Contextual multi-armed bandits have previously been used to personalize student support messages given to learners by supplying a model with relevant context about the user, problem, and available student supports. In this work, we propose using careful feature selection with relevant domain knowledge to improve the quality of student support…

Studies have shown that on-demand assistance, additional instruction given on a problem per student request, improves student learning in online learning environments. Students may have opinions on whether an assistance was effective at improving student learning. As students are the driving force behind the effectiveness of assistance, there…

Few studies have examined social anxiety in Black American adolescents, despite the role of unique sociocultural factors and lower rates of mental health service use in this population. The goal of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions and experience of social anxiety, as well as attitudes toward help-seeking and school-based…

Help-seeking is a valuable practice in online discussion forums. However, the asynchronicity and information overload of online discussion forums have made it challenging for help seekers and providers to connect effectively. This study formulated a new method to provide fair and accurate insights toward building a peer recommender to support…

Utilizing a person-centered approach, the present study explored two-hundred and sixty-five adolescents' reports of self-disclosure, help, conflict, and conflict resolution with a close friend to investigate variability in profiles of friendship quality, whether gender and gender homophily and ethnicity homophily of friends are associated with…

Help-seeking is an essential tool for student success. Still, students, especially those underrepresented in STEM (UR-STEM) and those underrepresented in chemistry (UR-Chem), may be reluctant to employ help-seeking for academic success. Understanding help-seeking in online courses is crucial for developing equitable learning environments where…

Prior research has shown negative relations between math anxiety and math performance. We posit that one potential pathway through which math anxiety influences performance of math equivalencies is through help seeking behavior during learning. Here, we examine whether middle school students' behavior, specifically the frequency of hint requests,…

Underrepresented (UR) students face barriers to help-seeking in traditional classrooms. We predicted these barriers would be ameliorated online. We analyzed online course discussion boards and found UR students asked for help more often than non-UR students and women were more likely than men to ask for help explicitly at least once. Furthermore,…

Teen dating violence victimization is associated with a host of adverse mental and physical health problems. A number of bystander-focused interventions have been developed to mitigate the occurrence of abuse but with varying effectiveness. There remains a need to understand more about bystander behaviors used by adolescents to ensure that…

Digital media is becoming increasingly prevalent in households and classroom settings lowering the age of first exposure to technology; however, little is known about how children experience digital media and how their experiences relate to learning and social engagement. In this case study, we followed a 28-month-old boy in a naturalistic setting…

There has been a long-standing issue of sparse discussion forums participation in online learning, which can impede students' help seeking practices. Researchers have examined AI techniques such as link prediction with network analysis to connect help seekers with help providers. However, little is known whether these AI systems will treat…

Despite well-established health disparities between transgender and cisgender youth, state bills restricting gender-inclusive school supports and health care have dramatically expanded since 2019. While parental support for transgender youth strengthens healthy development, unsupportive parents contribute to suicidality and homelessness. This…

Purpose: This study investigates the reasons teachers seek instructional assistance from their colleagues. By examining both the reasons why teachers seek assistance and considering which reasons for seeking assistance predict shifts in teaching practice, this analysis provides new insights into how schools can leverage teachers' social networks…

Positive perceptions of school climate are associated with improved academic and behavioral outcomes, such as lower bullying victimization experience and higher student engagement. The present study evaluated the consistency of these relations across racial/ethnic student groups using the Authoritative School Climate (ASC) model which defines…

Traditionally, face-to-face bullying has been major problem among adolescents, especially those deemed at-risk. With the rise in the use of and advancements in mobile technologies, the Internet 2.0, and smart phones, a new form of bullying has been on the rise resulting from the increase in access to technologies and by association, social media…