The employment rate of software developers has risen significantly over the last 30 years. As a result, more students are considering computer science as a potential career path. Over the last 15 years, introductory programming course (CS1) enrollment has been increasing at a much faster rate than the increase in the number of CS faculty, with no…

The present study explored perceptual and articulatory techniques addressing the pronunciation of Spanish rhotics by means of a week-long computerized training. Through a quasi-experimental design approach, the study tested the utility of the online training and its effects on the phonetic production of taps [voiced alveolar tap or flap] and…

Natural language is highly complex and can be challenging for some learners, yet the contribution of complexity to individual differences in language learning remains poorly understood. This poor understanding appears due to both a lack of consensus among researchers regarding what complexity is, and to on-line language research often employing…

This dissertation explores the professionalization of students enrolled in second language teacher education (SLTE) and their perceptions of the characteristics and obligations of a professional second language teacher (SLT). The sociocognitive approach forms the theoretical foundation, which sees humans as life-long learners and teachers, who…

The areas of "mispronunciation detection" (or "accent detection" more specifically) within the speech recognition community are receiving increased attention now. Two application areas, namely language learning and speech recognition adaptation, are largely driving this research interest and are the focal points of this work.…

Learning Chinese characters is a difficult task for adult English native speakers due to the significant differences between the Chinese and English writing system. The visuospatial properties of Chinese characters have inspired the development of instructional methods using both verbal and visual information based on the Dual Coding Theory. This…

Prior research on students' uses of technology has suggested it can be used to support students' development of formal justifications and proofs. The ways in which these technologies influence the construction of arguments and proofs remain uncertain. Furthermore, research has not been conducted that compares the arguments students develop while…

As a foundational course in medical education, gross anatomy serves to orient medical and veterinary students to the complex three-dimensional nature of the structures within the body. Understanding such spatial relationships is both fundamental and crucial for achievement in gross anatomy courses, and is essential for success as a practicing…

This study was a case study which had three overlapping purposes. The first purpose was to use Douglas's typology to explain the educational culture of the Faculty of Management Sciences (FMS) at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hatyai, Songkhla, Thailand. The second purpose was to describe the students' and instructor's preferences about…