A Brigham Young University doctoral student has been selected for the 2010 Pearson Research Fellowship, making her one of only three students from across the globe to participate in eight weeks of research at the education technology company.
Assunta Hardy, a student in the Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology, was chosen for her record of national and international public service. Participants are chosen for their emphasis on ethical public service, international perspectives and public education.
“I have been involved in several projects with a nongovernmental agency that did development work in Nicaragua,” Hardy said. “I was also involved with a micro-credit organization that lends money to the poor in Albania and Montenegro and the Center for Economic Self-Reliance at BYU where I was investigating ways of measuring economic self-reliance.”
Hardy completed her bachelor’s in marketing from Concordia University before coming to BYU.
“I believe that my business background is an asset even though business is very different from education," Hardy said. "After completing my MBA, I wanted to work with an organization such as the United Nations or the World Bank to help improve living conditions for people that live in less developed countries. “
“I met a professor from BYU who explained to me that the best way out of poverty was through education. He encouraged me to come to BYU to complete a master’s in education and then continue on toward a Ph.D,” he said.
Hardy is currently finalizing her dissertation prospectus, which focuses on issues related to vertical scaling, a statistical procedure that enables one to compare scores from tests that may vary in their level of difficulty. For example, vertical scaling allows measurement of growth between third and fourth grade test scores, although the fourth grade test is more challenging.
For more information, contact Assunta Hardy at (801) 422-3674.
Writer: Brandon Garrett
