The purpose of this dissertation is to develop principles and strategies for and identify limitations of multisite cluster randomized trials in the context of partially and fully nested designs. In the first study, I develop principles of estimation, sampling variability, and inference for studies that leverage multisite designs within the context…

In basic regression discontinuity (RD) designs, causal inference is limited to the local area near a single cutoff. To strengthen the generality of the RD treatment estimate, a design with multiple cutoffs along the assignment variable continuum can be applied. The availability of multiple cutoffs allows estimation of a pooled average treatment…

Simulation technology in healthcare education is continuously evolving but little is known about the effects of high fidelity simulation on student knowledge and skill retention or motivation. The purpose of this quantitative study was to use quasi-experimental design in a randomized controlled trial that compared the retention of knowledge and…

Increasing teacher efficacy poses challenges to educational leaders, highlighting the need for a study of the awareness and development of strengths related to teacher efficacy. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of the awareness and development of strengths on teachers' perceived self-efficacy, as well as to determine if…

Due to the complexity of the counseling process, counselors-in-training often experience performance anxiety when entering the counseling profession. Research shows that higher counseling self-efficacy (the belief in oneself to perform counseling skills successfully) helps decrease performance anxiety. Further, a strong supervisory working…

A recent study in Saudi Arabia uncovered certain prevalent health-risk behaviors amongst the adolescent population. One of the most prevalent behaviors identified by this study is health-risk dietary behavior. In general, adolescents in Saudi Arabia reported poor dietary behaviors. Furthermore, the problem of poor diet in the adolescent population…

Computer and information technologies have brought revolutions to many aspects of our lives. Online learning is one of the new learning methods that have emerged with the development of new technologies. Even though the advantages of online learning are very attractive to students and educators, when they are applied in real educational settings,…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a teacher education pedagogy (microteaching) on pre-service general education teachers' knowledge and implementation of the Concept Mastery Routine (CMR), a research-based intervention, and on their teacher efficacy. In addition, this study explored the feasibility of implementing…