Traditionally in the social sciences, causal mediation analysis has been formulated, understood, and implemented within the framework of linear structural equation models. We argue and demonstrate that this is problematic for 3 reasons: the lack of a general definition of causal mediation effects independent of a particular statistical model, the…

Tests of the equality of variances are sometimes used on their own to compare variability across groups of experimental or non-experimental conditions but they are most often used alongside other methods to support assumptions made about variances. A new nonparametric test of equality of variances is described and compared to current "gold…

Students learn to examine the distributional assumptions implicit in the usual t-tests and associated confidence intervals, but are rarely shown what to do when those assumptions are grossly violated. Three data sets are presented. Each data set involves a different distributional anomaly and each illustrates the use of a different nonparametric…

This study taught the passive to two children with specific language impairment (aged 8;1 and 8;2). It employed usage-based principles including "constructional grounding"; using short structures as the basis for acquiring long structures, and "construction conspiracy"; encouraging analogies between partially overlapping…

In Ramsay curve item response theory (RC-IRT, Woods & Thissen, 2006) modeling, the shape of the latent trait distribution is estimated simultaneously with the item parameters. In its original implementation, RC-IRT is estimated via Bock and Aitkin's (1981) EM algorithm, which yields maximum marginal likelihood estimates. This method, however,…

The objective of this study was to evaluate two early intervention packages to promote successful transitions to kindergarten for preschoolers with behavior problems recruited from Head Start preschools. Fifty children (M[subscript age] = 61 months; 76% male; 98% minority) referred by teachers due to early externalizing behavior problems were…

This study investigates the interrelation of motivation, autonomy, metacognition, and L3 gains made as a function of three months of intervention with computer software specifically designed for the private use of dyslexic Swiss German learners of Standard German as a second language (L2) and English as a third language (L3). Based on…

Reputation enables different parties to establish a trusting and cooperative relationship, a key factor in integrative negotiations referred to as "win-win" negotiations. Thus, a good reputation mechanism can bring simulations closer to reality. In this study, the authors review the reputation mechanisms applied to the online business game WIN WIN…

The purpose of this study was to rank order 21 leadership behaviors originally identified by the work of Waters, Marzano & McNulty (2003) and the impact they have on teacher instructional practice using questionnaire responses provided by past recipients of the National Teacher of the Year award at the state level (n=178) in order to expand…

Students in U.S. public schools have consistently recorded substandard scores on measures of school performance in mathematics. This substandard performance could adversely affect the nation's future economic competitiveness, growth, and welfare. Educational and political leaders have sought school reforms that will result in U.S. students scoring…

Can instructors impact their student performance by recommending an activity just prior to taking an exam? In this study, college students were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups (study, exercise, or meditation) or a control group. Each group was given two different types of tests; a traditional concept exam, and a non-traditional…

Background: Annually, American colleges and universities provide developmental education (DE) to millions of underprepared students; however, evaluation estimates of DE benefits have been mixed. Objectives: Using a prototypic exemplar of DE, our primary objective was to investigate the utility of a replicative evaluative framework for assessing…

Readers readily identify with characters in literature; therefore, educators must be acutely aware of the overt and underlying messages conveyed in Newbery Medal books. In this quantitative content analysis with a qualitative component, the researchers employed nonparametric measurements to examine Newbery Medal books from the 1920s to the 2000s…

This article presents a method for addressing the self-selection bias of students who participate in learning communities (LCs). More specifically, this research utilizes equivalent comparison groups based on selected incoming characteristics of students, known as bootstraps, to account for self-selection bias. To address the differences in…

Accommodation~assimilation relations were theorized by Kelso and Engstrom (2006) as independent and dependent complementary pairs. This study defined relationships between organisms that experienced complementary interactions of accommodation~assimilation in diverse ecologies designed with universal design for learning environments (UDLE) compared…