R and Python are commonly used software languages for data analytics. Using these languages as the course software for the introductory course gives students practical skills for applying statistical concepts to data analysis. However, the reliance upon the command line is perceived by the typical nontechnical introductory student as sufficiently…

The assessment of program functionality can generally be accomplished with straight-forward unit tests. However, assessing the design quality of a program is a much more difficult and nuanced problem. Design quality is an important consideration since it affects the readability and maintainability of programs. Assessing design quality and giving…

The Model for Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services, also known as the NASP Practice Mode represents NASP's official policy regarding the delivery of school psychological services and outlines 10 different domains of practice. Although school psychologists are trained to provide services involving these 10 different domains,…

This study examines how large scale assessments like the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), developed for students proficient in academic English, may not produce reliable and valid outcomes for academically vulnerable students, namely English Language Learners (ELLs). This mixed-methods study was conducted to uncover differences between the old and…

This dissertation consists of three essays in the economics of education. The first essay considers the impact of charter school openings on student achievement, behavior, and demographics in the traditional public sector. Using longitudinal school- and student-level data, I estimate the effect of charter school openings on traditional public…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a conceptual replication of Pendergast et al.'s (2018) study that examined the diagnostic accuracy of a nomogram procedure, also known as a naive Bayesian approach. The specific naive Bayesian approach combined academic and social-emotional and behavioral (SEB) screening data to predict student performance…

Grounded in the activity theory, we adopted a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to explore the impact of automated written corrective feedback (AWCF) on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' academic writing skills (i.e. task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexicon, and grammatical range and accuracy). To this end, two…

This study aimed to evaluate the utility of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving the persuasive communication skills of online Master of Business Administration (MBA) students. In particular, this study investigated the influence of personalization through AI using the Google Gemini platform on conventional and online instructional…

This study addresses how Chinese learners of English as a second language (L2) perceive conversations in English materials as compared to speakers of English as a first language (L1). Data were collected through questionnaires completed by 48 participants (28 L2 English learners in China and 20 L1 English speakers in the UK), eliciting evaluations…

The high cost of commercial textbooks in higher education creates barriers to equitable access to learning materials and negatively impacts student performance. Open educational resources (OER) offer a cost-effective alternative, but their impact on student learning remains a critical question. This study directly compared student outcomes between…

Guided and open inquiry strategies are found to improve students' attitudes toward science. Yet, confirmation and structured inquiry are more often enacted by teachers. The effectiveness of these approaches involving high teacher guidance remains unexplored. Students in six classes (N = 119, M[subscript age] = 11.25 years) were assigned to control…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the kinds of motivation driving Arab and Jewish students in Israel to choose teaching as a career. This study addressed several issues that have been largely overlooked in previous research such as the focus on Content Value motives (the motivation to teach specific subjects) as well as linking demographic…

Repetitive and restricted behaviours are a core feature of autism, and cognition in autistic individuals may also be repetitive and restricted. We aimed to investigate the relationship between repetitive behaviours and repetitive thinking. We predicted that autistic people would experience more repetitive, perseverative, visual and negative…

Given the growing trend toward using technology to assess student learning, this investigation examined test mode comparability of student achievement scores obtained from paper-pencil and computerized assessments of statewide End-of-Course and End-of-Grade examinations in the subject areas of high school biology and eighth-grade English Language…

Background: Invention and mastery learning approaches differ in their foundational educational paradigms, proposed mechanisms of learning, and potential impacts on learning outcomes. They also differ in their resource requirements. We explored the relative effects of 'invent and problem-solve, followed by instruction' (PS-I) learning compared to…