The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of movement instruction on children's singing achievement scores. When controlling for age, four overarching questions and nine sub-questions were asked. First, when controlling for age, how do pitch achievement scores at the outset compare to pitch achievement scores after movement…

This study examined the impact that the teaching technique known as cooperative learning had on the changes between pre- and post-test scores on all sub-categories ("induction, deduction, analysis, evaluation, inference", and "total composite") associated with the "California Critical Thinking Skills Test" (CCTST) for…

This study was designed to determine whether or not data driven math skills groups would be effective in increasing student academic achievement. From this topic three key questions arose: "Would the implementation of data driven math skills groups improve student academic achievement more than standard instruction as measured by the…

This dissertation is a collection of three papers that employ empirical within study comparisons (WSCs) to identify conditions that support causal inference in observational studies. WSC studies empirically estimate the extent to which a given observational study reproduces the result of a randomized clinical trial (RCT) when both share the same…

The purpose of this nonequivalent, control group, pretest-posttest design study was to evaluate the effectiveness of leveled book programs on first-grade students' oral reading fluency rates and comprehension levels. This study was conducted over a 10-week time span with four first-grade classes. All of the students in each class were given a…

This study explored the development of early functional thinking in fifteen Kindergarten to Grade 2 students. As part of a teaching intervention that emphasized the co-variation between position numbers and number of items in each position of linear growing patterns, students were given a pre and post interview assessment to document their ability…

With the national trend to link student achievement results with teacher evaluation ratings, it is critical for teachers to examine and interpret children's assessment results collaboratively. This study explored how the clinical interview process can be integrated into a professional learning experience to support teachers in identifying…

United States high schools are increasingly using online learning to complement traditional classroom learning. Previous researchers of post secondary online learning have shown no significant differences between traditional and online learning. However, there has been little research at the secondary level about the effectiveness of online…

University students have been barraged with service learning opportunities both as course required and as volunteer opportunities in recent years. Currently, many universities now require students to participate in engaged learning as a graduation requirement. Situated in Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, this study examines the effects service…

Objective: The present study reports on the results of a 2.5-year college-wide, coordinated intervention that was implemented from June 2007 to December 2009 to reduce the amount and frequency of students' alcohol consumption. Design: Quasi-experimental study using a one-group (freshmen living on campus) pretest/posttest design ("N" =…

This study assesses short-term and long-term learning outcomes of Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training in a college setting. Two hundred seventy-three participants completed pretest, posttest, and follow-up surveys regarding suicide prevention knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Results indicated: (a) increases in suicide…

The increased accessibility of technology and Internet connections has enabled organizations to provide their workforces with the opportunity to engage in distributed education. "Harnessing this innovation calls for organizational and technological infrastructures that support the interplay of knowledge and knowing" (Cook & Brown, 1999, p. 381).…

In this study, undergraduate students provided confidence ratings to predict future performance in answering questions drawn from the text before reading the text, after reading the text and after rereading the text. Self-reports of achievement goal orientations during reading and posttest scores were also collected. Student's calibration index…

The massive open online course (MOOC) is a relatively new concept in K-12 teaching and learning environments. Although significant work has been done with MOOCs since 2008, it has only been recently that MOOCs have been studied with K-12 populations. The purpose of this study was to further examine the motivation of K-12 students enrolled in a…

The study deals with the effect of instruction and study abroad (SA) on pragmatic knowledge. More specifically, the focus is on gains in explicit knowledge of request mitigators, and whether learners draw on this knowledge when they perform email requests. Email requests produced by 60 Spanish students staying abroad (30 treatment/30 control…