Through instructional tasks, teachers can present content in ways that require students to apply critical thinking, problem-solving, and other cognitive skills. The purpose of this mixed methods collective case study was to determine how teacher-assigned instructional tasks in mathematics impact students' learning of mathematical concepts. In this…

Second language learning success relies on instructional methodologies that foster guidance, engagement, motivation, creativity, and active learning in an inclusive environment. As language educators, it is important to establish instructional modes to entice positive behavior and stimulate the senses. The problem to be addressed by the study is…

This dissertation describes a research program focused on investigating learning strategies that could prevent individuals from showing inferior motor performance when performing under psychological pressure, a phenomenon known as "choking under pressure." Choking has been studied from the perspective of different theories. Each theory…

The purpose of this descriptive analysis study was to investigate high school music teachers' levels of satisfaction with the teacher evaluation practices used by administrators and music supervisors in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia high school music teachers (n = 76) were surveyed to collect data used to determine their levels of…

The long-term objective of this project was to better understand how shorter auditory experience and spectral degradation of the cochlear implant (CI) signal impact spoken language processing in deaf children with CIs. The specific objective of this research was to utilize psycholinguistic methods to investigate the mechanisms underlying observed…

Dialogue act (DA) classification plays an important role in understanding, interpreting and modeling dialogue. Dialogue acts (DAs) represent the intended meaning of an utterance, which is associated with the illocutionary force (or the speaker's intention), such as greetings, questions, requests, statements, and agreements. In natural language…

Active learning is widely recognized as superior to traditional passive, lecture-based techniques for fostering learning in STEM courses. Interactive, hands-on learning where students interact with their peers and physical systems is an effective type of active learning. As the need for scientists and engineers continues to grow, understanding and…

"Vicarious learning" research is a burgeoning area of inquiry, which examines the learning of students who observe and are engaged with video- or audio-taped presentations of other people engaged in learning (Chi et al., 2008). In such studies, the students or "vicarious learners" (VLs) are positioned as indirect participants…

"Vicarious learning" research is a burgeoning area of inquiry, which examines the learning of students who observe and are engaged with video- or audio-taped presentations of other people engaged in learning (Chi et al., 2008). In such studies, the students or "vicarious learners" (VLs) are positioned as indirect participants…

It is often assumed that cross-linguistically more prevalent distinctions are easier to learn potentially due to their conceptual naturalness. Prior work supports this hypothesis in phonology, morphology and syntax but has not addressed semantics. This work aims to unravel the potential factors that contribute to the learnability and the…

Having discussions and working together in groups with other learners is the indicator of the collaboration aspect of engagement. Collaborative engagement can be fostered through active learning approaches, since they provide more opportunities for interaction among learners. In Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) classrooms, small…

Phonotactic patterns are generalizations that govern the order of consonants and vowels, within words and syllables. Certain second-order phonotactic patterns--those that relate multiple sounds within a syllable, such as "if the vowel is [near-close near-front unrounded vowel], then [s] can only appear at the end of the…

The importance of input on language learning cannot be overstated. One method of providing input to learners at a level that is appropriate for them is called extensive reading, in which learners read an abundance of texts. In practice, for learners of English as a second or foreign language, these texts are often books that have been written and…

Some still view arts education as a non-essential extracurricular activity despite its benefits. Even though the Every Student Succeeds Act acknowledges arts education is a healthy and well-rounded subject, local, district, and state administrators still control budget allocation and cuts, which generally affect arts education. There has also been…

This three-article dissertation explores Learning by Evaluating (LbE), an educational approach that enhances student learning through the process of assessing and providing feedback on peer work. Leveraging principles of comparative judgement, students evaluate pairs of exemplars side-by-side to determine which is better and provide a rational for…