This dissertation is aimed at investigating the impact of missing data and evaluating the performance of five selected methods for handling missing responses in the implementation of Cognitive Diagnostic Models (CDMs). The five methods are: a) treating missing data as incorrect (IN), b) person mean imputation (PM), c) two-way imputation (TW), d)…

This study was conducted to analyze potential item parameter drift (IPD) impact on person ability estimates and classification accuracy when drift affects an examinee sub-group. Using a series of simulations, three factors were manipulated: (a) percentage of IPD items in the CAT exam, (b) percentage of examinees affected by IPD, and (c) item pool…

Augmented Graph Grammars are a graph-based rule formalism that supports rich relational structures. They can be used to represent complex social networks, chemical structures, and student-produced argument diagrams for automated analysis or grading. In prior work we have shown that Evolutionary Computation (EC) can be applied to induce…

Single-case researchers frequently adopt a form of response-guided experimentation where decisions about the design of the study are made based on an ongoing visual analysis. For example, multiple-baseline researchers may delay the start of intervention until data document a stable baseline pattern so that baseline trends can be reliably extended,…

Misclassification means the observed category is different from the underlying one and it is a form of measurement error in categorical data. The measurement error in continuous, especially normally distributed, data is well known and studied in the literature. But the misclassification in a binary outcome variable has not yet drawn much attention…

In linear regression models estimated by ordinary least squares, it is often desirable to use hypothesis tests and confidence intervals that remain valid in the presence of heteroskedastic errors. Wald tests based on heteroskedasticity-consistent covariance matrix estimators (HCCMEs, also known as sandwich estimators or simply "robust"…

Elementary school students often lack a conceptual understanding of linear measurement, which is revealed by their poor performance when the object to be measured is not aligned with the start of the ruler. Instead of correctly counting the units that correspond to the object (e.g., inches or centimeters), children often use 1 of 2 incorrect…

With the development of technology-enhanced learning platforms, eye-tracking biometric indicators can be recorded simultaneously with students item responses. In the current study, visual fixation, an essential eye-tracking indicator, is modeled to reflect the degree of test engagement when a test taker solves a set of test questions. Three…

Computational thinking (CT) is a way of making sense of the natural world and problem solving with computer science concepts and skills. Although CT and science integrations have been called for in the literature, empirical investigations of such integrations are lacking. Prior work in natural selection education indicates students struggle to…

The probability is exceptional in the teaching of mathematics because students often have difficulties to understand the basic terms and the problem solving strategies. Understanding lacks of the probability concept and various types of misconceptions arise from the misleading intuition and misinterpretations of experience with the stochastic…

Teaching computational thinking in K-12 as a 21st century skill is becoming increasingly important. Computational thinking describes a specific way of reasoning building on concepts and processes derived from algorithms and programming. One way to teach these concepts is games as an effective and efficient alternative. This article presents…

This study examined 105 preservice teachers' instructional strategies for developing dance-themed activities for young students during mathematics instruction. A pretest--posttest data collection design was used to investigate the changes in participants' teaching strategies before and after the intervention of dance with integrated mathematics…

In the last few years, engaging students to create digital games has been a pole of attraction for many teachers and researchers, resulting in highly positive learning experiences and promoting their thinking skills, e.g., programming and computational thinking (CT) skills. Researchers have already stated about the need for further research not…

Contribution: Knowledge of students' Habits of Mind in a signal processing course, and a method for education research. The method identifies factors that may influence students' performance, but are not evident when analyzing agglomerated data; it is an alternative to the traditional case study method as it derives the cases after applying a…

Computational Thinking (CT) is an increasingly relevant concept that researchers are promoting in formal learning contexts. In their mission to prepare teachers to integrate CT into K-12 schooling, teacher educators would benefit from understanding the different kinds of preconceptions of CT that their students bring to the classroom in order to…