Dr. Tamara M. Walser

Associate Professor

Director of Assessment and Evaluation, Watson School of Education

Department of Educational Leadership
Education Building 307
(910) 962-4175 Phone
(910) 962-3609 Fax
walsert@uncw.edu

Education

Ph.D., Research and Evaluation Methodology, Utah State University (2000)

M.S., Instructional Design and Development, Utah State University (1996)

B.A., French; minors in Organizational Communication and Public Relations, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (1989)

North Carolina Teaching License: French (K-12); Instructional Technology Specialist (Administrative)

Previous Professional Positions

Project Manager, Research and Evaluation/Training Development Departments, Windwalker Corporation, McLean, VA

Research Scientist, Office of Educational Assessment, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Assessment Specialist, Research Department, Committee for Children, Seattle, WA

Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology and Associate Director of the Assessment and Evaluation Center, Department of Educational Leadership, Washington State University, Pullman, WA

French Teacher, North Carolina Public Schools

Courses Taught at UNCW

EDN 200: Teacher, School and Society
EDN 514: Technology for School Administrators

EDN 523: Research in Education
EDN 564: Policy Formation as a Systemic Process

EDL 568: Program Design and Evaluation

EDN 595: Using Data for School Improvement

EDN 595: Data Utilization Practicum

EDN 599: Thesis in Education
EDL 641: Research I

EDL 642: Research II

EDL 699: Dissertation

Research Interests

Systems in Evaluation
Program Evaluation Methodology
Performance Assessment

Assessment for Learning
Research Design
Evaluation of Research

Recent Publications

Walser, T. M. (2011). Using a standard rubric to promote high standards, fairness, student motivation, and assessment for learning. Mountain Rise: The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(3).

Walser, T. M. (2011, April). Carteret County Schools Hill Reading Achievement Program: 2009-2010 annual report of evaluation results. Wilmington, NC: University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Walser, T. M., Grace, E. R., Bell, C. A., Dowcett, E. T., & Hodges, D. M. (2011, March). Hill Center Regional Education Model: 2009-2010 annual report of first-year evaluation results. Wilmington, NC: University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Walser, T. M. (2010, February). Carteret County Schools Hill Reading Achievement Program: 2008-2009 annual report of first-year evaluation results. Wilmington, NC: University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Recent Presentations

Walser, T. M., Parker, M. A., Grace, E. R., & Hodges, D. M. (2011, November). The role of replication in evaluating complex systems in education. Paper presented at the American Evaluation Association annual conference, Anaheim, CA.

Walser, T. M., & Parker, M. A. (2011, November). How to train your dragon: One story of using a quasi-experimental design element in a school-based evaluation study.  Paper presented at the American Evaluation Association annual conference, Anaheim, CA.

Walser, T. M. (2011, May). Carteret County Schools Hill Reading Achievement Program: Evaluation summary. Invited presentation for the Friends of Front Street Village/The Hill Center/Carteret County Schools Partnership Celebration for the Hill Reading Achievement Program, Beaufort, NC.

Walser, T. M. (2011, February). School improvement planning and program evaluation: Building capacity for school improvement. Paper presented at the North Carolina Association for Research in Education annual conference, Charlotte, NC.

Walser, T. M. (2011, February). Developing evaluation reports that are useful, user-friendly, and used. Invited American Evaluation Association Coffee Break Webinar.

Current Grants

Co-Prinicipal Investigator, Hill Center Regional Educational Model Grant Evaluation Contract (with Karen Wetherill, UNCW; $223,676; 2008-2011)

Co-Principal Investigator, The Hill Center, Front Street Village, Carteret County Schools HillRAP Partnership Evaluation Contract , The Hill Center (with Karen Wetherill, UNCW; $230,825; 2008-2011).

Recent Contributions to the Field

Board Member, North Carolina Association for Research in Education, Spring 2011-present.

Textbook Reviewer for Mertler, C. A. (2012). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.