The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomena of participation in a democratic large ensemble experience in a secondary public school setting. Specific research questions included (a) Do high school band students feel capable of performing a music work without teacher intervention? (b) In what ways do high school band students describe…

This study explores what young Danish learners found anxiety-provoking or difficult in their English as a foreign language (EFL) classes. Participants (n = 32) were early and later starters (ages 8 years vs. 10 years) at two primary schools where children were not assessed in English. The qualitative inquiry aimed to examine what differences…

The various types of interactions that students carry out when engaged in scientific argumentation function together to move forward developing ideas and support sensemaking. As such, incorporating argumentation in classroom instruction holds promise for supporting students in developing and acting with an epistemic agency, being positioned, and…

This study investigates the multimodal construction of blame attributions in peer interaction during digital tasks in English as a Foreign Language classrooms. Drawing on multimodal conversation analysis (CA), we examine how the force of blamings is manifested in and through the variety of resources used, and the role of digital devices in the…

This article reports on the professional benefits of using Critical Friends Group discussion protocols within a Collaborative Action Research project facilitated by two teacher-educators with four junior secondary school teachers in New Zealand. The teachers were encouraged to conduct Action Research projects on topics of their own choice.…

In Elizabeth A. Dagrosa Harris' high school English classroom, the writing assignment that inspires the most dread in her students is the literary criticism paper, a common assessment usually assigned in the second semester of the British literature curriculum. This assignment is grounded in solid and time-tested standards that describe research…

The current study builds on earlier leader succession research, focusing on a school where the "insider"--who was believed to be strong before being hired as the formal school leader--drew sharp criticism after assuming the principalship. Interviews with staff members who worked with the insider leader in her role as teacher and…

Background: Most research on how children learn when using the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach has focused on cognitive dimensions in teaching games models. A social constructivist perspective suggests, however, that learning also takes place during social interactions. Since the process of learning game skills tends to have a…