This special issue was motivated by the realization that student motivation is inherently complex and no single framework can capture it in its full richness. However, the current zeitgeist in educational psychology seems to explicitly discourage attempts at integration as researchers are incentivized to stay within their own theoretical camps. In…

This article presents the PTSI (Person x Task x Situation Interaction) theory of creativity. The theory deals with the creative person, the deployment of creativity in tasks, the ecological context in which this deployment takes place, and the types of creative products that result. The theory draws upon a wide range of previous work. The article…

In this article, we discuss the methodological implications of data and theory integration for Theory-Based Evaluation (TBE). TBE is a family of approaches to program evaluation that use program theories as instruments to answer questions about whether, how, and why a program works. Some of the groundwork about TBE has expressed the idea that a…

This article examines alternative and supplementary ways in which theorists and researchers have sought to account for bullying behavior among students in schools. Contemporary explanations acknowledge the variety, complexity, and interactivity of both person and environmental factors in determining acts of bullying in schools. Two explanatory…

Logic modeling, the process that explicates how programs are constructed and theorized to bring about change, is considered to be standard evaluation practice. However, logic modeling is often experienced as a transactional, jargon-laden, discrete task undertaken to produce a document to comply with the expectations of an external entity, the…

This study addresses the gap in understanding graduate students' sustained engagement behavior (SEB) with generative artificial intelligence (GAI) by integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT), and Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) into a comprehensive embedding model. It introduces the Technology…

We explore ways in which statistics can be used to understand disease spread and support decision-making by governments. "Past performance does not guarantee future results"--we hope. We discuss and show examples from the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded COVID-Inspired Data Science Education through Epidemiology (CIDSEE) project.…

Our technological, information-rich society thrives because of scientific thinking. However, a comprehensive theory of the development of scientific thinking remains elusive. Building on previous theoretical and empirical work in conceptual change, the role of credibility and plausibility in evaluating scientific evidence and claims, science…

In this paper, we discuss the ethical responsibilities of being a role model as an engineering teacher in higher education. We draw on virtue ethics, care ethics, ethics of freedom and role modeling theory, using Grande's framework for engineering education. We argue that the three ethical theories give different views on the ethics of role…

Background: It is well established in the literature that active learning instruction in introductory STEM courses results in many desired student outcomes. Yet, regular use of high-quality active learning is not the norm in many STEM departments. Using results of a national survey, we identified 16 departments where multiple instructors reported…

Most educational literature on conceptual change concerns the process by which introductory students acquire scientific knowledge. However, with modern developments in science and technology, the social significance of learning successive theories is steadily increasing, thus opening new areas of interest to discipline-based education research,…

The author of this article provides an example of how one might incorporate behavioral economics into teaching macroeconomics or labor economics at an undergraduate level. The focus is on two macroeconomic concepts--wage determination and the Phillips curve--and shows that the implications and conclusions of both models differ from their textbook…

This qualitative case study investigated how computational models can help students engage in scientific practice and influence their emotional, epistemic, and conceptual aspects. Twenty-four sixth-graders were guided to conduct scientific practices as they predicted and modified the computational models on food web using StarLogo Nova. Three…

Procrastination is a delay in an intended course of action and, thus, a self-regulation failure hindering growth and well-being. Contrarily, self-regulation is a set of cognitive and metacognitive skills and strategies supporting goal-directed behavior. There is ongoing discussion regarding the extent to which (and the ways in which) promoting…

Advancing equity and justice in undergraduate biology education requires research to address the experiences of disabled students. Scholars working in disability studies have developed models of disability that inform Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER). To date, DBER literature has been predominantly informed by the medical and social…