This dissertation reports on research conducted to better understand how college student writers learned to work against their own biases as they researched and wrote arguments. I conducted a review of former studies to design a curriculum that would help students avoid bias and increase their ability to write arguments tailored to specific…

This study employed quantitative methods to analyze survey results related to the epistemic beliefs and classroom practices of economics educators. Studying economics has positive benefits at the individual, family, and social levels, but analysis of learning outcomes suggests that economics education needs to increase student engagement and…

As psychology grows in popularity, most students select professions related to therapy, which constantly deem statistics courses as irrelevant and accentuate negative attitudes. This study explores perspectives of knowledge, also known as epistemological frames, that students enrolled in a psychology-based course in statistics generate and the…

Despite reform efforts emphasizing written communication implemented in the undergraduate science curriculum, college science students still struggle with scientific research writing. Further, science majors have few opportunities to engage in authentic disciplinary scientific research writing. This research was set in an upper-division Scientific…

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge (Hetherington, 2012; Moreland & Craig, 2017; Pritchard, 2014). Epistemology is central to the practice of research and education (Spears, 2003). The epistemological position that holds science as the best or only way of acquiring knowledge is known as scientism…

College students are asked to make critical decisions about which academic major to choose and subsequently to make specific career decisions. Students come to college with a myriad of different skill sets, backgrounds, developmental levels, cognitive processes, familial support, and levels of self-efficacy that may influence how they make these…

In today's complex workplace, organizations have implemented mentoring programs to serve the needs of employees by providing career development and personal support. Mentoring relationships provide a variety of vocational, psychosocial and role modeling functions to proteges. Previous educational psychology research has examined the role of…

A goal of undergraduate science education is to help students develop "personal epistemologies" like those used by scientists (Windschitl et al., 2008). "Epistemic understandings" around the nature and process of science are crucial in the development of personal epistemologies comparable to scientists. However, many…

This dissertation explores how varied delivery strategies may influence college student affective learning in a mediated setting. I employed a hybrid-grounded approach to the exploration of student-participant interviews wherein student-participants engaged with one of two online media literacy learning modules. The results of this study…

The debate on campus regarding speech and inclusion has largely come to be framed as a two-sided issue: one side for free, open expression, clashing with the other side for diverse inclusion. All sides of the debate -- the proponents of free expression, most inclusionists, and those who seek the co-existence of the two values -- invoke the notion…

How instructors teach argumentation and research skills influences students' epistemic development and performance on critical thinking tasks. Therefore, it was necessary to explore the existing beliefs, values, and knowledge of university instructors to inform future research, faculty support, and curriculum development on how to support these…

In the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) there was a purposeful effort to not only include but prioritize science and engineering practices as part of the standards. Including the science and engineering practices in science curriculum and instruction is thought to help students understand how scientific knowledge…

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways graduate students' interpretive lenses manifested in reflective storytelling of their collaborative object-based learning (OBL) experiences with Andean textiles in the John and Mary Carter Collection. This occurred in the context of visitor-centered exhibition (VCE) development. Adapted Feminist…

This dissertation is motivated by the limits of current conceptualizations of college transition-- the metaphorical bridges, pathways, and tracks to college that represent a linear trajectory upheld by normative educational progress narratives often oriented toward Eurocentric, English-dominant, text-based standards for academic writing and…

Background: In recent years, more international students are enrolling in Educational Administration (EA) programs in the United States. While EA programs wish to recruit and retain international students, more research is needed on supporting international graduate students in graduate education programs and EA programs specifically. Purpose: The…