Essentials of Research Methods for Educators

About Anastasia KitsantasMaria K DiBenedettoSuzanne E. HillerTimothy Cleary

Anastasia Kitsantas Ph.D. is Professor of Educational Psychology and Director of the Office of Doctoral Studies in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University (GMU). She has also served as Director of the Educational Psychology Research Methods and Education Policy Division and as Academic Program Coordinator of the Educational Psychology Program. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Development Learning and Instruction from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. She has previously served on the faculties at James Madison University in the School of Psychology and at Florida State University in the Department of Educational Research. Prior to working in higher education she taught in K-12 settings. Dr. Kitsantas research interests focus on the development of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and student motivation across diverse areas of functioning including academic learning athletics and health. She has also studied the role of learning technologies in supporting student SRL. She finds joy in mentoring students to conduct research in these areas and has chaired more than 30 doctoral dissertations. She is the editor co-author or author of three books and over 150 journal articles book chapters refereed proceedings and reports many of which are directed toward the training of self-regulation. Her publications have appeared in diverse outlets across many fields such as educational psychology teacher education learning technologies health psychology and sport psychology. Her research output has been widely cited by others with more than 19000 Google Scholar citations. In fact she has been recognized as ranking in the top 2 percent of scientists worldwide based on research conducted from Stanford University that covered ~7 million scientists in 22 major fields (Jeroen Boyack & Ioannidis 2020). She has also presented over 200 papers or invited addresses at local national and international conferences. She has received funding support for her scholarship by various agencies. Currently she is the Principal Investigator (PI) and a Co-PI on two projects funded by the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation respectively. Both projects focus on the development of self-regulatory skills among school-aged students in literacy and STEM areas in preparation for postsecondary learning the workplace and lifelong learning. Dr. Kitsantas was awarded the Outstanding Dissertation Award by Division 15 of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1997 and had been honored to receive the 2019 Barry J. Zimmerman Award for Outstanding Contributions to the fields of studying and self-regulated learning research by the Studying and Self-Regulated Learning (SSRL) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Associations: Division 15 Educational Psychology. She has excelled at teaching in a variety of course modalities and was awarded a George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award which is an institutional recognition for outstanding teaching and acknowledgment of the significant work that faculty members devote to teaching advising mentoring and curriculum development. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Experimental Education and has served on the Editorial Boards of a number of professional journals including Contemporary Educational Psychology Educational Technology Research and Development Metacognition and Learning The Journal of Experimental Education and many others. Dr. Kitsantas has been extensively involved in the profession and has held numerous leadership positions in professional organizations. She served as a Member at Large of the Executive Board of Division 15 of APA in 2011 and most recently served as the Chair of the Fellows Committee and the Webinar Committee. She has also been involved in the SSRLSIG of AERA as the SIG Chair Program Chair and Chair of the Barry J. Zimmerman Award Committee. She has been a panel reviewer for the Institute of Education Sciences the National Science Foundation and other funding agencies. She has developed partnerships with GMU and other universities abroad taught abroad and as an advocate for study abroad programs continues to seed fruitful international collaborations. Anastasia Kitsantas was named a 2024 Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and 2023 Fellow of the Association for  Psychological Sciences (APS). Timothy J. Cleary is Professor and Chair of the Department of School Psychology in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers The State University of New Jersey. He obtained his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a specialization in School Psychology from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. CUNY Graduate School in 2001. Dr. Cleary began his professional career working as a licensed school psychologist in the public and private sector. He began his academic career as a Visiting Professor at CUNY before serving as Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee prior to moving to Rutgers in 2012.   Dr. Clearys primary research interests include the development and application of self-regulated learning (SRL) and motivation assessment and intervention practices across academic athletic medical and clinical contexts. Specifically he has examined trends in school based SRL assessment and intervention practices developed and validated several types of SRL assessments (i.e. self-report teacher rating scales parent rating scales microanalytic protocols) developed and tested academic intervention programs and investigated links among SRL processes and performance indicators. He has published over 65 peer-review journal articles and book chapters on SRL issues and applications co-edited one scholarly book and served as sole author on edited volume targeting SRL intervention program across disciplines and a research-to-practice book for K-12 teachers The Self-Regulated Learning Guide: Teaching Students to Think in the Language of Strategies (2018). Most of his publications have appeared in top-tiered journals across multiple fields including school psychology educational psychology medical education teacher education and sport psychology. He was also the recipient of the 2021 Barry J. Zimmerman Award for Outstanding Contributions to the fields of studying and self-regulated learning research from the Studying and Self-Regulated Learning Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).   Dr. Clearys extramural grant funding is significant in both its quantity and quality and most of his projects have been collaborative in nature. He is serving or has served as a Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI on grants from the National Science Foundation the Department of Educations Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) Institute for Educational Sciences (IES) and the Spencer Foundation. Over the course of his career Dr. Cleary has served in a lead or collaborative scholarly role on grants totaling approximately $12M.   Dr. Cleary has also taken on several leadership roles at the university and national levels. Across institutions he has served as Program Director Director of Clinical Training and Department Chair. He also participated as a Fellow in the inaugural Rutgers Leadership Academy in 2015. At a national level Dr. Cleary has served on the executive board for the Studying and Self-Regulated Learning Special Interest Group (SSRL SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) performing roles of Chair Program Chair and Secretary. He also served as Chair for the Graduate Student Mentoring Program of the SSRL SIG for four years and has participated in various mentoring programs sponsored by NASP and Division C of AERA. Dr. Cleary currently serves on prestigious editorial boards for school psychology journals (Journal of School Psychology School Psychology) and educational psychology journals (Journal of Experimental Education Metacognition and Learning) and served as a panel reviewer for IES grant for several years. Dr. Cleary is frequently asked to provide professional development workshops to school personnel research and psychologists across the country regarding the application and motivation and SRL principles. Dr. Maria K. DiBenedetto holds a doctorate in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Learning Development and Instruction from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. She has a rich history in working in various administrative positions in higher education including admissions recruiting advisement student services assessment and reaccreditation as well as adjunct teaching of both undergraduate and graduate students (courses include research methods educational psychology counseling psychology child and adolescent development theories of learning in teaching and management). She also has several years experience teaching as a high school science teacher and Chair of the Science Department as well as experience as a second and fourth grade elementary school teacher. Dr. DiBenedettos current position is at the University of North Carolina Greensboro in the Bryan School of Business and Economics where she is a member of the Deans Leadership Team. In her position as Lecturer/Director of Assessment and Reporting Dr. DiBenedetto oversees assurance of learning for the business schools reaccreditation by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) one of the most prestigious and internationally recognized organizations that reviews business schools throughout the globe. In addition she ensures the business school is meeting the assurance of learning standards set by SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) for all graduate programs undergraduate majors minors and certificate programs. She also serves on various committees throughout the university and within school and is a senator on the university-wide staff senate. Dr. DiBenedettos research interests are focused on self-regulated learning self-efficacy and motivation. She has published numerous chapters and articles on these topics and has collaborated with world renown scholars in the field of educational psychology. She is particularly interested in research on self-regulated learning for college bound high school students as well as study strategies for undergraduate and graduate students and their impact on achievement. Her research has been widely cited; for example in a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education on first-generation college students study strategies the authors cited one of her studies in their discussion of study strategies for success (https://www.chronicle.com/article/Knowing-How-to-Study-Can-Mean/246644.). Along with Dr. DiBenedettos empirical research she has written several theoretical/conceptual publications focused on assessment standards-based instruction self-efficacy within a sociocultural lens the mentoring of doctoral students and two books one edited and one coauthored. In the edited book: Connecting self-regulated learning and performance with instruction across high school content areas (2018) each chapter is cowritten by outstanding content area high school teachers throughout the U.S. and well-known educational psychologists on applying self-regulated learning to classroom instruction. Self-regulation and the common core: Applications to ELA standards (2015) was her earlier co-authored book that discusses how self-regulated and the common core can be used to teach ELA standards to students in grades K-12. Dr. DiBenedetto has served on several prestigious editorial boards: Journal of Experimental Education; The International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment; and a special issue of Theory into Practice. She has served as a guest reviewer for several premier journals including the Journal of Educational Psychology; Journal of Advanced Academics; Learning and Individual Differences; and Assessment in Education: Principles Policy & Practice among others. DiBenedetto is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and served as chair of Division 15s (Educational Psychology) Committee on the Development of Early Career Educational Psychologists. She served in several positions in the Studying and Self-regulated Learning Special Interest Group (SIG) for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) including chair program chair secretary and editor of the SIG. Dr. DiBenedetto has presented her research internationally and domestically and has conducted professional development workshops for teachers in middle schools and high schools in addition to guest lectures for doctoral students on student learning and assessment. In addition Dr. DiBenedetto serves on doctoral dissertation committees and has served and serves as a consultant on many projects for organizations such as ACT (American College Testing) Pearson Education Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the Portuguese Science Foundation. Suzanne E. Hiller PhD has worked in the field of education as a practitioner professor researcher and evaluator for over three decades. Notably she was the Teacher Naturalist with the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of Natural History. She has served as an assistant professor teaching educational psychology program evaluation research and preservice teacher courses in curriculum and assessment. While affiliated with Wingate University she was the Director of the Graduate Education Program and the Director of Multidisciplinary Studies in Education with Hood College. Currently she is the Executive Director of the Blue Swallow Farm Foundation an organization dedicated to promoting inclusive authentic experiences in outdoor education through research and training while motivating students in STEM careers. In light of this mission Suzanne E. Hiller has been working with educators administrators researchers and scientists on a variety of projects related to professional development curriculum development and research with a particular emphasis on outdoor classrooms and citizen science. Most recently she has conducted a series of research studies on the impact of water quality programs on student STEM achievement career motivation environmental attitudes and social emotional well-being. Through this type of research professional development on designing and utilizing outdoor classrooms curriculum resources for educators and mentorship and support for doctoral students she continues to encourage growing interest in providing students with exposure in STEM activities within natural settings. In support of educational research at large Suzanne E. Hiller has served on the editorial board for the International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology and the Journal of Experimental Education. She has also been a reviewer for a variety of journals such as Learning and Individual Differences; Learning Culture and Social Interaction; and Heliyon. She has written one book on using metacognitive and self-regulatory strategies to promote student science achievement and co-edited one book on fostering STEM career motivation through citizen science. Her background in motivation and self-regulation was particularly relevant as a Co-Principal Investigator on a grant from the Maryland Governors Emergency Relief Fund to provide assistance for teachers during the recent health crisis. Using an online format the program serviced teachers across the state of Maryland with presentations mentorship and projects related to social emotional learning trauma-informed practices mind brain education and self-regulation all topics that were critical for student success during the pandemic. The experience of working on this grant serves as a model for several upcoming programs to train educators and administrators in outdoor instruction through the Blue Swallow Farm Foundation as well as to develop curricular materials for outdoor learning Grades K-12.