doing.”
Morrow mentions that she hopes that the blog becomes a resource for students. She wants the blog to inform those “wanting to learn more about what professionals in our field are doing and what skills are needed in order to be successful.”
Leia Cain, an assistant professor in the ESM program, is currently working with Morrow and Rocconi on an introductory post to inform readers about the ESM blog and what the program entails.
Morrow vocalizes her excitement to write on “needed competencies and dispositions for emerging evaluation and assessment professionals.” At the same time, Rocconi mentions an idea based on “using item analysis techniques to inform the survey development process.”
The ESM program is a part of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in UT’s College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS). As the blog grows, alums, students, and faculty will be able to contribute posts in their respective fields of research and study.
Through its eight departments and 12 centers, the UT Knoxville College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences enhances the quality of life for all through research, outreach, and practice. Find out more at cehhs.utk.edu