This dissertation investigates gender differences in (1) retrospective (i.e., measured after task completion) item-specific confidence judgments, and whether these judgments were warranted. Of particular interest was whether gender interacts with problem difficulty to explain confidence, calibration (speaks to the accuracy of confidence…

In this dissertation I will present my work in both the fields of spintronics and physics education research. In the first section, I present a method to account for spin pumping in spin torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) measurements. A spin current can be generated via the spin Hall effect (SHE), which is typically transverse to the charge…

The purpose of the study was to test the relationship, if any, of educational leader professionals' views of Servant Leadership characteristics and their preferred style of solving problems. As such, it was a construct validity study which tested whether individuals who exhibit certain style preferences also exhibit predicted preferences for…

This quantitative study examined the relationship between well-being and stages of the creative process, including problem identification and construction, idea generation, and idea evaluation among gifted young adults (n = 173). A sample of college honors students responded to multiple measures of well-being, creative problem-solving tasks, the…

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effectiveness of the use of games as part of mathematics instruction on academic achievement in grades Kindergarten to 12 in the United States. There were 17 studies selected for investigation published from 2010 to 2023 that focused on game-based learning and mathematics. This meta-analysis…

The present study explores the psychometric properties of Prime Time's Youth Engagement Survey (PT-YES) and the relationships among the survey items. Prime Time Palm Beach County, Inc. developed PT-YES, which contains 30 Likert scale questions designed to measure youth engagement during out-of-school time (OST) activities with community partners.…

This mixed methods study explores secondary students' math identities. The primary purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationships among students' math identities, their perceived problem solving practices, and their perceived self-regulated learning strategies. This study holds implications for teachers, school administrators,…

Workforce education and development are necessary to prepare individuals to compete in the global market. Building individuals' key job skills ensures career success and economic growth of the United States. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey study was to describe the U.S. adult immigrants' information communication technology…

Hackathons, the time-bound collaborative project-based competitions increasingly popular with undergraduate CS students, are both transformative and problematic. On one hand, they are unique opportunities to apply skills learned in the classroom to real-world, interest driven projects that celebrate risk taking, collaboration, and playfulness. On…

Entrepreneurship programming has become a very popular choice among higher education students the past three decades. Entrepreneurial intent is consistently regarded as the greatest predictor of entrepreneurial behavior and success of entrepreneurial education programs, while ideation is viewed as a key skill needed for successful entrepreneurial…

This study investigates predictors of school counselors' technology use and acceptance. Two linear regression models were explored, one to assess the predictive power of a set of characteristics of school counselors (age, sex, race, years of experience and leadership) on technology use and acceptance. A second model explored whether individual…

This quantitative longitudinal study sought to highlight the difference between the proportion of men and women who planned to pursue a STEM major in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, and computer and information sciences as freshmen, as well as to determine the proportion of men and women who changed their major choice by…

The purpose of this research study was to determine if providing an administrator with knowledge of personality type would have an impact on their staff's views of their administrator and their own staff's ability to collaborate and solve problems increasing their staffs perceived collective efficacy. One survey was created and administered using…

Problem solving has been a core theme in education for several decades. Educators and policy makers agree on the importance of the role of problem solving skills for school and real life success. A primary purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cognitive abilities on mathematical problem solving performance of students. The…

This study explored the relationships among perceived stress, coping style, and academic performance in 210 students from a mid-sized public university and a small private college. Study participants were asked to complete the Perceived Stress Scale, the Brief COPE Questionnaire, and a demographic survey asking about their age, gender, grade point…