I tested whether students' reported use and perceived helpfulness of textbook pedagogical aids and other instructional methods (e.g., group discussion) related to better exam performance. More than 200 undergraduates rated 10 commonly used pedagogical aids and instructional techniques. Students reported using boldface and italics terms and…

This article presents a discursive psychological approach in examining the ways that adolescent boys (ages 12-15 years) accomplish a sense of "maturity" by bringing off and managing certain features of "heterosexuality" in group interaction. We focus on and analyse moments when the boys negotiate implicit challenges, make evaluations and offer…

This paper reports on a case study which identifies and illustrates sources of difference in agreement in relation to reliability in a context of quantitative content analysis of a transcript of an online asynchronous discussion (OAD). Transcripts of 10 students in a month-long online asynchronous discussion were coded by two coders using an…

Participation is a complex process, engaging the whole person, implying cognitive, emotional and relational aspects. In online open and distant learning, group work is a commonly used strategy, given its collaborative nature and constructivist framework ([Bates and Poole, 2003], [Garrison and Anderson, 2003] and [Jonassen, 2005]). In this context,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a very difficult, yet all important and ongoing research question--how do we best use online collaborative learning modalities (CLM) to supplement conversations in multicultural education courses? Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative study examined emergent themes in asynchronous…

The Talkback Project used blog software to involve eighth-grade language arts students, preservice teachers, and parents in online discussion of young adult novels and their personal connections with them. The author shares the challenges associated with the project--including the implications of Internet safety and legal concerns associated with…

A study examined discussions on an instructional listserv, an open forum with several hundred subscribers across the world. The study investigated the coherence of a group of electronic mail (e-mail) messages taken from an academic listserv under one topic. Coherence is important as it contributes to the comprehension of a text. Participants on…

Considers whether cultivation of true collaborative learning is a realistic ambition with very young children; analysis of the social dynamic suggests that it is well within the reach of children as a form of social exchange. Argues that the new technology offers a potential for supporting the development of collaborative learning in early…

Argues that the computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) community should adopt a stronger orientation to other social science disciplines, particularly psychology. Greater attention to psychological literature provides three benefits: well-validated principles about human behavior in group and organizational contexts relevant to CSCW research;…

Examines reliability issues in the large-scale assessment of speech communication through authentic techniques, used recently in Saskatchewan. Performance-based approaches enable educators to evaluate the integrated, interpersonal communication skills of large student populations, thereby modeling best professional practice. However, decentralized…

The paper reports a small-scale research on the predisposition of adult ESOL learners in a further education college to the components of autonomous learning. The research is based on the perception that there is an untested assumption that all students will react positively to the concept of autonomous learning and by implication are positively…

Discussion and writing are very powerful ways to support learning. This article describes the use of a free, synchronous online forum to expand student-teacher discussions beyond the time/place constraints of the physical physiology classroom. The main participants were medical students enrolled in physiology class at the University of Zagreb…

There has been growing interest and increasing use of case study (CS) materials in teacher education. Yet efforts to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of CS have been scarce. We compared instructional effectiveness of CS to another commonly used discussion strategy, an application question (AQ) method, with graduate students enrolled in a…

A previous study (Wallace, Yang, Hand, & Hohenshell, 2001) indicated that seventh-grade life science students using a learning tool known as the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) performed significantly better on conceptual test questions than did a control group. In the present study, the researcher studied more deeply how students utilized a…

The purpose of this paper is to show how data mining may offer promise as a strategy for discovering and building alternative representations for the data underlying asynchronous discussion forums. Presently, the instructor's view of the output of a threaded forum is limited to reviewing a transcript or print version of the written dialogue…