FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 17, 2015

For More Information:
Glenville State College
Public Relations Department
(304) 462-4115

GLENVILLE, WV - Glenville State College Assistant Professor of Special Education Tara Cosco has successfully completed her Doctor of Education degree. The now Dr. Cosco defended her dissertation earlier in March at Northcentral University in Prescott Valley, Arizona. The degree focused on Technology and E-Learning.

Her dissertation, titled 'Adult Student Preferences for Communication Media in an Interactive Online Environment,' explored college and university students’ use and perceptions of communication tools in an interactive online environment. She wanted to determine if the tools help students learn in an interactive environment and if the tools help them learn in relation to their learning styles.

"The problem that I wanted to address is that the availability of Internet courses does not automatically create quality learning experiences prompting a pedagogical dilemma for educators in how to foster interaction when students and teachers are separated. The specific problem addressed by my research was that instructors do not know how students perceive the communication tools in an interactive course that has multiple tools and if those tools help students learn according to their individual learning styles. I interviewed 20 college and university students from approximately 20 different institutions who had taken four or more interactive online courses using multiple tools. Data consisted of over 200 pages of interview transcripts and over 50,000 words. From that data, seven themes emerged from which I was able to frame and complete the dissertation," Cosco explained.

"Now that the degree is over, I can reflect and know that I am grateful for the experience and opportunity to further my education. Many of my friends and family members encouraged me through the difficulties and celebrated successes with me throughout this journey; their encouragement helped me reach this goal and I could not have done it without them!" she said.

Cosco has 15 years of experience in the education field. She taught special education for six years in the West Virginia public school system and then taught at an independent school in Princeton, New Jersey for three years. She has been an assistant professor at Glenville State College for seven years. In addition to her teaching duties at GSC, she also serves as faculty advisor for the international education honor society Kappa Delta Pi.

Her official graduation ceremony will be held over the summer in Arizona. Cosco hopes to attend with family and friends.