The Department of Curriculum and Instruction would like to offer sincere congratulations to one of its recent PhD students, Megan Mahowald for being listed as one of the nine finalists for the International Reading Association’s 2012 Outstanding Dissertation Award. This prestigious competition recognizes the best dissertations in the discipline and is very competitive. The winner and finalists will be recognized at the Research Address and Awards session during the IRA Annual Convention in Chicago, April 30-May 2, 2012.
Megan Mahowald’s research interests include assessment and treatment of oral and written language in school-age children and literacy development in unique populations (culturally and linguistically diverse students, students with disabilities and struggling readers and writers). While in C&I, professors Deborah Dillon and Lori Helman served as Mahowald’s advisers. Her dissertation study was a mixed methods study exploring fourth grade Hmong students’ development and achievement in reading. Mahowald hopes that this information will provide educators with a better understanding of bilingual students’ literacy development. Mahowald was a speech-language pathologist in Minneapolis Public Schools for seven years. She currently serves as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences at Indiana University.