Adult Learning

Julie is currently seeking her PhD in educational psychology and research with the Adult Learning program. Originally from Knoxville, TN, she graduated with her AAS in radiologic technology at Roane State Community College in 2000, BS in biochemistry, molecular, and cellular biology at the University of Tenessee in 2004, and an MPH in community health education at UT in 2007. She joined EPC in 2011. We asked her to reflect on some past and current experiences. Read her responses below.

Awards

• Finalist for Roane State Community College’s Ellen Benroth Award for excellence in teaching, which is awarded to one faculty member per year; winners are nominated and chosen by their peers and must demonstrate excellent student-based objectives and evaluation scores; Top 3 finalist in 2015, 2016, and 2017
• Excellence Award provided by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Roane State Community College, 2012
• Spotlight on SAILS Award, Roane State Community College, 2011

Accomplishments

Conference Presentations

• Hall, J. (2016, Nov). Harmonizing self-direction and mandatory continuing education; Attitude of the health care professional. Proceedings of the 64th American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Conference. Albuquerque, NM.
• Hall, J. (2014, Nov). I think I can! Positive psychology for health professional programs. Proceedings of the 63rd American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Conference. Charleston, SC
• Hall, J. (2013, Nov). Leaving the nest: From novice to professional. Proceedings of the 62nd American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Conference. Lexington, KY
• Shih, C. & Hall, J. (2012, Nov). Connect, communicate and collaborate: Using Facebook groups to build a community of practice. Proceedings of the 61st American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Conference. Las Vegas, NV

Peer-Reviewed Publication

• Hall, J. (2014). Staged Self-Directed Learning Model: Leaving the nest; From novice to professional in J. Holtz, S. Springer, & C. Boden-McGill (Eds.), Building sustainable futures for adult learners. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

Editorial

• 2015 – 2016 Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) member for the IGI Global peer-reviewed book entitled, Handbook of Research on Training Evaluation in the Modern Workforce
• 2014 – 2015 Adult Higher Education Alliance (AHEA), proposal reviewer for the national conference
• 2014 – 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health (Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins), book reviewer
• 2014 Pearson Higher Education, book reviewer

Accreditation Activities

• 2014 Compiled a self-study report and oversaw a site visit for the Radiologic Technology Program by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT); the program successfully was awarded re-accreditation for 8 years (maximum amount allowed)
• 2018 Completed an Interim Report as well as a Substantive Change Report for the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology

Significant Roles/Positions

• 2018 – Present: Member of Roane State Community College’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) committee
• 2018 – Present: Member of Roane State Community College’s Course Evaluation Committee
• 2018 – Present: Member of Roane State Community College’s Tuition Reimbursement Advisory Group
• 2017 – 2018: Member of Roane State Community College’s Promotion and Tenure Committee
• 2015 – Present: Member of the Tennessee Board of Regent’s (TBR) Statewide Curriculum realignment committee for radiologic technology
• 2014 – Present: Member of the Radiologic Technology Program’s Assessment Committee
• 2013 – Present: Member of the Radiologic Technology Program’s Admission Committee
• 2011 – Present: Member of the Allied Health Admission Committee
• 2011 – 2015: Participated in the Students Achieving Improved Learning Strategies (SAILS) project by implementing a specific learning strategy in classes. SAILS was apart of Roane State Community College’s five year Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)
• 2010 – Present: Member of the Radiologic Technology Program’s Advisory Board (ex-officio)

Other Service Activities

• 2015 – Present: Serve as a site visitor for the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (accrediting body for radiologic technology programs)
• 2014 – 2015: Served as an item writer for the national licensure exam on behalf of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)
• 2011 – Present: Applied and obtained numerous grant requests for the program

Current Occupation

Program Director
Radiologic Technology Program
Roane State Community College

The Radiologic Technology Program has affiliation agreements with 17 clinical sites/hospitals across the East Tennessee region and is designed to provide students with the skills required to provide excellent patient care in the field of radiology.

Personal Interests

I am a mother/wife with two sons (Michael and Tyler). We enjoy traveling and seeing new places, but my favorite place to visit is Disney world! This past year, we were able to tour the American Southwest (epic road trip) and the year before visited Alaska with my mom. I also enjoy reading!

Future/Vocational Goals

My future goals are to continue conducting research in the area of allied health/radiologic technology. I am interested in topics related to self-directed learning and attitude towards continuing education.

What would you tell an incoming student who joins the program/department?

I have relished my time at UT Knoxville. Particularly, I have enjoyed my courses along with the faculty members and other students. This program has some of the best faculty members that I have ever had the opportunity to work with. They truly care about their students and find ways to help them grow as well as help them through the doctoral process. My advisor, Ralph Brockett, Phd, is absolutely a joy to work with and I could not have succeeded without his support over the years. I would recommend this program to any prospective student!

School Counseling

April earned an MS with the School Counseling program in 2012 and currently lives in Knoxville, TN. We asked her to reflect on past experiences with EPC and discuss where she’s at now. Read her responses below.

Awards

• Awarded Tenure from Knox County Schools, spring 2018
• Coalition Member of the Year from the Metro Drug Coalition, 2016

Accomplishments

• On the Leadership Team at Richard Yoakley, since 2012

Current Occupation

School Counselor
Richard Yoakley School
Knox County, Tennessee

Personal Interests

My husband and I have taken up hiking in the last few years. We especially enjoy hiking in the nearby Smoky Mountains. So far, we have just done day hikes, but we plan to start camping in the future.

Another hobby of mine is making jewelry. I enjoy making jewelry from glass, stones, metals, and found objects. It’s a fun, creative outlet.

Future/Vocational Goals

I very much enjoy my role as the school counselor at Richard Yoakley School. I plan to stay in this role for the foreseeable future and continue to improve my school counseling program. One day, I might pursue a leadership position in the school system.

What would you tell an incoming student who joins the program?

I remember feeling welcomed and informed when starting the program. Our professors did a great job explaining expectations and program goals. I felt very prepared to complete assignments, and I also felt that I was cared about as a person. The school counseling program is rigorous with high standards and expectations, which is a great thing. I know I received a high quality education which prepared me for my current profession.

What is the best tidbit/find about Knoxville?

Two of my favorite things about Knoxville are the Market Square Farmer’s Market and the trails at Ijams Nature Center. The market is a great place to buy local produce as well as crafts, and Ijams Nature Center is a beautiful place to be in nature yet still close to the city.

Instructional Technology

Lindsey earned an MS with the Instructional Technology program in 2016 and currently lives in Littleton, CO. We asked her to reflect on past experiences with EPC and discuss where she’s at now. Read her responses below.

Current Occupation

Instructional Design Coordinator
Child Care Quality Initiatives
Office of Early Childhood
Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS)

I work in a team of two (hopefully four by the end of the year) to design self-paced online learning for the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System (PDIS). These courses are targeted at early care and learning professionals, with the goal of increasing the quality of care and education provided in child care programs across the state.

Accomplishments since Graduating

In my first nine months at CDHS, I led development on the first hybrid course to exist in the PDIS: Medication Administration Training, a four hour, licensing required course for child care providers across the state of Colorado. Also, at the end of December 2017, my husband and I bought our first house.

Personal Interests

I’m a fiction writer in all my waking hours. A baker, an amateur painter, a paddle boarder, an always-losing-my-callouses guitarist, a gamer, a yoga aficionado, and a literature/media nerd. I also like to travel with my husband and spend time with our four cats.

Accomplishments Earned as a Student

I received invitations from several honors societies (Gamma Beta Phi, Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Delti Pi), so I suppose that means I made it to a top tier of my class.

On a personal level, I maintained my grade level, kept interest in my classes, and didn’t crumble under pressure – even when I was finalizing my portfolio while packing our place and preparing for a cross country move – so I’d consider that an accomplishment.

Did you end up where you thought you would?

Yes. I’d been in the eLearning world prior to entering the IT Online program and that’s where I wanted to be once I got my degree. Though instead of working for a vendor, I ended up on an in-house design team (of two and soon to be growing), so this let me drastically expand my skills with project management, authoring software, and the creation of graphics and audio, in addition to writing content.

How did your experiences as a student help you in your professional life after graduation?

When I came to the program, I didn’t really speak the lingo of instructional design and technology (“dual coding, what’s that?”), so the foundational knowledge was helpful when talking about the work I’d done in the past, as well as in the first few months of being on the job.

Additionally, as a student, you deal with a lot of different personalities from a variety of backgrounds and not all of those personalities have technology backgrounds. Getting experience navigating the waters of instructional design with people outside my specific area was good practice for the job I’m doing now. While many people are happy to listen to and go with what a designer has to say, others do want additional information on why you’re making the design choices you are. Having had to explain or clarify design concepts in my classes gave me a leg up on doing so out in the working world.

What would you tell incoming/current students?

If you’re new to the world of instructional design and technology, start thinking about what you want to do within the field. You’ll learn a lot of foundational knowledge about education and how people learn in the program, and you’ll get familiar with the technical jargon, but there are a variety of ways to apply that knowledge out in the world and a varying set of skills for each area. Having an idea of where you want to be so you can direct your individual studies in that direction is immensely helpful for your future career.

Evaluation, Statistics & Measurement

Erica is currently seeking her PhD in educational psychology and research with the Evaluation, Statistics, and Measurement program. Originally from Blairs, VA, she graduated with her BS in chemistry at North Carolina A&T State University in 2005 and an MS in environmental science and policy at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg in 2009. She joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and EPC in 2016. We asked her to reflect on some past and current experiences. Read her responses below.

Awards

• UT Graduate Student Senate Travel Award, Fall 2017

Accomplishments

Presentations

• Echols, E., Ladd, R., Parlier, R. T., Osborne, J. D. (2018). Distance learning in evaluation, statistics, and measurement: Synchronous & asynchronous – A guide to merging your life as an evaluation doctoral student and distance learner. Roundtable presentation submitted for the American Evaluation Association National Conference, 2018, Cleveland, OH (under review).
• Osborne, J. D., Ladd, R., Parlier, R. T., Echols, E. (2017). Am I a student? Am I an evaluator? I’m both! – A guide to merging your life as a professional evaluator and evaluation doctoral student. Roundtable presentation at the American Evaluation Association National Conference, 2017, Washington, D.C.
• Echols, E. (2016). Outcomes evaluation proposal for the Program for Excellence and Equity in Research (PEER). Poster presentation given for EDPY 533 Program Evaluation Fall 2016 at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
• Echols, E. (2016). Survey of best practices for graduate recruitment of underrepresented minorities (URM) in STEM at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Poster presentation given for EDPY 583 Survey Research.

Current Occupation

Recruitment & Communication Specialist
Program for Excellence & Equity in Research
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Erica currently works as the recruitment and communications specialist for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville NIH funded graduate and training fellowship program, Program for Excellence and Equity in Research.

Personal Interests

I enjoy being active in the community. I volunteer with various programs that introduce urban youth to science, science careers, and higher education. I also enjoy playing a variety of musical instruments.

Future/Vocational Goals

My goals are to continue to learn frameworks that are applicable not only in my current position but also in future higher education pursuits. My interest in evaluation and assessment stems from work experience in gauging the impact and progress of students matriculating through various programs I’ve worked with in higher education. As I continue to grow my skills in statistical analysis and program evaluation, my long-term career goal is to own and operate my own consulting firm supporting external evaluations for various higher education, public service, and non-profit entities.

What sold you on this program?

I work full time here at UT and was looking for a doctoral program that aligns with my research interests in evaluation and assessment in higher education, with special interest in understanding workforces that lead to student success in STEM. The Evaluation, Statistics, and Measurement program was a perfect fit for me and my interests.

What would you tell an incoming student who joins the program/department?

While it is important to begin with the end in mind, be sure to enjoy the journey.

Adult Education

Cassandra earned an MS with the Adult Education program in 2017. She is originally from Atlanta, GA and currently lives in Knoxville, TN. We asked her to reflect on past experiences with EPC and discuss where she’s at now. Read her responses below.

Current Occupation

Accounting Specialist III
Office of the Bursar
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN

I currently work for the Bursar, Susan Forman, at UT Knoxville.

Accomplishments since Graduating

Greatest professional accomplishment since graduation has been the opportunity to work one-on-one with the Bursar to assist with daily duties of the position. I am beyond blessed to have a boss that completely supported me while I obtained my master’s. After finishing the program, I requested to learn more of the daily operations of the Bursar, and my boss has spent a great amount of time teaching me new programs, especially those in Banner. She continuously provides me opportunities to further my knowledge and enhance my career.

Personal Interests

My husband and I enjoy traveling and when we have the opportunity on the weekends we like to engage in short excursions and enjoy local culture. My parents are very close to my husband, I have to admit that he is their favorite child, and quite often they come with us on our trips. This gives us all the opportunity to spend quality time together, including going to church together on Sundays.

Accomplishments Earned as a Student

While conducting research for my final comps, I centered my topic on the transformative learning experiences of veteran students involved in combat. I have the upmost respect for the men and women who serve our country. My husband, father, uncle and great uncle are all Veterans. One of my greatest accomplishments was being able to interview a University of Tennessee veteran student that was an Army combat medic. To hear their experiences, how it related to their learning and helping others learn was one of the most rewarding experiences during my program.

What would you tell an incoming/current student?

Going into the program, my first thought was that I would come to know more about how adults learn so that it would help me create a successful learning environment in my position at the University of Tennessee. Teaching in the Atlanta Metropolitan School District gave me the experience to learn how culture and backgrounds influence learning, but only on a small scale. This program has introduced to me a worldly, holistic view of learning. Teaching at a public school system was just barely scraping the surface of what adult education would entail. After two years in the program, I have learned how the principles of adult education originated, how adult learning models and theories can facilitate learning, and how as individuals we can take all of our experiences and meanings and contribute to a successful learning environment both in and outside of the classroom.

The one thing that has remained constant is I have always viewed educators as individuals who love learning. This still remains true in higher adult education, but I have a new respect for adult educators. It is those in this field who love learning on a level that they have invested a great deal of time and research to help adult education learners. I realize that this program was never about changing the way we think because of curriculum, it was allowing us as individuals to be presented with new ideas, concepts, and experiences to help us facilitate our own learning. Everyone has a story, a journey, that has brought them to this program. We all have vast backgrounds, experiences, ideas, concepts, and thoughts that can contribute to learning. The key of this program was allowing us to come to our own understanding of what all of it meant for us individually.

How did your experiences as a student help you in your professional/personal life after graduation?

One learning experience that was particularly important to me was studying the movements in adult education in Cathy Hammon’s, clinical assistant professor, course “Survey of Adult Education”. It was interesting to see how adult education developed over time from the works of Socrates and Plato, to the modernist view of adult education. During my undergrad, I researched the Renaissance period due to its rich history of literature and art that resonated during that time. It was in Hammon’s course that I would learn the influence of that particular era on modern andragogy in practice. In humanistic adult education, what really stood out to me was one of the thought leaders; Martin Luther. As a Christian, my religion came from the Protestant Reformation initiated by Martin Luther. During my adolescent years, I learned about the Protestant Reformation but did not connect it to humanistic adult education. This was a very personal moment for me in the adult learning environment; to connect my religion to adult education. All of a sudden, I was able to connect something that is a very deep, personal belief for me to its importance in adult education.

Did you end up where you thought you would?

Currently at my position at the University of Tennessee, I have been putting into place the ideas and concepts that I have learned in this program. During Qi Sun’s, associate professor, course, “Facilitating Change in the Educational Environment”, we learned that we can take a look outside the box if we have a barrier in the educational environment to understand the reasons why an individual views change as positive or negative. By understanding how the individual views their experiences and how they have resonated with their critical reflection of their experience, we can facilitate a successful learning or workplace environment. On a daily basis, we come across individuals that seem to create a barrier in the workplace or learning environment. At first, it may seem easy to be discouraged. However, putting in place the concepts and ideas I have learned in this program helps me understand why others view certain aspects as positive or negative from their experiences.

“This program has a been a road; there were some smooth stretches, bumpy rides, some curves, some twists, some obstacles, but it was all leading to somewhere. A destination unlike any other, not a specific destination, but one that encompassed knowledge all along the path. It was not about where I was going, a specific mark; it was about the journey, about what I learned. This program was never about finding answers, it was about losing the questions and finding your own learning. One important aspect that I have learned in this program is that learning is life-long, it is a continuous journey. It does not stop because we reach a certain age or we graduate. All the lessons in life that are accumulated from the time of birth, are on-going and every experience contributes to our overall learning.”