Future Teacher Earns Research Award

A soon-to-be elementary teacher has earned a prestigious award for undergraduate researchers.

Thursday, May 11, 2023 • Written by Monique Bird :

A unique capstone project has earned a soon-to-be elementary teacher a prestigious award for undergraduate researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington Honors College.

Photo of Ashley Kevin leaning on pillar in front of the SEIR buildingAshley Kevil ('23), a senior graduating with her Bachelor of Arts in Education with teacher certification in Early Childhood - Grade/English as a Second Language (ESL), was honored with the Dedicated Researcher Award on April 25.
 
"Being in the Honors College along with the College of Education has allowed me to enhance my studies," said Kevil. "I have had the privilege to work with many professors at UTA on topics that have enabled me to dig much deeper into various teaching aspects. These projects have helped me look into the research of various teaching methods and sociology studies, and I feel better equipped as a teacher because of them."
 
Within the university, the community of Honors College students is small.
 
"We have only a few Honors College students in College of Education, and Ashley is one of these," said Kathleen Tice, a clinical assistant professor in the College of Education.
 
Kevil was one of only about 60 students who completed her capstone research project. For that capstone, she chose to implement a writing workshop to study its impact
 
Tice said that the writing workshop is a valuable tool for teachers.
 
"The writing workshop approach is based upon providing support for students throughout the writing process, with an emphasis on the process of writing, as well as the product," said Tice. "Also, the writing workshop approach is based what writers do, so students are shown strategies and techniques writers use, with teachers demonstrating through their writing."
 
Working with an elementary child three days a week over a period 11 weeks, Kevil says she saw noticeable improvement in a child who once considered writing to be "boring" and would dread writing work.
 
"The student moved from relying on pictures to convey details in a story that would be one paragraph long, to writing multiple pages for one story, each story structured with a beginning, middle, and end," said Kevil, who also served as a Student Ambassador for the college. "By the last session he told his friends they should try writing sometime because it is fun." 
 
Kevil adds that she's passed her certification exams and hopes to join her sister, Jenica Kevil, in Arlington I.S.D.
 
"I know that teaching has challenging days like any other job, but I know that I have been equipped to work this job with success and am making an impact in ways that I may not even see," said Kevil. "For example, a quote from one of my UTA professors that I will never forget is that 'all children need a smile and to hear their name each day, but not every student will receive this.' So, every day I am in the classroom, I make sure to speak to each child and have them feel heard and appreciated."