This article argues that children in a particular virtual community are learning through their participation in the discursive and social practices of the community. Using Wenger's model of "communities of practice" the article illuminates examples of children's learning that were a direct result of collaboration towards a common goal.…

The role of the media in our daily lives is discussed and its potential applications in the second language classroom are examined. Evidence of the power of the mass media is noted in the impact of news coverage on the news itself, and in the immediacy of news coverage. Video is also seen as stimulating and appealing to many, and able to reflect…

A study investigated how American learners acquire the pragmatics of Kiswahili greetings in a foreign language context. Subjects were 16 beginning, 12 intermediate, and 4 advanced students. After an initial month-long observation period, the following hypotheses were formed: (1) learners do not readily initiate greetings; and (2) most learners may…

This paper focuses on a case study of the collaborative development of an environmental education unit involving the use of puppetry and drama. The collaboration was between an experienced classroom teacher beginning to use drama, and a drama/environmental educator and researcher. The critical lens for the analysis was sustainability education,…

"Voices Literature and Character Education Program" ("Voices LACE"; formerly known as Voices of Love and Freedom and Literacy and Values) is a K-12 program that aims to promote positive character and citizenship values, literacy skills, and social skills. The program contains a curriculum that can be used over any length of…

Discusses historian Henry Adams' disillusionment with the educational system and with his own teaching. Suggests improving history instruction by involving students more actively in learning. Proposes incorporating interactive learning strategies including (1) interactive lectures; (2) questioning; (3) small groups; (4) critical thinking and…

A study of 203 community health center preceptors who attended workshops on educational planning, teaching styles, evaluation, and feedback found that participants showed significant increases in use of five of seven teaching concepts while analyzing a role-play interaction; increased familiarity with, and retained for three months, nine of 11…

A case is made for a broader approach to the study of politeness strategies, as has been demanded increasingly by linguists working on non-Western languages. Using data from a role-played dialogue involving a request in the Southern Bantu language Zulu, speakers are first located culturally, then the sequence of vrebal utterances as a whole is…

Research was undertaken to investigate various methods of presentation of a computer based science simulation as it related to student content knowledge of the simulation concepts. Three treatment groups of sixth grade students were used in the study: (1) two students per computer interacting with the simulation; (2) a total class presentation of…

Based on the belief that explicit teaching of social skills to young students will better prepare them for future academic and social endeavors, this action research project evaluated the impact of a program for increasing the incidence of appropriate social skills, specifically: sharing, encouraging, and accepting responsibility among young…

Child sex abuse increasingly is recognised as a societal problem that can no longer be ignored. In this paper definitions, prevalence, trends, assessment, and available diagnostic procedures are described and critically evaluated. It is argued that the lack of reliable diagnostic procedures remains one of the main difficulties in dealing…

Experience with case teaching, both at the Copenhagen Business School and also on a more large scale world basis, shows that students often do not carry out the kind of high level analysis of a case, which the case teaching paradigm claim it can encourage. Also, as the worlds of digital, multimedia and web-based educational environments emerge,…

Although most students view science through a positive lens they often have difficulty connecting the science that they study in school with the practice of science in general, and their personal experience with science in their everyday lives. In an attempt to mediate "school science" with a more authentic view of science a contextual model is…

Second language tests claiming to assess communicative competence are widespread, despite the vague nature of the construct. Sociolinguistic or intercultural competence is gradually gaining attention in the classroom, but testing has not kept pace, partly because of difficulty in defining the related skills. An opinion is that speech act theory…

Playing computer games is an extremely popular leisure activity for children. In fact, the computer games market in the UK is now double that of the video rental market, and substantially larger than cinema box office sales, and under people under the age of 18 make up 38% of these game players. Based on the popularity and strong motivational…