Research Initiatives

Faculty and staff in the College have a variety of research interests. Below are several research initiatives that are currently underway. For more information, please contact the project director(s) whose contact information is provided below.

Mentoring Strategies: A Developmental Continuum
BooKs – Boats of Knowledge in the Classroom
The Rural Appalachian Adventure Sport Initiative (RAASI)
Consolidation of Rural Schools and Districts: A Southeast Ohio Perspective
The Implications of Budget Variances on Appalachian School Districts

Mentoring Strategies: A Developmental Continuum
This study seeks to determine the differences in relationships built and strategies used by mentors with entry-year teachers, student teachers, and early field experience students. To serve this purpose, the research team interviewed 18 mentor teachers about their mentoring strategies. The participants had previous mentoring experiences with each of the following: entry-year teachers, student teachers, and early field experience students. The analysis of the data is ongoing; however, tentative findings suggest that teachers’ mentoring practices and the mentoring relationship itself differed based on pre-service teachers’ previous experiences and needs. Changes in strategies occurred as pre-service teachers became more autonomous and their teaching role changed.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Dianne Gut
Principal Investigator
gut@ohio.edu

BooKs – Boats of Knowledge in the Classroom
As its web site (http://books.ohio.edu/) explains, the BooKS in Classroom aims to enhance and broaden science and engineering education of graduate fellows, especially under-represented groups, at Ohio University and improve their communication skills through the proposed activities. Each year, nine graduate fellows will work with nine school teachers to conduct on-boat samplings and experiments related to their research along the Ohio River from Marietta to Gallipolis; these activities will be remotely transmitted to school classrooms through inquiry-designed activities to an online virtual Boat-of-Knowledge to build a sustainable curriculum. The project will enhance understanding of graduate fellows in their research and improve communication and presentation skills using hands-on activities from the river boat to classrooms, and provide professional development for teachers to enrich learning environments of high school students.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Teresa Franklin
Co-principal Investigator
franklit@ohio.edu

The Rural Appalachian Adventure Sport Initiative (RAASI)
The goals of this community outreach and research initiative are to: (1) promote health and wellness among residents of rural Appalachia through increased involvement in adventure sport and recreational activities; (2) provide opportunities for faculty and students to engage in the design, implementation, and evaluation of adventure programs for residents of rural Appalachia; and (3) promote evidence-based practice in the field of adventure programming. As part of this initiative, several faculty members and students in the Department of Recreation & Sport Pedagogy (RSP) are working in partnerships with The Ohio State University and with funding from the U. S. Department of Defense to offer three unique adventure-based summer camp programs to youth from military families. Two research studies will be conducted exploring the effects of these programs: one to assess the restorative potential of a weeklong backpacking expedition among military youth and the second to explore the role of specialized camp experiences on the psychosocial needs of military youth with developmental disabilities.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Bruce Martin
Co-principal Investigator
martinc2@ohio.edu

Dr. Dr. Andrew Szolosi
Co-principal Investigator
szolosi@ohio.edu

Mr. Danny Twilley
Co-principal Investigator
twilley@ohio.edu

Consolidation of Rural Schools and Districts: A Southeast Ohio Perspective
This research initiative involves a collaborative effort between the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools and the Institute for Democracy in Education—a research center affiliated with the Educational Studies Department in the Patton College. The initiative has two aims: first to produce a policy brief explaining what is known about the consequences of school and district consolidation and second, using data from interviews with district leaders, to investigate the impact of possible consolidation on districts in Southeast Ohio counties with different characteristics.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. John Hitchcock
Co-principal-investigator
hitchcoc@ohio.edu

Dr. Craig Howley
Co-principal-investigator
howleyc@ohio.edu

Dr. Jerry Johnson
Co-principal-investigator
Johnsoj9@ohio.edu

The Implications of Budget Variances on Appalachian School Districts
In collaboration with the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools, a team of researchers is surveying superintendents in Appalachian Ohio to determine their perceptions regarding the impacts of budget variances on district personnel and programs. Content analyses of open-ended responses will identify the most commonly mentioned impacts. Comparison of responses on the basis of locale and economic indicators will reveal the pattern of losses and gains among districts in the region.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. David Horton
Co-principal-investigator
hortond@ohio.edu

Dr. Aimee Howley
Co-principal-investigator
howley@ohio.edu

Mr. Lindsey Ladd
Co-principal-investigator
ladd@ohio.edu