Why should our life science colleagues adopt, adapt, and implement fractal thinking into their research and teaching paradigms? While numerous articles and books have been written about the utility, power, and insight that can be gained by using fractal analysis of data and developing fractal models, other than just appreciating the beauty of…

This dissertation consists of three essays that use and develop econometric methods to causally investigate topics in education and development economics. In the first chapter, I develop an econometric framework to correctly and efficiently draw inference in models where estimated value-added (VA) is an explanatory variable (and models where it…

This study aimed to replicate, revise, and validate the model of Institutional Performance in Graduation Rate developed by Fung based on Tinto and Astin theories. The sample included 706 public, 4-year, Title IV postsecondary institutions in the United States. Two CFA-SEM models were conducted with the IPEDS 2011-2017 data. The relationships among…

The applicability of digital technologies is increasing boundlessly and so are the opportunities of the end-users, with ample opportunities to embed these technologies in the teaching and learning process. Nonetheless, classroom adoption of technologies, particularly in mathematics remains on the lower end of innovation in teaching and learning.…

This study employs the Delphi method to ascertain intercultural scholars' current consensus on a definition, specific components, and key evaluation criteria of intercultural competence. Sixty-eight leading intercultural scholars from Euro-American and East-Asian countries participated in this study. The results are largely congruent with the…

We propose new ways of robustifying goodness-of-fit tests for structural equation modeling under non-normality. These test statistics have limit distributions characterized by eigenvalues whose estimates are highly unstable and biased in known directions. To take this into account, we design model-based trend predictions to approximate the…

Mediation analysis is an important statistical tool in many research fields, where the joint significance test is widely utilized for examining mediation effects. Nevertheless, the limitation of this mediation testing method stems from its conservative Type I error, which reduces its statistical power and imposes certain constraints on its…

Test-takers, policymakers, teachers, and institutions are increasingly demanding that testing programs provide more detailed feedback regarding test performance. As a result, there has been a growing interest in the reporting of subscores that potentially provide such detailed feedback. Haberman developed a method based on classical test theory…

Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) are now a popular tool to inform causal inferences. We discuss how DAGs can also be used to encode theoretical assumptions about nonprobability samples and survey nonresponse and to determine whether population quantities including conditional distributions and regressions can be identified. We describe sources of…

In recent years, knowledge tracing (KT) within intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) has seen rapid development. KT aims to assess a student's knowledge state based on past performance and predict the correctness of the next question. Traditional KT often treats questions with different difficulty levels of the same concept as identical…

Large language models are increasingly used in educational and psychological measurement activities. Their rapidly evolving sophistication and ability to detect language semantics make them viable tools to supplement subject matter experts and their reviews of large amounts of text statements, such as educational content standards. This paper…

The study of giftedness and evolution toward talent development models have been approached mostly from an educational perspective. Talent potential development cannot be understood without comprehensively looking at all individuals' facets. This work proposes a theory by which talent potential, considered by the conjunction of cognitive and non…

Since 2001, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have funded the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) to expand biomedical research capacity among states in which NIH funding was historically low. The Western IDeA Region comprises seven states: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico,…

It is common to find mixed-format data results from the use of both multiple-choice (MC) and constructed-response (CR) questions on assessments. Dealing with these mixed response types involves understanding what the assessment is measuring, and the use of suitable measurement models to estimate latent abilities. Past research in educational…

The forging and maintenance of alumni relations is critical to the sustainability of Higher Music Education Institutions worldwide. In contrast to university-based career mentoring programmes, research about the role of alumni in conservatoire students' professional development is scarce. Alumni profiles are often used to support conservatoires'…