My thesis work is focused on conceptual and epistemic learning and characterizing the environments in which this learning takes place. Earlier studies conducted by the Stowe group explored how instructional practices, instructional emphasis, and assessment emphasis relate to student outcomes in general and organic chemistry courses. Student…

As educational accountability pressures and science teacher attrition rates within American public-school systems continue to rise, so does the need for improved reform-based professional development (PD) opportunities that allow science educators to challenge their pedagogical beliefs and teaching practices. This qualitative case study explores…

Educational research outcomes frequently rely on an assumption that measurement metrics have interval-level properties. While most investigators know enough to be suspicious of interval-level claims, and in some cases even question their findings given such doubts, there is a lack of understanding regarding the measurement conditions that create…

Special education assessment has a significant impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their families. However, traditional assessment practices have been critiqued as being deficit-based, overly focused on "labeling" students, and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the student. Assessment models such as…

Voice misclassification threatens the vocal longevity and long-term career success of voice students enrolled in higher education (HE) vocal programs. Not every singer possesses the musculature required to support the unique vocal fold density and subglottal pressure necessary to sing repertoire and roles associated with certain voice types…

There is growing consensus that data-informed decision-making through human-centered inquiry and design process results in improved outcomes for designed artifacts. Among the latest trends is a group of tools and processes loosely assimilated under the umbrella term, "design thinking." These "designerly ways of knowing" are…

Once research questions are posed, researchers must answer many a priori questions regarding research design before analysis can be performed and any conclusions can be made, including sample selection criteria, data collection method, model specification, analysis and estimation technique. The choices made by researchers along this forking path…

Recently, Bayesian diagnostic classification modeling has been becoming popular in health psychology, education, and sociology. Typically information criteria are used for model selection when researchers want to choose the best model among alternative models. In Bayesian estimation, posterior predictive checking is a flexible Bayesian model…

The central challenge of social impact education within higher education is the lack of a shared framework to unify language and practice across an institution. One framework gaining popularity among Community Engagement Professionals (CEPs) is the Pathways of Public Service and Civic Engagement. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to…

To make sense of our interconnected and algorithm driven world, students increasingly need proficiency with computational thinking (CT), systems thinking (ST), and computational modeling. One aspect of computational modeling that can support students with CT, ST, and modeling is testing and debugging. Testing and debugging enables students to…

Paradigms with conflicting data patterns can be difficult to learn, resulting in acquisition error. In this dissertation, I look at how paradigms are reanalyzed over time to gain insight into the factors that influence morphophonological learning. Existing models of morphophonology (e.g. Hare & Elman 1995; Albright 2002b,a, 2010) predict…

Scientific modeling is a scientific practice that uses models to prepare elementary and middle school science teachers to engage students using scientific inquiry. Model-based inquiry (MBI) is a pedagogical teaching approach that engages students using scientific inquiry during scientific modeling. However, preservice teachers lack understanding…

This paper explores how the charter school sector evaluates the success of specialized education programs in order that the Nature School can learn from these best practices and develop its own framework. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with five evaluation experts and eight diverse charter school authorizers overseeing a significant…

The study explores the effectiveness of multimodality teaching using the 4MAT Model. A meta-analysis was conducted with empirical studies on instruction via multimodality teaching in preschool, K-12, and higher education. The studies in the meta-analysis involved an experimental and control group. The control group received traditional teaching…

Fitting wrongly specified models to observed data may lead to invalid inferences about the model parameters of interest. The current study investigated the performance of the posterior predictive model checking (PPMC) approach in detecting model-data misfit of the hierarchical rater model (HRM). The HRM is a rater-mediated model that incorporates…