Education

• Ph.D. Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana in 1989. Concentration: Cognitive Psychology with focus on learning, memory, metacognition and instruction. Dissertation: Identification of students' epistemological beliefs and the relationship of these beliefs to aspects of comprehension.
• M.S. Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in 1984. Concentration: Cognitive Psychology with focus on learning, memory and metacognition. Thesis: Comprehension monitoring failures in skilled adult readers.
• B.S. Psychology, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Graduated With Distinction in 1978. Concentration: General Psychology

Courses

• CESP 701: Introduction to Educational Research
• CESP 704: Introduction to Educational Statistics
• CESP 820: Learning Theory and Instruction

Research & Professional Interests

• Epistemological Beliefs (beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning)
• Reading Comprehension
• Study Skills
• Problem Solving
• Interpretation of Text

Honors & Awards

• Awarded Kansas Board of Regents Excellence in Teaching Award 2006
• Awarded the 2005 WSU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Scholar Award
• Nominated for Academy for Effective Teaching Award 2005
• Awarded College of Education Teaching Award 2004
• Honorable Mention for San Jose State University Award for Research on College Teaching & Learning 2004
• Nominated for the 2003 Academy for Effective Teaching award
• Nominated for the 2002 Board of Trustees Excellence in Teaching and Academy of Effective Teaching Awards
• Nominated for the 2002 College of Education Personnel Teaching Award.
• Nominated for the 2001 Board of Trustees Excellence in Teaching and Academy of Effective Teaching Awards
• Nominated for COE Teaching Award in 2000
• Nominated for the 2000 Board of Trustees Excellence in Teaching and Academy of Effective Teaching Awards

Current Presentations & Research

• Schommer-Aikins, M., & Easter, M. (2007, April). Epistemological beliefs, Learning Beliefs, and Argument. To be presented at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL (national/international conference).
• Schommer-Aikins, M., & Easter, M. (2007, April). Comparing epistemological beliefs and study strategies of Asian Americans and Euro-Americans. To be presented at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL (national/international conference).
• Kelman, M., Hodson, B., Strattman, K., Schommer-Aikins, M., McDowell, K. Coufal, K., & Scudder, R. (2006, November). An investigation of preschool children=s primary literacy skills. Presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Miami, FL. (national conference).
• Scott, Chirs., Strattman, K., Hodson, B., Schommer-Aikins, M., Scudder, R., & Coufal, K. (2006, November). A comparative analysis of atypical & typical spelling ability. Presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Miami, FL. (national conference).
• Schommer-Aikins, M., & Duell, O. K. (2006, April). General and mathematical epistemological beliefs and problem solving. Presented at the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., & Easter, M. (2005, April). Ways of Knowing: Similar epistemological beliefs but different strategic emphasis. Presented at the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., Hopkins, L., Anderson, C., & Drouhard, B. (2005, April). Epistemological beliefs and need for cognition of traditional and non-traditional students. Presented at the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada.
• Abram, J., Mehta, Z., Schommer-Aikins, M., & Stakiw, D. (2005, November). Clients as partners: An auditory rehabilitation protocol. Presented at the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association Convention, San Francisco.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., & Easter, M. (2004, April). Relationships among ways of knowing, epistemological beliefs, and academic performance. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego.
• Tirre, W. C., Schreiber, J. B., Chambers, E., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2004, May). Self-reported cognitive failures are predicted well by personality factors. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., Duell, O. K., & Hutter, R. (2003, April). Epistemological beliefs as predictors of mathematical problem solving beliefs. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.
• Easter, M., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2003, December). A new light on student performance: Integrating business communication and educational psychology. Paper presented at the Association of Business Communication in Auckland, New Zealand.
• Easter, M., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2003, April). Business communications and classroom performance based on social perceptions beliefs. Paper presented at Association for Business Communication in Toronto, Canada.
• Whiting, E. M., Hodson, B. W., Strattman, K., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2003, August). Enhancing Head Start children=s emergent literacy skills. Poster presented at the American Speech and Hearing Association, Chicago, IL.
• Schommer-Aikins, M. (2002). Schommer-Aikins in an interactive mode: Interactive symposium on personal epistemology. Interactive symposium presented at the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.
• Neber, H., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2001, August-September). Self-regulated science learning with highly gifted students: The role of cognitive, motivational, epistemological, and environmental variables. Paper presented at the 9th European Conference for Research on Leaning and Instruction, Switzerland.
• Magnus, L., Hodson, B. W., Westby, C. Kallail, K. & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2001, November). Speech of children born with lip and palatal anomalies: Relationships of speech and nonspeech variables to listener ratings. Paper presented at the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, New Orleans.
• Schommer-Aikins, M. (2001, April). The second decade for an epistemological belief system: An intimate dance with a multitude of conceptual partners. Invited Symposium presented at the American Educational Research Association, Seattle.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., Duell, O. K., & Barker, S.(2001, April). Domain generality of epistemological beliefs: It=s a matter of degree. Presented at the American Educational Research Association, Seattle.
• Duell, O. K., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2001, April). How epistemological beliefs are measured: A review of instruments. Presented at the American Educational Research Association, Seattle.
• Schommer, M. (2000, March). Getting the most from our minds: The influence of metacognition and epistemic beliefs on practice. Invited address at the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association, San Diego.
• Schommer, M., & Duell, O. K. (2000). Relational views: Factors in cooperative learning, debate, and more. Presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.

Selected Publications

• Schommer-Aikins, M. (in press). Applying the theory of an epistemological belief system to the investigation of students=and professors=mathematical beliefs. In K. Myint Swe (Ed.), Knowing, Knowledge and Beliefs: Epistemological Studies Across Diverse Cultures. Pp#____ Netherlands, Springer.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., Bird, M., & Bakken, L. (In progress). Manifestations of epistemological beliefs in Pre-K - 12 Classrooms. In L. D. Bendixen & F. C. Haerle (Eds.), Personal Epistemology in the Classroom: Theory, Research, and Implications for Practice. Pp#_______ Cambridge University Press.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., & Easter, M. (2006). Ways of knowing and epistemological beliefs combined effect on academic performance. Educational Psychology, 26, 411-423.
• Brewer, W. F., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2006). Scientists are not deficient in mental imagery: Galton revised. Review of General Psychology, 10, 130-146.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., Duell, O. K., & Hutter, R. (2005). Epistemological beliefs, mathematical problem solving beliefs, and academic performance of middle school students. Elementary School Journal, 105, 289-304.
• Swanson, T. J., Hodson, B. W., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2005). An examination of phonological awareness treatment outcomes for seventh-grade poor readers from a bilingual community. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 336-346.
• Easter, M., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2004). Applying educational psychology to business communication: An initial model of cultural, epistemological, and relational views. The Communication Journal of New Zealand, 5(1), 41-62 .
• Bajaj, A., Hodson, B., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2004). Performance on phonological and grammatical awareness metalinguistic tasks by children who stutter and their fluent peers. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 29, 63-77.
• Schommer-Aikins, M.(2004).Explaining the epistemological belief system: Introducing embedded systemic model and coordinated research approach. Educational Psychologist, 39, 19-29.
• Easter, M., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2003). Business communication and classroom performance based on social perceptions and beliefs. In C. Muier (Ed.), Refereed proceedings of the Association for Business Communication: The worlds within the words: Business practice in plain language (53-55).
• Schommer-Aikins, M., Duell, O. K., & Barker, S. (2003). Epistemological beliefs across domains using Biglan=s classification of academic disciplines. Research in Higher Education, 44, 347-366.
• Schommer-Aikins, M. (2002). An evolving theoretical framework for an epistemological belief system. In B. Hofer & P. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of belief about knowledge and knowing.(Pp. 103-118).Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Schommer-Aikins, M. (2002) Epistemological World Views: A concept that is useful beyond the classroom. Issues in Education: Contributions from Educational Psychology, 2, 229-232. (Actually published late and came out in 2003)
• Neber, H., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2002). Self-regulated learning with highly gifted students: the role of cognitive, motivational, epistemological, and environmental variables. High Abilities Studies, 13, 59-74.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., & Hutter, R. (2002). Epistemological beliefs and thinking about everyday controversial issues. The Journal of Psychology, 136, 5-29.
• Duell, O. K., & Schommer Aikins, M. (2001). Measures of people's beliefs about knowledge and learning. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 419 449.
• Schommer-Aikins, M., Mau, W., Brookhart, S., & Hutter, R. (2000). Understanding middle students=beliefs about knowledge and learning using a multidimensional paradigm. Journal of Educational Research, 94, 120-127.

Professional Memberships

• Southwest Consortium for Innovative Psychology in Education (2006 - present)
• EARLI: European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (2003 - present)
• Study of Learning Environments (AERA Special Interest Group) (1999 - present)
• American Educational Research Association (1983-present)
• American Psychological Association--Ed. Psych. Div. (1985-present)
• American Psychological Society (1990-present)
• International Reading Association (1985-present)
• Midwestern Educational Research Association (1990-present)
• (Association Council Member 1993-1995, 1999-2001)
• National Reading Conference (1986-present)
• National Consortium for Instruction and Cognition (1986-present)

Updated: 10/31/2007