Mabel Okojie, Ph.D.

Mississippi State University, MS

Paper Presentation Title

Doctoral Advising as Pedagogical Practice: Lessons from a Non-Completion of Dissertation Study

Biography

EDUCATION

Ph.D. | Educational Studies: Foundations of Education, Workforce Development, Adult learning Methodologies, and Educational Research | The Ohio State University

Minor |Human Resource Development, The Ohio State University

M.Ed.| Education with emphasis in Curriculum Development, Foundations of Education and Cultural Context of Education | Manchester University, Manchester, England

B.A. |The Open University. Foundations of Education, Curriculum Development and Research Methods in Education and Social Science, Milton Keynes, England

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Dr. Mabel CPO Okojie is a professor of education and workforce development at Mississippi State University. She has expertise in teaching courses on educational foundation, curriculum planning and evaluation, educational research methods, and instructional design theory. As an educator, Dr. Okojie is committed to creating a learning environment that encourages critical thinking and reflective learning where instructional materials are analyzed and evaluated. Her instructional goals include helping her students generate new ideas and expand their knowledge. As a teacher, she perceives her role in the classroom as a facilitator of instruction and as a resource that students can use to enhance their knowledge base. She serves as a mentor to students through encouragement and through using scenarios of life experiences as parts of the instructional activities. She believes in helping students become lifelong learners because it allows them to grow and remain current with advances in knowledge and technology. Dr. Okojie has instituted eight new courses since her tenure at Mississippi State University (MSU) and modified seven existing courses. She is an instructor of record for 15 courses at MSU. She coordinated the modification of her department's doctoral program and is the coordinator of the educational specialist degree program.

Dr. Okojie is a lead editor of a handbook entitled: Handbook of Research on Adult Learning in Higher Education and a co-author of a textbook entitled, Digitools: Advanced computer applications. She has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and several book chapters, including eight citations as a distinguished scholar in Tomei (2010). Dr. Okojie has graduated 22 doctoral students as a major adviser/dissertation director, including numerous educational specialist students and master's degree students as a major adviser. She has written several funded grant proposals. Her research areas include adult learning methodologies, curriculum development and evaluation, workforce development program and instructional design theories. Her research effort centers on developing effective strategies for translating ideas and theories into practical activities aimed at achieving meaningful learning and solving real-life problems. She has provided numerous services to MSU and to professional organizations.