The work presented in the following chapters was undertaken with the goal of understanding and improving education in organic chemistry. Initial work, described in Chapters 1 and 2, focuses on students' ability to explain and rationalize the outcomes of organic chemistry reactions. Chapter 1 explores the relationship between assessment emphasis…

Parents' cultural beliefs are associated with their children's socialization and development. Researchers have examined these associations through the lens of parents' ethnotheories, which refer to parents' implicit beliefs about children's developmentally appropriate behavior. In contrast to prior work focused on parents' ethnotheories of…

Every teacher aspires to create the ideal lesson! You want to convey the knowledge and skills in the best possible way while also keeping learners motivated. In our design case, we focus on the complex skill of collaborative problem-solving (CPS). In today's complex world, the acquisition of CPS competencies is considered an important learning…

This preregistered, longitudinal study examined how much adolescents value and integrate their parents' and peers' attitudes into their own attitudes from early to middle adolescence. Across three waves, participants (N = 172, 91 female, 11-16 years across three waves; 439 data points) decided whether to pay money to learn their parents' or peers'…

The present study seeks to explore the mathematical connections that 13-14-year-old secondary school students establish when solving area tasks. Emphasis is placed on different mathematical objects, and the connections between them, that allow students to successfully solve the tasks. The study follows a mixed methodology using qualitative and…

Self-regulation is arguably one of the most crucial predictors of school readiness, academic achievement, and lifelong well-being. While educators in the prior-to-school years have a pivotal role to play in stimulating growth in early self-regulation, less is known about their knowledge and practices in this area. This interview study was…

Mechanistic reasoning about an artifact or system involves thinking about its underlying entities and the properties, activities, and cause-effect relationships of those entities. Previous studies of children's mechanistic reasoning about engineering solutions have mostly focused on specific mechanical systems such as gear trains. Yet there is…

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) education can combat online misinformation by enhancing users' fact-checking skills. This action research study designed and implemented a problem-based learning MIL project for journalism undergraduates. The objectives are (a) to design a MIL project by using a problem-based learning methodology; (b) to…

Using an intersectional analysis, this article critically analyses implied and expressed norms to identify perceptions of appropriate behaviour in children's play, and to explore how social communicative arenas such as Internet forums construct knowledge and values. Adults' responses to an incident that occurred amongst a group of children in…

Failure to exercise self-control is one of the leading causes of substance and behavioral addictions. Problematic social media usage (PSMU), a type of behavioral addiction, has become an increasingly serious problem with a significant impact on the lives of individuals of all generations. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the underlying…

Limited research has been conducted on coaching of paraprofessionals who serve students with disruptive behaviors. This study builds upon a randomized controlled trial investigating the intervention effects of the Behavior Support Coaching for Paraprofessionals model by examining the specific behavior concerns, coaching goals, and interventions…

This study examines whether Positive Behavior Interventions can support student performance in schools in three Southern districts. Schools today seek opportunities for interventions to support student behaviors and increase engagement. Three school districts in the southeast of the United States have been trained to implement a schoolwide…

Critical thinking is one of the most desired skills in the workplace, as it assists an individual in solving complex problems and making informed decisions, resulting in their workplace success. Argumentation is one instructional approach that provides students an opportunity to engage in higher-order thinking and improve their communication…

This report analyzes variations in eligibility and access to Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) subsidies in 2020. State decisions on implementation within the CCDBG program, along with historically insufficient federal and state funding, limit parents' access to child care assistance. We analyze state-level Administration for Children…

Limited research has been conducted on coaching of paraprofessionals who serve students with disruptive behaviors. This study builds upon a randomized controlled trial investigating the intervention effects of the Behavior Support Coaching for Paraprofessionals model by examining the specific behavior concerns, coaching goals, and interventions…