Context: Visualization as a multi-modal process is widely explored in curriculum studies. I examined a facet of how people learn to participate in visualization practices that remains under-studied in preschool and post-secondary settings: moment-to-moment agency while in unfamiliar socio-cultural realms. I conducted a thirteen-month ethnography…

The students at 2 middle schools in County SD, NHMS and WMS are not scoring on or above grade level on the information text portion of the English Language Arts (ELA) standardized SC Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) test given annually in South Carolina. The teachers developed and implemented art-based anchor charts to help close…

The study of student representation use and specifically the distinction between analytic and visual representations has fueled a long line of mathematics education literature that began more than 35 years ago. This literature can be partitioned into two bodies of work, one that is primarily cognitive and one that is primarily social. In spite of…

The research in this dissertation was conducted in order to understand the ways in which scientific visualizations can influence the decision process of non-scientists. A wide variety of classical and novel methods were used in order to capture and analyze the decision process. Data were collected from non-scientists through role-play interviews…

This qualitative exploratory study investigated practicing and pre-service elementary teachers' representations of the nature of matter and the ways in which those representations were transformed into teaching representations. Seven practicing elementary teachers from a rural elementary school and five pre-service elementary teachers were…

This dissertation bridges the divide between comparative education and international education literature by examining student experiences in study abroad programs to make theoretical arguments about the role of culture in "doing" and "undoing" gender. The "undoing gender" framework in comparative education literature…

Our connections to the digital world are invoked by brands, but the intersection of branding and interaction design is still an under-investigated area. Particularly, current websites are designed not only to support essential user tasks, but also to communicate an institution's intended brand values and traits. What we do not yet know, however,…

This qualitative study used narrative analysis to explore the role of relationships between adults and their canine companions and the role of this relationship in personal growth and well-being. The theoretical frameworks to inform the study consisted of attachment theory and a blend of relational theory and connected knowing. The study focused…

Biochemistry education relies heavily on students' ability to visualize abstract cellular and molecular processes, mechanisms, and components. As such, biochemistry educators often turn to external representations to provide tangible, working models from which students' internal representations (mental models) can be constructed, evaluated, and…

This thesis explores the role of multiple representations in introductory physics students' problem solving performance through several investigations. Representations can help students focus on the conceptual aspects of physics and play a major role in effective problem solving. Diagrammatic representations can play a particularly important role…

This study investigated the practice of elementary art teachers who utilize carts for the delivery of art lessons; to understand how the art on a cart practice influences art educators' approaches to curriculum development and instruction; and to identify challenges, benefits, and best practices. The practice of art on a cart is defined as the…

Data visualizations designed for academic scientists are not immediately meaningful to everyday scientists. Communicating between a specialized, expert audience and a general, novice public is non-trivial; it requires careful translation. However, more widely available visualization technologies and platforms, including new three-dimensional…

Visuals (maps, charts, diagrams and illustrations) are an important tool for communication in most scientific disciplines, which means that scientists benefit from having strong visual communication skills. This dissertation examines the nature of competence in visual communication and the means by which scientists acquire this competence. This…

The main purpose of this mixed methods research was to explore and analyze visitors' overall experience while they attended a museum exhibition, and examine how this experience was affected by previously using a virtual 3dimensional representation of the museum itself. The research measured knowledge acquisition in a virtual museum, and compared…

American community colleges are providing access to a growing number of Latino students entering postsecondary education. In fact, 51% of all Latinos in higher education today are enrolled in our nation's community colleges. Yet, Latino community college students have some of the lowest retention and graduation rates, despite their increased…