The initial learning experience is a critical opportunity to support conceptual understanding of abstract STEM concepts. Although hands-on activities and physical three-dimensional models are beneficial, they are seldom utilized and are replaced increasingly by digital simulations and laboratory exercises presented on touchscreen tablet computers.…

The transformation of natural history and science museums from receptacles (temples) to facilitators (forums) of knowledge fosters discourse around issues relating to science and society, known as social scientific issues (SSI). To assist guests with enhanced object-based learning, extended reality (XR) technologies are thought to leverage the…

Determining the number of dimensions is extremely important in applying item response theory (IRT) models to data. Traditional and revised parallel analyses have been proposed within the factor analysis framework, and both have shown some promise in assessing dimensionality. However, their performance in the IRT framework has not been…

The process of turning a doctoral student into an independent researcher is usually guided by a professor. In this work, the supervisor-supervisee relationship is represented by a scheme inspired by Michaelis-Menten kinetics, which has been used to determine the rate of enzyme-catalysed reactions. Here, the time evolution of the number of…

The randomized response technique (RRT) is an effective method designed to obtain the stigmatized information from respondents while assuring the privacy. In this study, we propose a new two-stage RRT model to estimate the prevalence of sensitive attribute ([pi]). A simulation study shows that the empirical mean and variance of proposed estimator…

Bayesian network is a probabilistic graphical model that has wide applications in various domains due to its peculiarity of knowledge representation and reasoning under uncertainty. This research aims at Bayesian network structure learning and how the learned model can be used for reasoning. Learning the structure of Bayesian network from data is…

This study explores the relationship between the Spiral Dynamics and the 3H (head, heart, hands) models of human growth and development, using constructs such as empathy, moral reasoning, forgiveness, and community mindedness that have been shown to have implications for education. The specific research question is, "Can a combination of…

To improve the validity of self-report measures, researchers should control for response style (RS) effects, which can be achieved with IRTree models. A traditional IRTree model considers a response as a combination of distinct decision-making processes, where the substantive trait affects the decision on response direction, while decisions about…

Factor Score Regression (FSR) is increasingly employed as an alternative to structural equation modeling (SEM) in small samples. Despite its popularity in psychology, the performance of FSR in multigroup models with small samples remains relatively unknown. The goal of this study was to examine the performance of FSR, namely Croon's correction and…

Response data containing an excessive number of zeros are referred to as zero-inflated data. When differential item functioning (DIF) detection is of interest, zero-inflation can attenuate DIF effects in the total sample and lead to underdetection of DIF items. The current study presents a DIF detection procedure for response data with excess…

Bayesian approach is becoming increasingly important as it provides many advantages in dealing with complex data. However, there is no well-defined model selection criterion or index in a Bayesian context. To address the challenges, new indices are needed. The goal of this study is to propose new model selection indices and to investigate their…

Although virtual reality (VR) is commonly used in science classes, for example, to enable students to do simulated human dissections and other medical procedures, research on the use of VR as a learning tool in the humanities, more specifically the literature classroom, are few. This grounded theory study sought to understand better the use of VR…

Purpose: The advent of information and communication technology (ICT)-driven innovations changed people's lives in a big way. Virtual reality (VR) technology is an innovation that helps in digital transformation across several industries. This research aims to investigate the adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology in secondary school…

An important component of many Adaptive Instructional Systems (AIS) is a 'Learner Model' intended to track student learning and predict future performance. Predictions from learner models are frequently used in combination with mastery criterion decision rules to make pedagogical decisions. Important aspects of learner models, such as learning…

Reference intervals, or reference ranges, aid medical decision-making by containing a pre-specified proportion (e.g., 95%) of the measurements in a representative healthy population. We recently proposed three approaches for estimating a reference interval from a meta-analysis based on a random effects model: a frequentist approach, a Bayesian…