Marine communities are experiencing rapid environmental changes including warming temperatures and ocean acidification (OA). For organisms within these communities, responses to ocean change are shaped by population- and community-level interactions which may modify their responses. This dissertation integrates experimental, field, and modeling…

This study examines the role of human-animal interaction (HAI) in relations between sexual and gender minority (SGM) stress, personal hardiness, and psychological stress during emerging adulthood. Data for the current sample reflect 136 SGM emerging adults between the ages of 18 to 21 years who reported living with a companion animal in the past…

This research aimed to compare the effect of teaching science through-creative-drama activities and student-centred inquiry-based teaching on the cognitive structures of primary school pupils about the classification of living things. It was designed as an exploratory action research case study and the contribution of both interventions on the…

Using living organisms in biology education is a common practice that provides students with direct contact with living beings in the classroom. Several benefits and barriers of using organisms in classrooms have been proposed in the literature. Hence, biology teachers should carefully consider the pros and cons of using living organisms, and…

This research was a phenomenological study that explored the research question: How do school counselors experience working alongside therapy dogs in their schools? The research sub-questions supporting the main question were: (a) What benefits do school counselors experience working with therapy dogs at their schools? and (b) What challenges do…

An innovative series of dissections of the canine abdomen was created to facilitate social distancing in the dissection room following COVID-19 restrictions imposed in the UK. In groups of six, first-year veterinary students took turns dissecting selected parts of the canine abdomen while maintaining social distancing and documenting their work…

Research Findings: Anthropomorphized animal characters have been associated with negative influences on educational outcomes for young children, for example story comprehension and prosocial learning from moral tales. In this study we investigate how character realism and moral theme influence young children's recall of the story content. Retells…

Children require access to high-quality statistics education to develop the skills to participate in a technological and data-reliant workforce. This study consisted of a five-lesson integrated STEM unit designed to develop the statistical literacy of 62 6th-grade (11-12 years old) emerging bilingual (EB) learners. Learning was situated in the…

An increasing number of MOOCs use learning videos featuring an instructor and slides, but there are few specific guidelines for the design of instructor images for these videos. A pedagogical agent (PA) is a kind of virtual instructor image in a learning video, and its image design is mostly guided by anthropomorphism. Our research attempts to…

What are the origins of object permanence? Despite widespread interest in this question, methodological barriers have prevented detailed analysis of how experience shapes the development of object permanence in newborn organisms. Here, we introduce an automated controlled-rearing method for studying the emergence of object permanence in strictly…

When people judge the duration of stimuli, judgments are influenced by the physical size of these stimuli. Specifically, people tend to judge the duration of large stimuli longer than the duration of small stimuli. However, some authors (Bottini & Casasanto, 2010; Ma, Yang, & Zhang, 2012) have reported that even implicit size can affect…

Beta-adrenergic receptor (ß-AR) activation by norepinephrine (NE) enhances memory and stabilizes long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of synaptic plasticity believed to underlie some forms of hippocampal memory. LTP can occur at multiple synaptic pathways as a result of strong stimulation to one pathway preceding milder stimulation of an adjacent,…

Emotion is a central aspect for protecting the environment in environmental and sustainability education (ESE). As such, positive emotions toward nature can increase motivation to learn and take environmental action. This qualitative case study explored the complex interrelationship among place-based education, emotions and values related to ESE,…

Autism-Assistance Dogs (AADs) are highly-skilled service animals trained primarily to ensure the safety of an autistic child by preventing elopement and mitigating 'meltdowns'. Although anecdotal accounts and case-studies have indicated that AADs confer benefits above and beyond safety, empirical support anchored in validated clinical, behavioral,…

Learners with autism are affected by different challenges during learning. There is a growing focus on education to facilitate learners to become more self-resilient by involving animals in learning spaces. This qualitative study explored the impact of animal involvement on the learning experiences of learners with autism. Twenty diaries, 32…