Sharon Hobbs, a doctoral student in the graduate school of education at the University of Utah, has been awarded a national $15,000 Spencer Foundation Fellowship.
Hobbs is one of 34 national recipients of the 1995 Spencer Dissertation Fellowship for Research Related to Education. Hobbs, the only Utah recipient, will use her award to complete her dissertation on creating community in the classroom. Her dissertation includes interviews with public school teachers and traditional philosophical viewpoints.Because most students don't share the same history or common goals, a sense of community is often missing from the classroom, she said. Despite diversity, Hobbs said teachers must find a way to create a classroom community.
Hobbs received her bachelor's degree in English from Wichita State University and her master's degree in educational philosophy from the University of Utah in 1992.
"I wanted to teach the profoundly hearing impaired," said Hobbs, who began losing her hearing as a young adult. "But I started working with pre-service teachers and thought this is the most exciting stuff I've seen."