The purpose of this content analysis study was to identify the affordances embedded in core reading program (CRP) teacher's manuals that facilitate graphical literacy skills as a component of literacy instruction. In the informational text selections of selected CRPs, graphic category, type, function, and connection to text were assessed to…

The focus of my dissertation is the 'problem of the Other'. The central question is: how does one relate to the other without immediately taking away their alterity? If the Other is an absolute other, how can we relate in a way that is respectful and ethical? There are many examples of relationships among people that demonstrate ways that are…

This project discusses the creation and implementation of labor logs in multimodal curricula in two levels of writing courses and how these labor logs support students' development of meta-awareness through reflection-in-action (Yancey, 1998). Labor logs create a space for students to focus on in the moment recognition, or monitoring, of what…

Federal law mandates that students with disabilities (SWDs) receive specially designed instruction (SDI), which includes the adaptation of the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to meet SWDs' unique needs, to ensure access to the general education curriculum (Rodgers et al., 2021; Ten Napel, 2017) within the least restrictive…

This study used a modified mixed-method sequential explanatory design to explore how preschool teachers perceive and use complex talk within different activity settings and content areas to facilitate language and literacy skills. The combination of large-scale, quantitative data (455 children, 63 teachers) from a pre-K study and in-depth,…

Idiomatic expressions (IEs) play an essential role in natural language. In this paper, we study the task of idiomatic sentence paraphrasing (ISP), which aims to paraphrase a sentence with an IE by replacing the IE with its literal paraphrase. The lack of large scale corpora with idiomatic-literal parallel sentences is a primary challenge for this…

Currently there are 85 schools that offer a bachelor's degree in Music Therapy and 243 full-time faculty in the United States (American Music Therapy Association, 2022). To be eligible to teach as a full time, undergraduate, music therapy faculty, the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) requires at least a master's degree and three years of…

Effective learning is viewed as an evolutionary process, and as such, it involves an expanded version of the Crenshaw-Collins view of "intersectionality." It demands an in-depth view of the complex socio-cultural-ethnic milieu in which students are embedded. Even more, effective learning requires effectance problem-solving, investigation…

Hierarchical data is often observed in education data. Analyzing such data with Multilevel Modeling becomes crucial to understanding the relationship at the individual and group levels. However, one of the most significant problems with this kind of data is small sample sizes and very low Intraclass Correlations. The multivariate Latent Covariate…

Multistage adaptive testing (MST) has become popular in the testing industry because the research has shown that it combines the advantages of both linear tests and item-level computer adaptive testing (CAT). The previous research efforts primarily focused on MST design issues such as panel design, module length, test length, distribution of test…

This phenomenological study provides a comprehensive approach to unmasking the artist to understand the potential effects of enhanced learning through an integration of the arts, mental health, and education. This research aims to discover a new method to enhance learning through storytelling and counter-unmasking through multicultural children's…

Soft skills, or intra- and interpersonal skills such as writing, customer service, and flexibility, are highly sought by library and information science employers. A perceived gap in soft skills has led to suggestions that LIS programs are not adequately addressing these skills in their curricula, and to calls for them to do more. However, no…

Green chemistry is finding its place as one of the most essential study topics in the curriculum of future chemists and chemical engineers. Experiments that meet green chemistry principles contribute to make the laboratory a safer working place, generate less waste, and allow students to increase their knowledge in new environmentally friendly…

The reasons particular people enjoy science, pursue science, and see themselves as science people, or not, are diverse and complex (Brickhouse, et al., 2000). The ways that teachers present science and value particular ways of knowing and doing in the classroom can influence which students see themselves as science people (Carlone et al, 2011).…

The purpose of this study was to explore the formative role of personal and professional discipleship experiences on exemplar faith-integrating professors at a Christian university in the Southeast. Wenger's (1998) social theory of learning was the theoretical framework for the case study, and Mason's (1925/1989) instruments of education were the…