This dissertation focuses on strategies and techniques to enhance code comprehension skills among students enrolled in introductory computer science courses (CS1 and CS2). We propose a novel tutoring system, "DeepCodeTutor," designed to improve the code comprehension abilities of novices. DeepCodeTutor employs scaffolded self-explanation…

Speech is a complex, redundant and variable signal happening in a noisy and ever changing world. How do listeners navigate these complex auditory scenes and continuously and effortlessly understand most of the speakers around them? Studies show that listeners can quickly adapt to new situations, accents and even to distorted speech. Although prior…

Research-based multi-text strategies (MTC) comprised of two-step verification, discrepancy-induced, cognitive-affective engagement, and reading as problem-solving models may assist students in furthering their reading comprehension in this Internet-based society. The purpose of this statewide quantitative study of principals in Title I elementary…

Reading comprehension is an extremely important skill that students need to be effective learners; however, a significant percentage of students are reading below grade level on a nationwide scale (National Assessment for Educational Progress, 2019; National Institute of Health as cited by Learning Disabilities Association of America, 2022). In…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and implement an effective model for reading professional development (PD) for elementary teachers. Cycle 1 data were collected from kindergarten through fifth grade elementary teachers to understand teachers' perspectives of effective PD. The findings suggested that if PD utilizes teacher collaboration…

Up until third grade, reading instruction is focused on learning to read, while in fourth grade and up, students begin reading to learn (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2024; Grunke et al., 2013). This reading with purpose includes increasing critical thinking skills and using newfound reading skills to understand complex subjects such as math and…

The heightened importance of foreign languages (L2) in the post 9-11 world demands more L2 listening research as listening is considered the most critical skill for most American military linguists. Some larger studies show that lexical knowledge can positively affect L2 listening (Chang, 2007; Mehrpour & Rahimi, 2010; Staehr, 2009), yet…

The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study was to investigate the effects of watching text-relevant video segments on reading comprehension of a culturally unfamiliar text when technical words are present or absent. Therefore, 44 adult English Language Learners (ELLs) with higher-intermediate to advanced English language…

The growth of reading and cognitive skills is crucial for children's development. This study examined the utility of incorporating a cognitive framework for reading in intervention design among struggling readers receiving National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) Educational Therapy® over a 3- to 5-year period. Evidence from this…

Distributed leadership is being implemented in many international schools. However, it is unclear how teacher leaders are experiencing interactions with their colleagues within this model of leadership. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to understand how teacher leaders describe their experiences interacting with their colleagues…

This study focuses on developing and applying methods/techniques in different aspects of the system for clinical text understanding, at both corpus and document level. We deal with two major research questions: First, we explore the question of "How to model the underlying relationships from clinical notes at corpus level?" Documents…

Two people in the same situation may ascribe very different meanings to their experiences. They will form different awareness, reacting differently to shared information. Various factors can give rise to this behavior. These factors include, but are not limited to, prior knowledge, training, biases, cultural factors, social factors, team vs.…

The primary aim of this study was to examine the structure of processing speed (PS) in middle childhood by comparing five theoretically driven models of PS. The models consisted of two conceptual models (a unitary model, a complexity model) and three methodological models (a stimulus material model, an output modality model, and a timing modality…

With the online assessment becoming mainstream and the recording of response times becoming straightforward, the importance of response times as a measure of psychological constructs has been recognized and the literature of modeling times has been growing during the last few decades. Previous studies have tried to formulate models and theories to…

This dissertation looks at how responsiveness towards students' science ideas and teachers' understanding of responsive teaching provides opportunities for sensemaking and learning. For this study, I served as the primary science instructional coach for three upper elementary teachers at different schools for at least one school year. We engaged…