Several research cycles were conducted using an action research methodology to explore student engagement in a higher education classroom. Cycle 0 focused on gathering data about the local context. This was followed by Cycle 1 -- where the flipped classroom approach was implemented as a mini-intervention. After data collection and further…

Undergraduate general chemistry courses are often perceived in a negative light by students. Student attitudes towards chemistry play a significant role in their success in chemistry and retention in STEM altogether. Research has shown in K-12 classrooms that care-based instruction strategies can help to improve student attitudes towards…

Large class sizes can be a barrier to seeking assistance, inhibiting student success. Efforts to improve student outcomes and address the reluctance of students to access academic resources lead many institutional leaders to turn to unique academic support initiatives, like supplemental instruction (SI). There is ample evidence that supplemental…

When instructing very large groups of students in science, it can be difficult to engage all students in the content and measure their understanding. A major unaddressed challenge in science instruction is how specifically to design and implement strategies that engender active learning particularly in high-enrollment undergraduate courses. Active…

This applied dissertation examined the use of technological tools in formative assessment activities. These phenomena have left teachers searching for timely methods to perform formative assessment or assessment for learning activities. The problem addressed by this study was that standardized testing, large class size, and increasing distance…

The call for transformation of nursing education continues to be supported by professional nursing organizations and nursing leaders. It is needed to support transition of nursing graduates who are facing an increasing technological work environment, higher patient acuity, and the challenges of making rapid critical decisions for care. The current…

While the number of students with disabilities in postsecondary programs has increased over the past few decades, they earn lower grades and are less likely to graduate. Academic outcomes are also worse for those with invisible disabilities such as ADHD and learning disabilities, especially as younger college students. Large, intro level courses…

This research addresses the underexplored area of supporting high school students with autism in whole class engineering instruction. Drawing on insights from eight high school First Robotics Competition teachers across the United States, the study employs a DisCrit and Social Cognitive Career Theory framework. Through interviews and surveys, the…

Traditional lecture continues to dominate undergraduate instruction in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) despite the decades-long call to alter teaching to include more student-centered, evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs). While researchers have done some exploration of barriers to change, a need exists for…

This dissertation follows a three-article format presentation. The topic addresses improving student success in a large enrollment introductory accounting course. The first article is a literature review of pre-class activities within a flipped classroom setting in higher education. The review of 34 articles identified as relevant to the…

Instructors with a high sense of inclusive teaching efficacy appear to create classroom climate where learners with a range of learning styles and abilities perform well. There is quite limited research on inclusive teacher efficacy, a construct gaining considerable attention by scholars globally. This transcendental phenomenological study of…

Learning to program has long been known to be a difficult task, requiring a student to develop both fluency in the syntax and grammar of a formal programming language and learn the problem-solving approaches and techniques of computational thinking. The successful teaching strategies of the past have involved maintaining small teacher-student…

Clustering, a prevalent class of machine learning (ML) algorithms used in data mining and pattern-finding--has increasingly helped engineering education researchers and educators see and understand assessment patterns at scale. However, a challenge remains to make ML-enabled educational inferences that are useful and reliable for research or…

Youth with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) may be negatively impacted by their behavioral excesses and deficits across domains requiring more intensive supports and treatment than can be provided in a typical school. As a result, some of these youth will receive their supports and treatment from placement in a residential treatment facility…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have invigorated a large push towards the expectation that students should engage in science as scientists do. This requires teachers to have the skills necessary to able to hear and engage with their students' science ideas. The current study draws from two constructs, teacher professional noticing and…