This dissertation adopted the three-article format. The entire dissertation aims to explore Describing Critical Statistical Literacy Habits of Mind (CSLHM). The first article describes the creation of the CSLHM framework. The second describes how secondary preservice mathematics teachers enact CSLHM. The third article describes a common and an…

The Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) aims to foster learning productively under optimal cognitive loads. Students across all ages and stages of learning have limited capacity due to the human brain's functionality. Therefore, an effective learning design allows for knowledge acquisition that will minimize the loading effect on the working memory and…

Background: Collaborative learning is a widely used approach where students gather in small groups to solve problems and develop skills. However, grouping students is not always effective, and it may be necessary to provide task-specific collaborative experiences to optimize their interactions for subsequent learning tasks. Aims: To test this…

This mixed methods study compared the Community of Inquiry (CoI) presences and student performance between two course sections in a course -- HyFlex vs. online asynchronous. The CoI presences show participants' perception of three important elements -- teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence in a computer-mediated course…

The emerging interest in self-directed learning (SDL) in the context of language learning has focused less on specific learning strategies selected by language learners based on their discoveries. Anchored on Boyatzis' Theory of Self directed Learning (2001) and Classifications of Language Learning Strategies by O'Mally and Chamot (1990), and…

A growing body of vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) studies focuses on accumulating empirical evidence on the relationship between frequency of VLS use and vocabulary acquisition by using the frequency-based measures of VLSs. Our study by contrast, examined which VLSs are perceived as important and useful, and how they are employed by Japanese…

Contribution: This study represents the first systematic attempt to develop Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) integrated project-based learning (PBL) as a transdisciplinary teaching method for fostering students' creativity and computational thinking (CT) skills. Background: With the growing importance of creativity…

Purpose: This study tested whether the Sitting Together and Reaching to Play (START-Play) physical therapy intervention indirectly impacts cognition through changes in perceptual-motor skills in infants with motor delays. Methods: Participants were 50 infants with motor delays randomly assigned to START-Play plus Usual Care Early Intervention…

Recent research in numerical cognition has begun to systematically detail the ability of humans and nonhuman animals to perceive the magnitudes of nonsymbolic ratios. These relationally defined analogs to rational numbers offer new potential insights into the nature of human numerical processing. However, research into their similarities with and…

Differing research worldviews have typically resulted in interpretations at odds with one another. Yet, leveraging distinct perspectives can lead to novel interpretations and theoretical construction. Via an empirically grounded research commentary, we describe the value of such activity through the lens of previously reported findings. This…

This study introduces an effective intuitive rule focusing on "tending to the midpoint" in individuals' mathematical thinking. The rule concerns the intuitive tendency towards choosing the midpoint of a change, as a salient point among all the points. To test the proposed rule, 120 students in grade 9 were interviewed. We analyzed the…

We discuss four ways in which emotion may relate to cognitive load during learning. One perspective describes emotions as extraneous cognitive load, competing for the limited resources of working memory by requiring the processing of task-extra or task-irrelevant information. Another perspective shows that encoding, storage, and retrieval of…

Rational number knowledge is critical for mathematical literacy and academic success. However, despite considerable research efforts, rational numbers present perennial difficulties for a large number of learners. These difficulties have led some to posit that rational numbers are not a natural fit for human cognition. In this chapter, we…

Created in the 1950s by the legendary Albert Ellis, rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) teaches clients to challenge their irrational thinking. REBT is based on the simple idea that it is not external circumstances that make a person happy or unhappy, but rather internal thoughts about events or oneself. Thinking, feeling, and behavior are…

It has been 70 years since Donald Hebb published his formalized theory of synaptic adaptation during learning. Hebb's seminal work foreshadowed some of the great neuroscientific discoveries of the following decades, including the discovery of long-term potentiation and other lasting forms of synaptic plasticity, and more recently the residence of…