Objective: Describe the learning activities that occupational therapy students found helpful for learning the concept of occupation and describe what students know about the concept of occupation. Design: Descriptive correlational. Setting: Occupational therapy program in the U.S. Participants: Occupational therapy students. Measure: Survey.…

This dissertation explores the utilization of a Knowledge Graph of "Micro-topics'' arranged into "Learning Pathways'' (KGMLP) through three learning activities: spaced retrieval, reading, and collaborative note-taking. The objective is to enhance four (out of six) levels of Bloom's digital taxonomy of cognitive processes: remembering,…

Cognitive development of eighth-grade students, as identified by Jean Piaget, occurs during a time when many of them are transitioning between concrete operations and formal operations where the ability to think in abstract concepts becomes possible. Because of this period of transition, many eighth-grade students find difficulty in demonstrating…

Analogical reasoning has played a significant role in the development of modern mathematical concepts. Although some perspectives in mathematics education have argued against the use of analogies and analogical reasoning in instructional contexts, some attempts have been made to leverage the pedagogical power of analogies. I assert that with a…

After students have taken years of science classes, they still believe science content is disconnected to the "real" world or to their lives. Teaching without attention to relevance results in decreased motivation for learning and negative attitudes toward science. An instructional method incorporating physical, sport-related activities…

This dissertation describes a practitioner's design-based development of a prototype chatbot to guide students in learning biological concepts of genetic mutations and protein synthesis. This chatbot's architecture provides learning activities, feedback, and support throughout a series of short, connected lessons. The chatbot is designed to…

Place-value is an essential concept that is foundational for understanding our number system and for developing procedures for multidigit operations, but there has been limited research into the place-value understanding of students with learning disabilities. This research is a two-part mixed-methods study that links basic research to…

A growing program of research in science education acknowledges the beginnings of disciplinary reasoning in students' ideas and seeks to inform instruction that responds productively to these disciplinary progenitors in the moment to foster their development into sophisticated scientific practice. This dissertation examines secondary school…

Advances in technology have caused high schools to update their computer science curricula; however there has been little analogous attention to technology-related education in middle schools. With respect to computer-related knowledge and skills, middle school students are at a critical phase in life, exploring individualized education options…

The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions enabled for elementary school participants in two summer herpetology programs, one in North Carolina and one in Florida. An additional purpose of this study was to examine the normative scientific practices in which participants engaged and to describe how these…