Instructors of post-secondary level courses sought novel ways of conveying content to a diversifying set of students. Likewise, the growth of computing and information technologies opened more avenues for instruction. Constructivist theories of education gained support in instructional efficacy. Instructors needed to balance the need of covering…

In this dissertation, I will present social-cognitive frameworks that support the use of mental imagery for possible self enhancement; and articulate and evaluate a pedagogical intervention designed for the foreign language class. This intervention will allow students to explore and develop prominent and vivid mental representations (self-schemas)…

This study examined adult learners' satisfaction, motivation, and engagement in online academic writing courses. Utilizing a mixed method, causal-comparative design, the study investigated the experiences of adult learners, who have distinctive characteristics from traditional learners. The findings revealed that adult learners are highly…

The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in children's reading motivation and self-perception through small group reading instruction in Reader's Workshop. The academic achievement gap displays many reading challenges for African American students compared to their peers. The goal of this study was to identify small group readings…

Native Arabic speakers used idiomatic expressions such as idioms, formulas, and collocations, in their daily communications. In learning Arabic as a second language (L2), effective communication requires "the ability to understand and use idioms appropriately and accurately in a variety of sociocultural contexts, in a manner like that of…

Struggling readers are likely to face life-long challenges in achieving success in school and life as a result of their struggles with reading (Armbruster et al., 2001; Arnold, 2010; Hernandez, 2011). Third-grade students with reading disabilities are an exceptionally critical group who may experience enhanced risk during the year that the focus…

Millions engage in learning a Second Language (L2) using their mobile devices with a wide range of success. Concomitantly, there exists a growing interest in research on the effects of mobile-assisted language learning and predictors of learner outcomes (e.g., Loewen et al., 2020; Sudina & Plonsky, 2023). However, few of these apps and studies…

In the modern higher educational system, technology permeated almost all the provisions of educational processes and transformed individual learning transactions. Empirical evidence reveals students' skill gaps in the digitized campus and the real-world work environment driven by technology. Technical training is of high value and in high demand…

The study of art, especially perspective, involves the use of specialized vocabulary words. Vocabulary words can be difficult to comprehend, but when students learn to use the specialized vocabulary or academic language of a subject, the learner is better able to think about the content. While academic language is only a part of a visual art…

Advances in technology have changed the world. Finding effective means for incorporating technology in the learning environment is important to educators. One of the newer strategies is blended learning, which is also known as flipped instruction. With this mode of instructional delivery, teachers maintain the role of instructional leader but…

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to explore the effects of the use of gamification on students' motivation and engagement in the college environment. The study drew from three theoretical principles: Self-determination theory, new literacy studies, and behaviorism. The study was conducted at Washington State University on two English…

In the state of Georgia, approximately nine out of every 1,000 babies die during birth and approximately 18.6 out of every 1,000 women die from a pregnancy-related cause (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2011). Continuing to build capacities for the continuing education of midwives--specifically Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs)--can ensure they…

For e-learning initiatives to succeed, they must be designed to support a variety of trainees, methods, and content. Two important considerations in the design of any learning environment are the complexity of the tasks being learned and the socialization and connections of the trainees. Therefore, the goal of this research was to investigate how…

Although today's organizations are investing copious amounts of time, money, and resources on employee learning and development, trainees often fail to apply their learning and skills on the job, bringing into question the true value of organizational training. In an attempt to improve understanding of the key individual and organizational…

As the growing popularity of podcasting and its application in education become more apparent, there have been a number of studies on the academic use of podcasts. A podcast is a digital file that can be delivered automatically to a device such as a portable media player or a computer via the Internet. However, the majority of research studied the…