The objective of this dissertation is to identify the sense of belonging of Black male students attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs). In many cases, Black males feel they do not belong in collegiate environments in the United States. Thirty-nine Black males attending a mid-sized Midwestern university were surveyed using the Basic…

Executive functions (EFs) play a crucial role in academic performance. In the present study, we aimed to improve EFs through a group-based cognitive training. Thirty-three typically developing children (age mean: 58.80 ± 7.04 months) were recruited in a random clinical trial design in two intervention (n = 18) and active control (n = 15) groups.…

Objective: We evaluated the feasibility of Pitt Moves, a classroom-based, peer-led physical activity break (PAB) intervention developed by graduate students to improve mood, focus, and boredom among students. Participants: One hundred and thirty-two graduate-level students in 10 courses during an academic semester. Methods: Process evaluation with…

Purpose: The development of vocabulary size in deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) children and adolescents can be delayed compared to their peers due to lack of access to early language input. Complementary vocabulary interventions are reported in the literature. Our aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention methods for their vocabulary…

While technology-based interventions enhance instruction and improve outcomes for students with disabilities, implementing and integrating technology in authentic learning environments continues to be a challenge. Based on the experiences of a variety of Stepping-Up Technology Implementation projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education,…

The purpose of this study was to complete a systematic review of the adolescent comprehension intervention research published between 2000 and 2020 to examine the presence of instructional practices to promote student engagement. Ninety-five studies were coded and indicated that 93% of the studies included at least one instructional practice and…

Coaching caregivers of young children on the autism spectrum is a critical component of parent-mediated interventions. Little information is available about how providers implement parent coaching for children on the autism spectrum in publicly funded early intervention systems. This study evaluated providers' use of parent coaching in an early…

The two-year institution where I teach first-year composition serves multilingual students who excel, keep pace, or fall behind. In addition to these students, there are one or two whom I identify as "promising but struggling multilinguals." While this small but everpresent contingent attend regularly, submit work somewhat consistently,…

Understanding how the disposition of a student interacts with or influences a behavior plays a central role in cognitive theories. Middle school years have been accounted for as being difficult, awkward, and sometimes downright stressful. The overall purpose of this action research was to examine the impact of a growth mindset innovation using a…

Special education researchers have for decades emphasized the importance of intervention effectiveness and procedural fidelity, but relatively little attention has been directed toward understanding intervention intensity. This review focused on extracting details of intervention intensity as reported in peer-reviewed studies of scripting and…

Even compared with students with other disabilities, students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience poor postsecondary employment outcomes. Video-based intervention (VBI) has been effective in teaching a variety of skills to students with ASD, but there has yet to be a quantitative synthesis evaluating its effectiveness to teach…

Peers have a prominent place within peer-mediated interventions (PMI). Understanding how they might benefit from their experiences supporting students with disabilities is an emerging area of much-needed research. This qualitative study was designed to identify the breadth of ways peers report being affected by their diverse experiences. We held…

This research study sought to identify a solution for building fact fluency for middle school aged students identified with LD. After analyzing a 1st-12th grade independent school for students with LD's math curriculum, it was noted that basic fact fluency is not taught after grade five. This has shown to be problematic for students who enroll in…

Many individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are uncooperative during routine dental exams, leading to poor oral health in this population. Few studies have evaluated methodologies for preparing dental students and professionals to work effectively with patients diagnosed with IDD. In this study, experimenters…

Beliefs about relative academic performance may shape college major choice and explain gender gaps in STEM, but little causal evidence exists. To test whether these beliefs are malleable and salient enough to change behavior, I run a randomized experiment with 5,700 undergraduates across seven introductory STEM courses. Providing relative…