The purpose of this mixed methods dissertation is to examine the impact of the Professional Learning Community Continuous Improvement Model (PLCCIM) on school-based instructional coaches (SBICs) within a large school district in one of the nation's southeastern states. The effect of the implementation, along with coaches' perceptions, was measured…

At a time of bitter national polarization, there is a critical need for leaders who can help us better communicate with one another. In "A Search for Common Ground," Rick Hess and Pedro Noguera, who have often fallen on opposing sides of the ideological aisle over the past couple of decades, candidly talk through their differences on…

This tool is intended to support state and local education agencies in developing a statistical model for estimating student postsecondary success at the school or district level. The tool guides education agency researchers, analysts, and decisionmakers through options to consider when developing their own model. The resulting model generates an…

The Comprehensive Assessment System (CAS) Framework presents a vision for a system of assessments for English Learners in secondary grades that brings assessment closer to the classroom and fully involves teachers in assessment development and validation. The CAS Framework is intended to signal a new and equitable direction and to provoke…

This study invested 24 effective and 16 ineffective problem-solving kindergarten children's awareness of metacognitive self-regulated learning (MSRL) while watching other child's problem-solving behaviors. The model in a video performed a task with a trial-and-error approach and finally asked for help. After watching the video, children were asked…

Machine learning has achieved state-of-the-art performance in many areas, including image recognition and natural language processing. However, there are still many challenges and mysteries attracting numerous researchers. This dissertation comprises a series of works concerning problems at the intersection of computer science theory, adversarial…

The purpose of this study was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the "3 x 2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Music Performance" ("3 x 2 AGQ - MP") and to determine the extent to which the 3 x 2 achievement goal model fits to two contexts of university band performance. Results from a pilot study informed…

Service-learning is an educational innovation in schools and colleges across the United States of America (Billig & Waterman, 2013). Scholars agree that service-learning is defined as a form of experiential learning centered around community service (Celio, Durlak, & Dymnicki, 2011; Fertman, 1994; Shumer, 1994; Shumer & Belbas, 1996).…

Educational researchers are often interested in phenomena that unfold over time within a person and at the same time, relationships between their characteristics that are stable over time. Since variables in a longitudinal study reflect both within- and between-person effects, researchers need to disaggregate them to understand the phenomenon of…

Structural equation models comprise a large class of popular statistical models, including factor analysis models, certain mixed models, and extensions thereof. Model estimation is complicated by the fact that we typically have multiple interdependent response variables and multiple latent variables (which may also be called random effects or…

The purpose of this study was to further investigate the relationship between the instruments identified by Kose and developed by Maras et al. (2013), Astramovich (2016), and Dimmitt et al. (2007) to provide validation to the proposed taxonomy of program evaluation competencies for school counselors. Theoretically, these instruments should be…

Testlets bring several perks in the development and administration of tests, such as 1) the construction of meaningful test items, 2) the avoidance of non-relevant context exposure, 3) the improvement of testing efficiency, and 4) the progression of testlet items requiring higher thinking skills. Thus, the inclusion of testlets in educational…

This dissertation builds upon previous coaching research by providing an examination of a university success-coaching program that utilizes the Appreciative Advising Model framework. This dissertation examines what differences exist in the academic self-efficacy and academic motivation of students participating in success coaching. This…

Teachers in a rural southeastern state school district are not integrating technology in ways that provide students with engaging technology-based learning experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' current technology-based instructional practices based on the substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition (SAMR)…

Transformative learning pedagogy in higher education leads to increased student engagement. The problem with transformative learning in higher education is deficiencies in research on increased student engagement obtained with transformative learning pedagogy. This research study addressed unanswered questions in the literature by exploring…