Dr LaTra Tracy Rogers
Social Work
rogerstr@msudenver.edu
CAMPUS BOX 070
CN 201, Suite J
303-556-5698
Personal Biography Statement
Dr. LaTra Tracy Rogers, MSW, Ph.D ("Dr. LaTra") had been an affiliate faculty member at Metropolitan State College of Denver since the Fall of 2002 prior to beginning his doctoral program in the Fall of 2004. Dr. LaTra received his B.S. in Criminal Justice and Criminology with an Emphasis in Law Enforcement and Public Safety from Metropolitan State College of Denver (1997), his B.A., in Social Work from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado (1996), his Masters in Social Work from the University of Denver (2000), and Dr. LaTra received his Ph.D in Educational and Human Resource Studies: Specialization in Social Work Interdisciplinary Studies from Colorado State University’s Graduate School of Education (2008).
Dr. LaTra finished his course work and became All But Dissertation (ABD) in the Fall of 2006 at which time he began the Faculty Retention Incentive Program (FRIP). The FRIP Program provided reassigned time (3 credit hours each semester), financial support to be used towards dissertation and assured Dr. LaTra a tenure-track position when he finished his degree in the Fall of 2008. His dissertation is entitled “Selection of Social Work As An Academic Major Among Male and Female Undergraduate Baccalaureate Students.”
Dr. LaTra's has considerable practice experience working within the Denver metropolitan area. His areas of interests and practice as a social work professional have included; juvenile and adult court ordered offenders, hostile and angry clients, female and juvenile sex offenders, incarcerated at-risk minority youth, overrepresentation of minorities in truancy and delinquency, mental health, invisible disabilities, strategies for resolving relationship disharmony, bisexuality issues, grassroots community organizations, and political advocacy work.
Selected Presentations
Dr. LaTra's Dissertation:
Selection of Social Work As An Academic Major Among Male and Female Undergraduate Baccalaureate Students
In my research I used a questionnaire to identify factors impacting female and male students’ motivations for selection of and experiences within the social work major. Significant differences were found for both factors. This research also sought to further investigate the experiences of male social work students within a female dominated major.
My research included participants from two undergraduate social work programs in Colorado; Metropolitan State College of Denver, and Colorado State University in Fort Collins. There were 166 participants, 141 females and 23 males who completed a 32-item questionnaire that was divided into three parts: motivations, experiences, and demographics. Hanson and McCullagh (1995) identified two factors from 12 items about motivation to select a social work program. Factor 1 was labeled Service to Others and Factor 2 was labeled Job Self Interest.
The findings of my research revealed that there were three motivation differences based on gender, two motivation differences based on age, and one motivation difference based on marital status. There were four experience differences found based on grade level, three experience differences based on Prior Exposure to a Social Worker, and one experience differences based on ethnicity. Having experienced a psychosocial crisis was not rated as an important motivator to select the major, but males, older students, married students, and those with no prior exposure to a social worker were more likely to rate it as an important motivator than were females, younger, and unmarried students. There were few differences in experiences during the major based on demographics. In follow up interviews male students reported their experiences while being in predominately female social work classrooms.
Teaching Philosophy
Dr. LaTra's Personal Teaching Philosophy:
1. My Overall Teaching Philosophy: I believe that teachers and students learn together during every class period. I believe that effective learning can only take place when the participants feel safe to take risks and are challenged to take those risks. I believe that students come to the educational setting differentially prepared and with different educational needs. I believe that learners should be actively engaged in the learning process. I believe that learning is a cooperative and collaborative process. I believe that students and teachers are mutually responsible for learning.
2. My Role as the Teacher: As the teacher, I believe that I am responsible for maintaining a learning environment that respects all participants. I am responsible for providing students with an overall framework from which to understand class material. I am responsible for helping students gain mastery of course material in ways that are effective. I am responsible for clearly articulating course and individual class objectives. I am responsible for articulating my expectations of students in assignments and evaluation criteria. I am responsible for being available to students and to answer questions and concerns. I am responsible for doing my best to help motivated students succeed.
3. Student Role: Students are responsible for maintaining a learning environment that respects all participants. Students are responsible for actively engaging in the learning process. Students are responsible for coming to each class fully prepared to discuss class material and to actively contribute to the learning process. Students are responsible for mastery of course content and demonstrating the mastery, as I believe that the knowledge, values and skills directly impact the ability to serve clients systems. Students are responsible for seeking assistance as needed. Students have the right to fail.
Personal
SOME OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS BY PIERS ANTHONY
Split Infinity (1980)
Blue Adept (1981)
Juxtaposition (1982)
Out of Phaze (1987)
Robot Adept (1988)
Unicorn Point (1989)
Phaze Doubt (1990)
I am also HUGE DEAN KOONTZ fan: So far I have read:
Watchers (1987)
Lightning (1988)
Midnight (1989)
The Bad Place (1990)
Cold Fire (1991)
Hideaway (1992)
Dragon Tears (1993)
Mr. Murder (1993)
Dark Rivers of the Heart (1994)
The Door to December (1985)
Whisper (1990)
Icebound (1995)
Intensity (1995)
Sole Survivor (1997)
False Memory (1999)
Tick Tock (1996)
Fear Nothing (1998)
Seize the Night (1999)
From the Corner of His Eye (2000)
One Door Away From Heaven (2001)
By the Light of the Moon (2002)
Frankenstein Book 1: Prodigal Son (2005)
Frankenstein Book 2: City of Night (2005)
Frankenstein Book 3: Dead and Alive (2009)
Frankenstein Book 4: Lost Souls (2010)
Frankenstein Book 5: Dead Town (2011)
I am currently reading Odd Thomas (2003)
THE NEXT NOVELS I will read in order are:
The Face (2003)
Life is Good; With Trixie Koontz (2004)
The Taking (2004)
Courses Taught
SWK-1010,SWK-1020,SWK-3010,SWK-3050,SWK-3060,SWK-3100,SWK-3200,SWK-3400
,SWK-4850,SWK-498L,SWKM-5100
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