In the structural equation modeling literature, the normal-distribution-based maximum likelihood (ML) method is most widely used, partly because the resulting estimator is claimed to be asymptotically unbiased and most efficient. However, this may not hold when data deviate from normal distribution. Outlying cases or nonnormally distributed data,…

Measurement is one of the key areas of study in mathematics and features prominently in the "Australian Curriculum: Mathematics" (ACARA, 2010). In this set of investigations requiring students to estimate indirectly the height of a tree they are encouraged to use the "power of mathematical reasoning" and "apply their…

Thermodynamic quantities such as the average energy, heat capacity, and entropy are calculated using a Monte Carlo method based on the Metropolis algorithm. This method is illustrated with reference to the harmonic oscillator but is particularly useful when the partition function cannot be evaluated; an example using a one-dimensional spin system…

This study extends previous research that explores how visualization affordances that computational tools provide and social network analyses that account for individual- and group-level dynamic processes can work in conjunction to improve learning outcomes. The study's main hypothesis is that when social network graphs are used in instruction,…

To rule out the need for a two-parameter item response theory (IRT) model during item analysis by Rasch models, it is important to check the Rasch model's assumption that all items have the same item discrimination. Biserial and polyserial correlation coefficients measuring the association between items and restscores are often used in an informal…

Response time has been regarded as an important source for investigating the relationship between human performance and response speed. It is important to examine the relationship between response time and item characteristics, especially in the perspective of the relationship between response time and various factors that affect examinee's…

This thesis investigates and develops a few acceleration techniques for the search engine algorithms used in PageRank and HITS computations. PageRank and HITS methods are two highly successful applications of modern Linear Algebra in computer science and engineering. They constitute the essential technologies accounted for the immense growth and…

Most economic impact studies are prepared by external consultants at significant cost to an individual college, a higher education state system, or a set of institutions with similar Carnegie Classifications. This case study provides a detailed framework that academic institutions may use to derive economic impact estimates without hiring external…

This paper examines strategies for interpreting and reporting estimates of intervention effects for subgroups of a study sample. Specifically, the paper considers: why and how subgroup findings are important for applied research, the importance of pre-specifying sub- groups before analyses are conducted, the importance of using existing theory and…

This is the second of three articles that draw on findings from Nunes, Watson and Bryant (2009): "Key understandings in school mathematics: a report to the Nuffield Foundation". The report was soundly based on research about how children learn mathematics, much of it done in the UK in the '80s. Most of the findings about algebra are very…

This preliminary study described fourth grade students verbally solving a mathematics problem using a think-aloud protocol. Comments in the think aloud were categorized according to type (e.g., paraphrases and elaborations) and facilitative nature (i.e., whether the comments facilitated correct solution of the problem). Amount of the students'…

We present a new method for determining the contact time of a rubber ball with the rebounding surface by using a sound-detecting electronic circuit and a digital storage oscilloscope. The rubber ball (a tennis ball or squash ball) is dropped from a known height onto a rigid surface and its contact time on first bounce is determined on the…

The topics of solution thermodynamics, activity coefficients, and complex formation are introduced through computational exercises and sample applications. The presentation is designed to be accessible to freshmen in a chemical engineering computations course. The MOSCED model is simplified to explain complex formation in terms of hydrogen…

Elementary school teachers are responsible for constructing the foundation of number sense in youngsters, and so it is recommended that teacher-training programs include an emphasis on number sense to ensure the development of dynamic, productive computation and estimation skills in students. To better prepare preservice elementary school teachers…

Pretest-posttest experimental designs often are used in randomized control trials (RCTs) in the education field to improve the precision of the estimated treatment effects. For logistic reasons, however, pretest data often are collected after random assignment, so that including them in the analysis could bias the posttest impact estimates. Thus,…