DESCRIPTION: Professor Susan De La Paz, a faculty member in the University of Maryland College of Education seeks a motivated graduate student who is interested in helping her research team evaluate how Vietnamese faculty at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, used the UDL Framework and Digital Promise’s adult learner variability navigator to support their college students’ learning.

Efforts to improve student engagement, to diversify how to provide instruction on course content, and the use of scaffolded assignments (e.g., with formative and summative elements) have become common in American universities, but they are still new to many in international contexts such as in Vietnam.

Mentoring will be provided for the UM Scholar to help analyze data from a descriptive multiple-case study (Yin, 2003) involving 6 Vietnamese lecturers who taught Science, Life Skills, Sustainability, Psychology, Latin American Literature and Special Education.

We plan to use constant comparative analysis following Harry et al. (2009). Data include recordings from coaching sessions, field notes from class observations, permanent products (e.g., syllabi, course assignments, lecture materials), semi-structured interviews with teachers after data collection, student surveys and focused interviews with representative students. The interviews provided lecturers and students with an opportunity to reflect on how the semester and course unfolded from their perspectives, and to reflect on benefits, challenges, and potential modifications for future use.

Work on this research project includes attending remote and in person meetings with research team, coding the above-mentioned data. Students who contribute substantively will be included as contributing authors on conference presentations and academic journal articles.

IDEAL CANDIDATE: Students from the School of Social Work or School of Law and students with a background or interest in college teaching. Students with knowledge of a higher education system in Southeast Asia are especially encouraged to apply.

LOCATION: Hybrid: Remote & In-person

PROJECT LEAD/PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Susan De La Paz, PhD, Professor, Special Education, College of Education, University of Maryland

BIO: https://education.umd.edu/directory/susan-de-la-paz

EMAIL: sdelapaz@umd.edu

International Students: F-1 or J-1 students must obtain Office of International Service (OIS) authorization for this activity. If you are interested in applying, please contact OIS at ois-info@umaryland.edu before submitting your application. They will assist you in determining your specific eligibility. When reaching out, be sure to specify the particular project of interest and include a link to description.