Recent studies have posited that K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education should go beyond traditional subject silos and take an interdisciplinary approach that integrates these core subjects into a cohesive curriculum to foster authentic problem-solving skills. The purpose of this study was to field test one of five…

Educators aim to equip students with learning strategies they can apply when approaching new problems on their own. Teaching design-thinking strategies may support this goal. A first test would show that the strategies are good for learning and that students spontaneously transfer them beyond classroom instruction. To examine this, we introduce…

This dissertation explored the roles schools can play in the successful outcomes of large carnivore or keystone reintroduction projects. Schools are more than centers for knowledge acquisition--they connect their community and disseminate information quickly to a wide audience. This study took place in California's Eastern Sierra Nevada, a…

This study uses information about in-game strategy use, identified through cluster analysis of actions in an educational video game, to make data-driven modifications to the game in order to reduce construct-irrelevant behavior. The examination of student strategies identified through cluster analysis indicated that (a) it was common for students…

Focused on an equity of educational access issue, this qualitative study identified grade 4-6 teacher perceptions of English language learning in Southern California. The historic failure of English language learners (ELLs) on standardized tests in Southern California was presented as an important problem to solve. The literature review for this…

Educational video games provide an opportunity for students to interact with and explore complex representations of academic content and allow for the examination of problem-solving strategies and mistakes that can be difficult to capture in more traditional environments. However, data from such games are notoriously difficult to analyze. This…

Commercial video games undergo usability studies to determine the degree to which the player is able to learn, control, and understand the game. Usability studies allow game designers to improve their games before they are released to the public. If usability studies could be expanded to include information about the presentation of the…

This study originated from the realization that many community college students have significant difficulties with the concepts related to linear functions and their graphs even though these topics are included in the mathematics curriculum from about third grade onward. It is an attempt to identify possible gaps in the math standards in this…

Students often voice computations during group discussions of mathematics problems. Yet, this type of private speech has received little attention from mathematics educators or researchers. In this article, we use excerpts from middle school students' group mathematical discussions to illustrate and describe "computational private…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2017), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the…