Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis refers to procedures that evaluate whether an item's characteristic differs for different groups of persons after controlling for overall differences in performance. DIF is routinely evaluated as a screening step to ensure items behavior the same across groups. Currently, the majority DIF studies focus…

Objective: Self-care behaviors aimed at maintaining physical and mental health are often recommended during stressful contexts. We tested emotional predictors of self-care behaviors (healthy eating, exercise, engaging in a hobby, relaxation/meditation, time spent with a supportive person, talking online with friends/family) during the COVID-19…

Twice-exceptional students are dually identified as academically gifted and talented and learning or medically disabled. These students face greater challenges to success in school and often have social and emotional issues that require accommodations and supports beyond those available in the general classroom. These students may not be receiving…

In recent years, the number of English learners (ELs) in U.S. public schools has rapidly grown, with Hispanic children accounting for more than half of Texas public school students, including pre-kindergarten and early childhood education. ELs continue to demonstrate lower reading achievement in comparison to their native English-speaking peers.…

Critics of the neoliberal university argue that grading undermines student learning. In this article, I survey the literature in order to ascertain whether such critiques are supported by pedagogical research. Investigating the relationship between grading and motivation, feedback, and autonomy, respectively, I conclude that grades most often do…

This dissertation aimed to advance the field of biology education in several ways. First, we aimed to demonstrate if, and to what extent, student-generated conceptual models can be used on summative assessments to accurately assess student understanding of gene expression. Next, we described patterns of changes students make to conceptual models…

Coaching between educators is one of the best ways to improve outcomes for all learners--but coaches rarely get formal preparation for mastering this important role. Give coaches the expert support they need with this essential new resource, a comprehensive guide to "what effective coaching looks like across the PreK-12 grade span and how to…

There is immense pressure on school leaders as they grapple with their responsibilities to show constant evidence of school improvement. School improvement describes a process that identifies school changes needed to improve student outcomes and shows how and when the level of student outcomes will be made. There are essential considerations when…

Categorical data become increasingly ubiquitous in the modern big data era. In this dissertation, we propose novel statistical learning and inference methods for large-scale categorical data, focusing on latent variable models and their applications to psychometrics. In psychometric assessments, the subjects' underlying aptitude often cannot be…

I embarked upon this study with an interest in how one teacher educator supports pre-service teachers to recontextualize their literacy learning as they enacted the roles of both learner and future teacher in their education coursework. My research extends the current literature on modeling and feedback by examining the modeling and feedback given…

This article presents a comparative analysis of human rights education at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, USA (NCCHR) and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg. Specifically, what is analyzed is the role of emotion and memory in the construction of the exhibits and the impact on the visitor. The…

Having students write reflections has been shown to help teachers improve their instruction and students improve their learning outcomes. With the aid of Natural Language Processing (NLP), real-time educational applications that can assess and provide feedback on reflection quality can be deployed. In this work, we first evaluate various NLP…

In this piece, I argue that the marginalized status of ugliness in the field of aesthetics, particularly in aesthetic conversations in the broader field of curriculum, is indicative of an as-of-yet unexplored source for understanding our societal values. The fact that we do not talk about the ugly is reason to believe that there is…

Purpose: Recent studies have introduced new productive theoretical orientations to the vignette studies. There is not, however, sufficient analytical discussion on how the vignettes can be used in qualitative interviews for different functions. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: Whatever theoretical framing the…

This study investigates the enhancement of spoken English proficiency among students at Taiwan's technological and vocational education (TVE) universities. The focus is on the significant impact of positive learning attitudes and effective methodologies, using questionnaires and in-depth interviews to assess students' confidence and perceptions of…