The series is designed to fulfill three goals: to provide a platform for explorations of new ways of conducting and disseminating educational research, to discuss new methods of mentoring doctoral students in an effort to enhance their development as researchers, and to fill a professional development need by providing access to cutting edge researchers at the state and national levels.

"Bringing in nationally recognized scholars to discuss their research is incredibly inspiring for all of us," said Susan Ogletree, director of the COE's Educational Research Bureau. "It gives the faculty and doctoral students the opportunity to ask questions and get a deeper understanding of research designs and data collection."

This spring's speakers, who come from as close as the University of Florida and as far away as the University of California, Berkeley, will discuss a variety of topics, from cognition in education in math, science and technology to research on gangs and understanding and treating antisocial youths.

The series began with Vanderbilt University's Bruce McCandliss, who discussed the development of auditory, visual and language perception from childhood to adult.