This qualitative study investigated 14 Chinese international graduate students' lived experiences with group work and the effects of group work on their English communicative competence. The interview results showed that these participants' attitudes towards group work went through changes from initial inadaptation or dislike to later adaptation…

After certification, teachers do not often receive systematic support in their learning and hence mainly depend on informal learning opportunities at work. The present study addresses the question of if and how supervision makes a difference to teacher learning. In a longitudinal mixed-method study, the learning of one teacher is documented in a…

Using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as a theoretical framework, a team of university staff and educators at a traditionally under-performing urban elementary school built a collaboration aimed at enhancing writing instruction. The current qualitative research study, which was part of this larger project, focused on biography writing in Eva…

Latino bilingual children hold rich understandings, which are underexplored and underutilized in the geoscience classroom. Oftentimes, young Latinos possess unique cultural land experiences shaping their place identities. We consider science as language and culture, and propose place-based geoscience hybrid space explorations that are culturally…

This book outlines a methodology for viewing multiple generations of African Americans, specifically those who were called or called themselves Negro, Colored, Black, or African American (NCBAA). Within this framework, African Americans of varying ages describe their lives and educational experiences, allowing researchers to address a variety of…

Content analysis is a valuable research tool for social scientists that unfortunately can prove challenging to teach to undergraduate students. Published classroom exercises designed to teach content analysis have thus far been predominantly envisioned as lengthy projects for upper-level courses. A brief and engaging exercise may be more…

This story is a chemical mystery with an emphasis on qualitative analysis, metallurgy, and gravimetric analysis. It is, as well, yet another article in the continuing series, created by Thomas Waddell and Thomas R. Rybolt, that presents a scientific problem in mystery format in the context of the popular and beloved characters of Sherlock Holmes…

Reviewing literature in qualitative research can be challenging in terms of why, when, where, and how we should access third-party sources in our work, especially for novice qualitative researchers. As a pragmatic solution, we suggest qualitative researchers utilize research literature in four functional ways: (a) define the phenomenon in…

This study is part of a research project concerning perceptions of competence among RE student teachers at different stages of their pedagogical studies. This article focuses on the perceptions of RE teachers' competence at the beginning of their training. According to the qualitative data the RE student teachers discerned various areas of…

Every day people are bombarded with information about romantic relationships. Magazine articles offer how-to advice on flirting, dating, and fixing relationship problems. Advertisements--from billboards to radio commercials to email marketing campaigns--feature products that promise to help people attract a special someone. Television and movie…

This collective case study examines the influence of 4 third-grade teachers' beliefs and knowledge on their error-handling practices during class discussion of mathematics. Study findings suggest that, although teachers' ways of handling student errors during class discussion of mathematics are clearly linked to both teacher beliefs and teacher…

What standardized tests can not do--indeed, what almost no test can do--is capture a child's essence. Tests don't speak to the internal factors that play a major role in life success: curiosity, effort, resilience, and compassion. Howard Gardner and Daniel Goleman have each noted that success stems largely from interpersonal skills. Educators know…

Undergraduate research experience offers students a host of benefits including: (a) improving interpersonal and technical skills; (b) fostering independent learning and analytical abilities; and (c) creating close personal connections with faculty members. However, Rodrick and Dickmeyer (2002) suggest that, "although communication educators…

Faced with doing research, students are often hesitant. Most graduate students have never conducted extensive research, having few qualifications or little technical skills. This article focuses on helping students acquire research interests, understanding and skills by using an experiential research group model. The purpose of this article is to…

This qualitative study examines the career strategies of 17 professors at a major research university who are noted by key colleagues and former students for taking their teaching seriously. The author discusses two career strategies--applying career design principles and acting resourcefully about teaching development--that help these professors,…