Doctoral student is the first at TXST to receive NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship

Lino Guajardo, a fifth-year doctoral student in mathematics education at Texas State University, has received the NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship. Guajardo is the first-ever TXST student to have received this prestigious write-up award from the National Academy of Education with financial support from the Spencer Foundation.

With over 400 alumni, who include many of today's leading education researchers, the fellowship encourages a new generation of scholars from various disciplines and professional fields to undertake research relevant to improving education. Fellows receive $27,500 for one academic year. Additionally, they participate in two professional development retreats. Lastly, fellows choose an NAEd member or another esteemed scholar as a mentor, providing guidance and support throughout the academic year.

NAEd/Spencer Fellows are working on dissertations that have the potential to bring fresh perspectives to the theory or practice of education. Guajardo was one of 35 fellows selected from a pool of over 380 scholars.

“It makes me feel honored and humbled to have received such a prestigious award,” Guajardo said.

Guajardo received a bachelor of science and a master of science in mathematics, both from TXST. However, Guajardo did not always know that mathematics education was a field they could pursue. Guajardo began their journey when they chose a mathematics major as an undergraduate student.

“I thought I would become a high-school teacher or mathematician,” they said. “I soon fell in love with the world of mathematical proof.”

During the summer before beginning their master’s degree, Guajardo was shown the world of mathematics education research by one of TXST’s faculty members, Cody Patterson, Ph.D.

“I like to describe mathematics education as the intersection between psychology and mathematics," Guajardo said. "I realized that not only could I work in mathematics, but I could listen to others talk about mathematics as well.”

Guajardo’s awards and accolades also include:

• 2023-2024 Graduate College Doctoral Research Support Fellowship
• 2022 Ross and Sarah Wayment Endowed Scholarship
• 2021 Rapid Fire Research-Math Education Scholarship
• 2020-2021 Texas State Doctoral Merit Fellowship

Guajardo is currently a research assistant for Paul Dawkins, Ph.D., with whom they are working on a grant focused on developing a curriculum for introduction to proof courses. Guajardo’s current research focuses on investigating how mathematics majors attempt to understand the proofs they see in their junior and senior-level proof-based courses.

“This area of research is important for my field, as current research has focused on the perspectives of mathematicians or mathematics education researchers or in comparing students to mathematicians,” they said. “Although this information is helpful, it is also important to consider the students’ perspectives on how they learn and attempt to understand. With this information, we can develop better interventions to help students succeed in their courses.”

In the future, Guajardo hopes to work at a Carnegie classified R1 or R2 institution where they can teach and continue their research to help support future students in their courses.

“I hope with my research, I can begin widening the ‘STEM pipeline’ in various ways,” they said. “This is an ultimate goal of mine, as mathematics should not be a barrier to those who wish to learn.”

The NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship application process required Guajardo to turn their 80+ page dissertation document into a 10-page narrative. Guajardo attributes their success to the importance of their research, their research advisor’s and dissertation committee's feedback, and that they could communicate their work to a general education audience.

Kristen Lew, Ph.D., Guajardo’s research advisor, had many positive remarks about them.

“Lino is a self-motivated and communicative individual with a remarkable work ethic and a genuine interest in and talent for mathematics education research,” Lew said. “I have had the pleasure to witness tremendous growth in Lino’s scholarly skills over the years. Lino is a superlative scholar with a passion for community building within the mathematics department.”

Guajardo advises future applicants to gain as much feedback on their applications as possible.

“If you are in a very niche field of education, have someone whose research is in more general education look over the narrative, focusing on clarity and terminology to someone who is not in the field,” they said.

Visit The Graduate College awards news page to read more about past awardees.