Many education researchers have advocated grounding abstract mathematical and scientific concepts in students' lived experiences, environmental interactions, and perceptions. This dissertation explores the causal effects of various grounding strategies in instructional settings, specifically on the topic of statistical sampling. The first chapter…

Creativity and collaboration are key components of a mathematician's work, and thus in the preparation of future mathematicians, undergraduate mathematics courses should aim to develop students who can effectively work collaboratively and creatively with one another. Despite this need, research on mathematical creativity has primarily investigated…

In this dissertation, I report results from a study that investigated the impact of students' engagement in a series of tasks in an introductory proof course that was designed to stimulate their learning of reading strategies to support their comprehension of mathematics proofs. Specifically, I investigated the impact of the design of five…

The purpose of this study was to gather expert instructional designers' descriptions of their decision-making processes and procedures while designing and developing formative game-based activities for online courses in workplace environments. The question addressed by the study is "How do instructional designers describe their…

Literacy is evolving, dynamic, and intricately linked to social dynamics. It is crucial to consider how literacy shapes and is shaped by the current social context and educational settings. Over the past several decades, new technologies, such as the internet and digital tools have fundamentally transformed our literacy processes in terms of the…

Students from marginalized and underserved groups have historically faced difficulties in learning mathematics. It is crucial to tap into the skills and creativity of such learners as it would positively impact our society. To cater to the needs of these learners, different mathematical pedagogies and initiatives are being implemented.…

Statistical association is a key facet of statistical literacy: claims based on relationships between variables or ideas rooted in data are found everywhere in media and discourse. A key development in introductory statistics curricula is the use of simulation-based inference, which has shown positive outcomes for students, especially in regards…

This action research dissertation provides an overview of inquiry based learning in online general chemistry course. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many science course have been converted to an online format. In order to increase student learning and attitudes in online chemistry class, two inquiry based learning activities were developed and…

Experiential learning (EL) is often perceived as valuable to education and prioritized in higher education curricula. The value of EL from the student perspective has been researched, but few have explored faculty perspectives in business programs. The purpose of this study was to explore faculty perceptions of the meaning of EL, implementation…

This study aims to test the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) that relates the type of gamification activities based on the student hybrid player type to the engagement of undergraduate students at a Saudi Arabia public university. By measuring the influence of the type of gamification and the hybrid player types on the student's…

The research explores Black and Latinx recent high school graduates' perceptions of their high school English classes and the value they placed on their experiences and their futures. This study aims to amplify the voices of students who have been dismissed from academic research on issues concerning student voice by providing recent graduates an…

The research explores Black and Latinx recent high school graduates' perceptions of their high school English classes and the value they placed on their experiences and their futures. This study aims to amplify the voices of students who have been dismissed from academic research on issues concerning student voice by providing recent graduates an…

As part of the process for designing an online information technology (IT) course, hands-on activities may be included; however, the literature has not readily revealed the best practices and challenges instructional designers (IDs) face with including hands-on activities in an online IT course. Research has shown that hands-on learning increases…

This qualitative, descriptive, naturalistic study investigated literacy activities, instructional assistance, and pre-service teacher's learning engagement within a project-based learning program. The study lasted six months and totaled 100 minutes (about one and a half hours) a week for two credit hours in the fourth semester of the Early…

Analogical reasoning has played a significant role in the development of modern mathematical concepts. Although some perspectives in mathematics education have argued against the use of analogies and analogical reasoning in instructional contexts, some attempts have been made to leverage the pedagogical power of analogies. I assert that with a…