A high-quality, foundational education offers lifelong benefits for young children. The problem is that working memory in pre-school-aged children is declining and could be impaired by the extraneous cognitive load imposed during engagement with screen media apps and/or preschool programs. Although the pedagogical practices associated with…

In the elementary school, children's learning, thinking, making and doing are usually regarded through universalizing and progression-based accounts particularly from child development. Further, within these developmental frames, learning is often considered as a cognitive process that occurs solely within the conscious mind. In this dissertation,…

A pervasive and widespread shortage of early intervention (EI) teachers is preventing vital services from reaching infants and toddlers with disabilities during their most critical period of brain development. To better understand the EI teacher shortage, this qualitative study examined the career decision-making of 11 EI teachers from the…

This study examined quiet quitting and the predictive nature of hope related to job engagement of educators. Research was conducted in a school district in the northeast United States. This quantitative study examined the correlation between job engagement and hope, to what extent hope predicted job engagement in education, and whether educator…

This dissertation studied the effects of Teacher Directed Games (TDGs) on student vocabulary development and student engagement in a second language. Achieving automaticity with vocabulary is crucial to mastering a second language. A sample of 40 first grade students in a Jewish Day School participated in the study. Students learned their…

Reading is one of the most important skills that students learn in elementary school. The problem addressed in this study is the decrease in proficiency of reading comprehension when primary grade students are assessed using a digital device to read and respond to instead of reading a text from a paper-based test. The purpose of this study is to…

Response processes are an important component of validity to support the use and interpretation of test scores. Response processes information can provide insight into how students engage with assessment tasks and the type of errors made when solving items, as well as allow for the study of cognitive properties in items that may be associated with…

A solid foundation in mathematics is beneficial not only for individuals' concurrent and later academic achievement, but also for future career success and financial stability. Rational number knowledge plays a pivotal role in mathematical success, yet it is often regarded as a challenging area to grasp comprehensively. The dissertation aims to…

Executive function (EF) is a term used to describe the processes responsible for purposeful, goal-directed behavior and has been described as the "air traffic controller" or "CEO" of the brain. EFs are an important factor in overall quality of life, including school and job success. EFs are measured predominately through two…

National mathematics achievement results show that elementary students in the United States are not increasing in cognitive ability or critical thinking skills (NAEP, 2020). For this increase, mathematically promising students require more opportunities for cognitively demanding mathematics instruction. As a result, this descriptive study focused…

Brain-Based Learning is one of the many strategies which educators utilize when teaching. Prior research conducted over Brain-based Learning has demonstrated a difference between how students learn based on the gender of the student. Additionally, prior studies have been performed over perceptions of Brain-Based Learning. However, the researcher…

The present study investigated the relationship between two major components of executive functioning (EF) and externalizing behavior problems (EBP) during the early elementary years. More specifically, Working Memory (WM) and Cognitive Flexibility (CF) measured in kindergarten through second grade were used to predict teacher ratings of EBP in…

The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of the construct map for students' conception of equivalence with special emphasis on investigating the impact of structure of equation on students' conception of equivalence. The study examined the role of structure of equations in identifying students' conception of…

The purpose of the study was to explore the cognitive profiles associated with inadequate responsiveness to fractions intervention on 3 fractions outcomes (calculations, ordering, and word problems). At the start of 3rd grade, 2 cohorts of students (N = 124) identified at the start of intervention as at-risk for mathematics difficulties were…

Executive function skills have a direct link to reading comprehension (Carretti, Borella, Cornoldi, & De Beni, 2009). Specifically, cognitive flexibility and working memory have been shown as a significant contributor to reading comprehension (Cain, Oakhill, & Bryant, 2004; Cartwright, 2002). Understanding the link between cognitive…