Denis Dumas
Denis Dumas
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Research Interests
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I am fascinated by human learning. Today, nearly every educator inherently understands that different students seem to learn at different rates, or that different domains are better taught using differing instructional methods. But how do these profound differences come to be? How can we best leverage instructional resources to support the academic development of all students?
In order to begin to address these questions, I apply advanced quantitative methodologies to educational data in an effort to scientifically understand the learning process: including when, how, and in whom learning occurs. Recently, I have worked to co-develop a novel methodical paradigm, called Dynamic Measurement Modeling (DMM) that may be used to quantify students’ learning capacity in a more valid way than previously used methods.
Moreover, I have closely studied two higher-order cognitive functions that allow individuals to flexibly adapt to shifting demands, and innovate around constraints and challenges: relational reasoning and creativity. In particular, I am interested in the reliable and valid measurement of these constructs, as well as the role they play in student success, especially in STEM fields. For example, I have studied how medical students and residents use relational reasoning to arrive at clinical diagnoses, as well as how engineering students creatively solve mechanical problems.
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Curriculum Vitae
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Selected Recent Papers
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Dynamic Measurement Modeling
McNeish, D., Dumas, D., & Grimm, K. (2020). Improving predictions about adult intelligence from standardized tests taken during childhood. Multivariate Behavioral Research.
Dumas, D., McNeish, D., Schreiber-Gregory, D., Durning, S., & Torre, D. (2019). Dynamic measurement in health professions education: Rationale, application, and possibilities. Academic Medicine. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002729
McNeish, D. & Dumas, D. (2019). Scoring repeated standardized tests to estimate capacity, not just current ability. Policy Insights from the Brain and Behavioral Sciences. [invited paper]. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732219862578
McNeish, D., & Dumas, D. (2018). Calculating the conditional reliability of dynamic measurement modeling capacity estimates. Journal of Educational Measurement. 55(4), 614-634.
Dumas, D., & McNeish, D. (2018). Increasing the consequential validity of reading assessment using dynamic measurement modeling. Educational Researcher. 47(9), 612-614
Dumas, D., McNeish, D., (2017). Dynamic measurement modeling: Using nonlinear growth models to estimate student learning capacity. Educational Researcher, 46(6), 284-292. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X17725747
McNeish, D., & Dumas, D. (2017). Non-linear growth models as psychometric models: A second-order growth curve model for measuring potential. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 52, 61-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2016.1253451
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Creativity
Forthmann, B., Szardenings, C., Dumas, D. (2020). Testing the equal-odds theory in creativity research. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.
Dumas, D., & Dong, Y. (2019). Development and calibration of the Student Opportunities for Deeper Learning Instrument. Psychology in the Schools. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22292
Forthmann, B., Paek, S., Dumas, D., Barbot, B. Holling, H. (2019). Scrutinizing the basis of originality in divergent thinking tests: On the measurement precision of response frequencies. British Journal of Educational Psychology. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12325
Dumas, D. & Runco, M. (2018). Objectively scoring divergent thinking tests for originality: A re-analysis and extension. Creativity Research Journal. 30(4), 439-450.
Dumas, D., Strickland, A. (2018). From book to bludgeon: A closer look at malevolent responses on the Alternate Uses Task. Creativity Research Journal. 30(4), 466-468.
Dumas, D. (2018). Understanding high-school students’ perceptions of their learning opportunities: A doubly latent approach. Frontiers in Education: Educational Psychology.
Dumas, D. (2018). Relational reasoning and divergent thinking: An examination of the threshold hypothesis using quantile regression. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 53, 1-196.
Dumas, D., Schmidt, L. C., & Alexander, P. A. (2016). Predicting creative problem solving in engineering design. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 21, 50–66. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2016.05.002
Dumas, D., & Dunbar, K. N. (2016). The creative stereotype effect. PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142567
Dumas, D., & Dunbar, K. N. (2014). Understanding fluency and originality: A latent variable perspective. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 14, 56-67.
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Forthmann_et_al-2019-British_Journal_of_Educational_Psychology.pdf
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Relational Reasoning
Jablansky, S., Alexander, P. A., Compton, V., Dumas, D. (2019). The development of relational reasoning in primary and secondary school students: A longitudinal analysis. International Journal of Technology and Design Education.
Dumas, D., Alexander, P.A. (2018). Assessing differential-item-functioning on the Test of Relational Reasoning. Frontiers in Education: Testing and Applied Measurement. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2018.00014
Dumas, D., Torre, D.M., Durning, S.J. (2018). Using relational reasoning strategies to help improve clinical reasoning practice. Academic Medicine. 93(5):709-714. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002114.
Dumas, D. (2017). Relational reasoning in science, medicine, and engineering. Educational Psychology Review. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9370-6
Grossnickle, E. M., Dumas, D., Alexander, P. A., & Baggetta, P. (2016). Individual differences in the process of relational reasoning. Learning and Instruction, 42, 141–159. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.013
Dumas, D., Alexander, P. A. (2016). Calibration of the Test of Relational Reasoning. Psychological Assessment, 28(10), 1303-1318. http://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000267
Jablansky, S., Alexander, P.A., Dumas, D., & Compton, V. (2015). Development of relational reasoning in primary and secondary school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(4), 592-608. http://doi.org/10.1037/edu000007
Dumas, D., & Schmidt, L. (2015). Relational reasoning as predictor for engineering ideation success using TRIZ. Journal of Engineering Design. 26(3), 74–88
Alexander, P. A., Dumas, D., Grossnickle, E. M., List, A., & Firetto, C. (2015). Measuring relational reasoning. Journal of Experimental Education, 83, 1-33.
Dumas, D., Alexander, P. A., Baker, L. M., Jablansky, S., & Dunbar, K. N. (2014). Relational reasoning in medical education: Patterns in discourse and diagnosis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106, 1021-1035. doi: 10.1037/a003677
Dumas, D., Alexander, P. A., & Grossnickle, E. M. (2013). Relational reasoning and its manifestations in the educational context: A systematic review of the literature. Educational Psychology Review, 25, 391-427.
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Teaching Philosopy
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As an educational psychologist dedicated to understanding human learning processes, my teaching and research are inherently complementary.
For example, from my research, I know that the more and richer connections that students are able to map among class information, the better they will be able to access that information in memory, form justified beliefs and knowledge, and transfer that knowledge to novel contexts. However, I also know that, for many students, default behavior involves treating topics in a piecemeal fashion. Therefore, I continually strive to encourage students to construct meaningful connections among ideas.
I also believe deeply that all students deserve license to be creative in class. However, based on findings from the creativity literature, I know that thinking divergently or in novel ways can be uncomfortable for some students, who have been trained to generate only the “right” answer. In order to limit this tendency towards convergent thinking, I focus my grading on tasks that are open-ended, in which students can follow their interests and produce original work.
In general, I try to push students to think like psychologists, not just psychology students. Informed by the critical thinking literature, I know that this process requires careful analysis and informed evaluation of the work of scholars in the field. Therefore, I typically require students to interact with and critique empirical research in class.
Although I deeply value the time I spend on classroom instruction, in my view, some of the best opportunities for teaching and learning arise in advising and apprenticeship contexts, where I have the opportunity to guide a student through a complex process such as data analysis, writing, or corresponding with journal reviewers and editors. Therefore, I am excited for a variety of research collaborations with graduate students here at DU.
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Blog posts
http://psychlearningcurve.org/whats-wrong-with-educational-testing-and-how-we-can-fix-it/
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Syllabi
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Selected Media Coverage
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Dynamic Measurement
https://phys.org/news/2019-11-statistical-power-standardized-scores.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191119161459.htm
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Creative Stereotype Effect
https://www.rd.com/culture/key-to-being-more-creative/
https://www.thecut.com/article/pretending-youre-someone-else-can-make-you-more-creative.html
https://psmag.com/a-simple-way-to-spark-creativity-e3aa9a2dcbf3#.9qa4ol1mp
https://qz.com/632669/to-be-more-creative-a-study-suggests-imagining-yourself-as-an-eccentric-poet/
https://parrbooks.com/2016/03/04/want-to-be-creative-just-believe-it/
http://www.thepassivevoice.com/2016/03/how-to-be-more-creative-its-surprisingly-simple/
http://innovators-guide.ch/2016/04/the-creative-stereotype-effect/