Research

Dr. Sherri Rochel's research focuses on enhancing education for both educators and students. Her initial work involved her dissertation, titled "Veteran Public Secondary Teachers’ Lived Experiences Describing Challenges and Changes Ending Their Career: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study." She continues to explore why experienced public educators at all levels and in various states are leaving the field of education and studying how students can transition information from short-term to long-term memory.

For more detailed information about these studies' findings, please refer to the Publications Page on this website, where you can access Dr. Rochel's complete publications.

Active Research Studies

Research Focused on Educators

To better understand the growing teacher shortage in the United States, I am researching the challenges faced by veteran educators in public schools and the influence of these challenges on the decision to leave education.

I am recruiting individuals who meet all of these criteria:

Public education teachers
Has taught in public schools for at least ten years.
Has recently given notice to leave their long-term education career within the last two years,

If you decide to participate in this study, you will be asked to do the following activities:

Participate in a 1:1 online interview over Zoom for 60-90 minutes
Review your interview transcript via email for 10-15 minutes
Participate in a focus group over Zoom for 60-90 minutes, if chosen

During these activities, you will be asked questions about:

Your experiences as an educator
Changes that you have seen in education throughout your tenure
Your decision to leave education.

To participate, complete the form linked above! Thank you for supporting my research!

Participate

Research Focused on Students

To better understand the impact of technology on teenage minds and their ability to convert memories from short-term to long-term memory, I am completing a short (one-day) study. In this study, Parents/Guardians will share a simple 4-digit code (provided) with their teen at the start of the day and again 1 hour later. After 12 hours, the parent/guardian will ask the teen to give them the number back. The same process will happen again the next morning to see if the teen is able to recall a simple number throughout the course of a 24-hour period.

Two populations of teens are being sought to partake in this study.

Teens who have a smartphone, social media, or gaming technology and are active with these devices for more than 2 hours a day (50-100 participants).

Teens who do not have a smartphone, social media, and/or gaming technology or those who are active with these devices less than 2 hours a day (50-100 participants)

Specific Criteria Requirements

Teens must be 13-17 years of age

Teens must be enrolled in school

Teens must meet population criteria as listed above

Parents must be willing to complete the informing and recall portion of the study as described above.

The parent must be willing to report results via the provided form within a timely manner (1-3 business days).