This article focuses on students' perceptions of small-group activities, discussion, and technology-based interactivity implemented in two different learning environments, namely, in a large, traditional lecture hall and in a smaller classroom. The Engaged Learning Index, developed by Schreiner and Louis, was used along with several items to…

In the current U.S. sociopolitical climate marked by rising racial tension and civil unrest, social work students and educators are engaged in dialogues throughout the country regarding the role of the profession in combating injustice. The emergence of the Movement for Black Lives as well as numerous high-profile police shootings of unarmed Black…

This six-week action research study explored the use of a media-based adaptation of a popular student-centered, extensive reading-based activity known as Literature Circles (LCs). Twenty Chinese students decided upon groups and assigned themselves specific roles before viewing episodes of a selected television series for homework. The prepared…

Consequent to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, pedagogic changes were introduced in postgraduate courses in Physiology, where face-to-face teaching was replaced with synchronous virtual mode for leader-centered (seminar, symposium) and participant-centered (journal club, group discussion) academic activities. We hypothesized that the…

This article expands upon research into task planning effects by looking at how the addition of planning prior to group discussions may positively and negatively influence performance. 24 Japanese university students performed three weekly discussions in groups of four. Prior to each discussion, they undertook either no planning, strategic…

Of the major aspects of language use, perhaps the least frequently taught and the least understood by teachers is the system of turn-taking Wong and Waring [2010. "Conversation Analysis and Second Language Pedagogy: A Guide for ESL/EFL Teachers." New York: Routledge]. For second language learners, this may be an important contributing…

Online adjunct faculty in Christian higher education have an important role in training students for church and ministry leadership. While their role is critical to many programs, online faculty often feel a sense of isolation from the university community. The purpose of this research was to examine whether a faculty cohort with a focus on…

There has been much attention given to the use of technology in education; mostly concentrating on physical artifacts of technology to facilitate teaching delivery but little mentioning technology as a cultural resource to organize the learning environment promoting social interaction among students and between teacher and students. This paper…

This article is based on the author's doctoral thesis on the dynamics of interpersonal relations in the onsite classroom. Drawing on positioning theory (Davies & Harre´, 1999; Harre´, 2015), Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Lantolf & Thorne, 2007) and informed by the focus on interaction in Douglas Fir Group's seminal paper (Douglas…

This study analyzes the types of peer discussion that occur during lecture-based tutorial sessions. It focuses in particular on whether discussions of this kind have certain characteristics that might indicate success in the post-testing phase. The data were collected during an introductory physics course. The main data set was gathered with the…

This account of practice follows an action learning project that considered the contribution of the 'L = P + Q + R' formula to the teaching of thinking skills to 31 pre-service teachers in Turkey, including the risks in the process of AL. The participants were observed as exhibiting developments in learning (L) thinking skills through questioning…

This paper discusses symbolic violence in sociolinguistic research on multilingualism. It revisits an archived recording of a group discussion between four boys about their chances of having sex with a female researcher. The data is rife with symbolic violence. Most obviously, the conversation enacted a heterosexist form of symbolic violence. This…

Medical schools worldwide are promoting a student-centered and patient-centered care curriculum by using problem-based learning (PBL) strategy, emphasizing group dynamics and discussions. This approach facilitates student engagement, participation, and partnership interaction. However, in the context of the wide power-distance or the existence of…

In this qualitative case study, the author explored how reading global literature books and interacting with U.S. literacy teachers influenced Chinese college students' intercultural understandings and English-language learning. Students read the selected picture books, discussed in small groups, conducted freewritings, made video clips, and…

Following Hyland's model of metadiscourse, evidential is defined as an expression that references information from other texts. Evidence in traditional academic writing may include peer-reviewed articles, published books and personal communication with field experts. With a sharp increase in the use of online teaching and learning environments by…