The purpose of this article is to illustrate the dynamic process involved in developing and utilizing a theoretical model in a mixed methods study. Specifically, I illustrate how the theoretical model can serve as the starting point in framing the study, as a lens for guiding the data collection and analysis, and as the end point in explaining the…

As scientific models of student thinking, learning progressions (LPs) have been evaluated in terms of one important, but limited, criterion: fit to empirical data. We argue that LPs are not empirically adequate, largely because they rely on problematic assumptions of theory-like coherence in students' thinking. Through an empirical investigation…

The initial vision for intelligent tutoring systems involved powerful, multi-faceted systems that would leverage rich models of students and pedagogies to create complex learning interactions. But the intelligent tutoring systems used at scale today are much simpler. In this article, I present hypotheses on the factors underlying this development,…

How should a wide variety of educational activities be sequenced to maximize student learning? Although some experimental studies have addressed this question, educational data mining methods may be able to evaluate a wider range of possibilities and better handle many simultaneous sequencing constraints. We introduce Sequencing Constraint…

Identifying collaboration between learners in a course is an important challenge in education for two reasons: First, depending on the courses rules, collaboration can be considered a form of cheating. Second, it helps one to more accurately evaluate each learners competence. While such collaboration identification is already challenging in…

There is growing use of business intelligence (BI) for better management decisions in industry. However, empirical studies on BI are still scarce in academic research. This research investigates BI from an organizational agility perspective. Organizational agility is the ability to sense and respond to market opportunities and threats with speed,…

When validating assessment models built with data mining, generalization is typically tested at the student-level, where models are tested on new students. This approach, though, may fail to find cases where model performance suffers if other aspects of those cases relevant to prediction are not well represented. We explore this here by testing if…

Two basic data sources required for research studies have been secondary and primary. Secondary data collection helps the researcher to provide relevant background to the study and are, in most cases, available for retrieval from recorded sources. Primary data collection requires the researcher to venture into the field where the study is to take…

This dissertation investigates the interaction between form and function in Mandarin Chinese by empirically examining the interactions of core semantic roles (Agent and Patient) and the syntactic representation of those interactions in semantically transitive events. First, I demonstrate that syntactic structures and functions are intertwined with…

This study tests a process model of learning in which trainer and trainee traits are simultaneously considered as endogenous variables of learning outcomes. The article builds on a social view of training and similarity-attraction paradigms. In this context, the authors hypothesize that trainer-trainee similarity in personality (agreeableness)…

This paper describes the confirmatory factor analysis, validity, and reliability data collection stage of the development of a scale to measure mainstream teachers' self-efficacy beliefs for teaching ELL (English Language Learner) students. Data were collected from 708 K through 12 teachers and pre-service teachers with varying degrees of…

Time-series data from 1960-1998 is used to test hypotheses regarding the impact of protest and public opinion on the passage of U.S. environmental legislation. An amplification model of policy impact is introduced which posits that protest affects legislative action independent of public opinion as suggested by protest event theorists, whereas the…

The microcomputer offers social science field researchers a valuable tool for managing qualitative research data. In addition to the flexibility and efficiency of the microcomputer, the logic governing its programming and operation imposes a framework on the research process which necessitates that research decisions and strategies be explicit and…

Reports on research undertaken to develop model for planning and evaluating regional multitype library networks that engage in resource sharing. Identification and interdependence of eight organizational variables (planning, governance, funding, communication and delivery, configuration, administration, evaluation, and success) based upon members'…

Examines the interrelationships among accentedness, perceived comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second-language (L2) learners. The findings suggest that although strength of foreign accent is correlated with perceived comprehensibility and intelligibility, a strong foreign accent does not necessarily reduce the…