Thursday, August 15, 2013

Campus Liaison Spotlight: Meet Robert Danielson


Hometown:  San Ramon, CA

Current University:  University of Southern California

Program:  Ph. D. in Education

Advisor:  Dr. Gale Sinatra

Graduation Year:  Spring 2016

Hobbies:  Hiking, Golfing, Video Games, Reading, Movies, Traveling, and Cooking. And of course Research.

Why did I decide to go to graduate school / what was I doing before going?

Before attending graduate school I was working in a medium size school district as an Autistic Specialist Para-educator. I really enjoyed the work – helping individuals with Autism, or other students in Special Education, has been a long-standing passion of mine. I really enjoyed the staff as well – the Special Education teacher, the other aides, the Speech Pathologist, and the Occupational Therapist were all committed to improving the quality of life for all the students. However, I always felt that we were not working to our full potential. I would watch as some children failed to receive the services they needed. Others were simply passed along so as not to disrupt the system. While the system helped a lot of children, I thought that I could improve it. So, I went back to Chico State to earn a Master’s degree, and while there, fell in love with research.

What do you like best about your program/school?

I really enjoy the diversity of background experience and knowledge that the program attracts. We are all interested in improving education, but we have very different opinions on how to do so.

What are your current research interests?

I am currently interested in how texts and graphics combine with analogies and metaphors to promote conceptual change.

What is your favorite article and why?

I think that my favorite article is “Construction and interference in learning from multiple representation” by Wolfgang Schnotz and Maria Bannert, published in Learning and Instruction in 2003. This article has made a large impact on my own work – both in terms of the theory which the article lays out, as well as the elegant way in which the experiment was conducted.

What was your proudest moment / greatest accomplishment?

I just married the love of my life – we met while earning our Master’s degrees at Chico State.

Thats for Participating Bobby




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