Does the classroom make the difference

Kalyn Brymer / Photographer

Dr. Denae Dorris, the project manager of the American Clearinghouse of Educational Facilities here at Tarleton State University, has recently been awarded the ‘Dissertation of the Year’ Award from the Texas Council of Professors for Educational Administration for her doctoral dissertation. Dr. Dorris’ dissertation is titled “A Validation of the Effective Learning Environments Assessment”. The dissertation validated how the facilities of educational buildings affect the students and teachers that use them.

Dorris validated this study by using a “classical theory and a multi-trait, mutli-method matrix to look at correlations to see if questions were answered consistently”. Topics that were covered include technology used in older and newer buildings, classroom setup and how different buildings affected scores. Now that this instrument has been validated, other doctoral workers can use the data collected by Dorris and her staff and use it for work on their dissertations. “There are an additional at least five studies to come out of this particular research.  And that’s exciting because that’s what every researcher wants; is for their data to be used or for their research to be used.” said Dorris. By using this tool, doctoral workers can collect information about how different buildings and structural environments affect learning and State Test scores. The goal is to look at all the different sides of how students, teachers and even parents feel about achievement in comparison to facility condition.

The award was presented to Dr. Dorris in Jan. and she will be going Canada in April to share her research for a national competition. When asked how she felt when she received the award Dorris answered, “I was excited but also nervous. The most intimidating part was how to make my research something that was approachable and user-friendly so that my audience became intrigued by my work so they could leave there with something and use it.”

Before the end of the interview, Dorris mentioned the help that she had during the process of this project. She had an outside architect working with her from an area firm and a committee who was reviewing and offering ideas throughout the whole process. With true Tarleton pride, Dorris was sure to mention that the Tarleton environment made her feel like her research was more involved and supported. Dorris’ final remarks on the topic were, “I have three degrees here and there’s a reason why. It’s because it was a good learning environment for me and I felt like there was a personal connection with everyone and I wouldn’t have done my research with anyone else.”