Law enforcement officers can come into conflict with suspects when they need to act fast under time pressure. Improving such a decision-making skill is a challenge in a police academy. Academies can train future officers in correct psychomotor responses to attacks by a suspect. However, the ability to anticipate such attacks, and thereby make more…

This dissertation describes an experiment to investigate how learners with different levels of background in computer science learn core concepts of computer science, in particular, algorithms. We designed a study to focus on cognitive task analysis for eliciting the empirical mental elements of learning two graph algorithms. Cognitive workload…

Though the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires secondary students with Asperger's syndrome (AS) to take high-stakes mathematical tests, many students with AS exhibit weaknesses in mathematical and executive functioning skills. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to explore the use of differentiated mathematical strategies with…

Research shows that mental representation such as analogical reasoning is a fundamental cognitive tool for design problem solving (Daugherty & Mentzer, 2008; Hey, Lensey, Agogino, & Wood, 2008; Lewis, 2008). Not much is known, however, about the way students and professional engineers actively generate and change their mental representation when…

Researchers have been able to link working memory to many important cognitive abilities throughout the life span. Two of the unanswered questions about working memory are what cognitive processes function during working memory task performance and how do these processes directly relate to intelligence? A recent model (Unsworth & Engle, 2006)…

An increased number of students graduating from high school lack college and career readiness skills to earn credit in entry-level college courses or begin a career in an entry-level position. Many schools across America have prepared to address students' college and career readiness with the adoption of Common Core State Standards. Twenty-five…