Teaching is the process of conveying knowledge and skills to learners. It involves preventing misunderstandings or correcting misconceptions that learners have acquired. Thus, effective teaching relies on solid knowledge of the discipline, but also a good grasp of where learners are likely to trip up or misunderstand. In programming, there is much…

In the fall of 2015, the author conducted a national survey of over 1,000 former high school speech and debate competitors. As he told a colleague, he was drowning in data. It was a good problem to have, but he was not sure how to thoroughly examine the heart of data; how would he make meaning of their experiences? Then, he realized, the answer…

This study investigated 10 public elementary schools that employed district technology coordinators to facilitate the implementation of classroom technologies. These technology coordinators act as change agents who sought out classroom teachers to serve as opinion leaders. These opinion leaders had the ability to influence the attitudes and…

As a response to accountability and pressure from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, the South Dakota Department of Education informed school administrators of a state-wide transformation of the way districts measure teacher effectiveness in their schools. In 2011, "The Framework for Teaching Evaluation Instrument" (Danielson, 2002)…

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to examine teachers' perceptions that an instructional technology coach as having an influence on improving their teaching practice, improving their integration of technology and 21st century skills, and improving student learning. Additionally, the study also examined whether perceptions…

This dissertation examines conversations and attitudes about mental health in Twitter discourse. The research uses big data collection, machine learning classification, and social network analysis to answer the following questions (1) what mental health topics do people discuss on Twitter? (2) Have patterns of conversation changed over time? Have…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which differences were present in reading, mathematics, and both subjects college-readiness for English Language Learners who were enrolled in Texas high schools. In the first investigation, the extent to which English Language Learner boys differ in their…

Research shows that chronic absenteeism can affect academic performance in later grades and is a key early warning sign that a student is more likely to drop out of high school. Several states enacted legislation to address this issue, and many states are currently discussing the utility of chronic absenteeism as an indicator of school quality or…

Reflecting the inter-connected reality of today's world, contemporary education is striving to keep up with the exponentially rapid changes that individuals around the globe are facing. Innovative educational proposals carry labels such as connective learning (Downes, 2006), e-learning 2.0 (Downes, 2005), education 2.0 (Carr et al., 2008), or…

This study explored the predictive relationship between leadership competencies and data driven decision making (DDDM) among rural community college leaders. The authors developed and disseminated a survey examining DDDM literacy level, community college leadership competencies, and other related key factors. Utilizing exploratory factor analysis,…

Understanding the relationship between fractions and decimals is an important step in developing an overall understanding of rational numbers. Research has demonstrated the feasibility of technology in the form of virtual manipulatives for facilitating students' meaningful understanding of rational number concepts. This exploratory dissertation…

This case study considers how a non-equivalent control group design was used in a PhD study examining the impact of a multiple intelligence teaching approach on student engagement and learning. Two groups of second year undergraduate nursing students undertook the study: a treatment group (n = 26) and a control group (n = 18). The intervention for…

Continuous and discontinuous data-collection methods were compared in the context of discrete-trial programming. Archival data sets were analyzed using trial sampling (1st 5 trials, 1st 3 trials, and 1st trial only) and session sampling (every other session, every 3rd session, and every 5th session). Results showed that trial sampling…

In this study, smoothing and scaling approaches are compared for estimating subscore-to-composite scaling results involving composites computed as rounded and weighted combinations of subscores. The considered smoothing and scaling approaches included those based on raw data, on smoothing the bivariate distribution of the subscores, on smoothing…

The selection of bandwidth in kernel equating is important because it has a direct impact on the equated test scores. The aim of this article is to examine the use of double smoothing when selecting bandwidths in kernel equating and to compare double smoothing with the commonly used penalty method. This comparison was made using both an equivalent…