This paper analyses and evaluates the use of an asynchronous online discussion list introduced to an established distance education print based course on recreational drug use and abuse. This discussion list was established in order to be able to meet a course objective of challenging assumptions and attitudes about drug use, which was difficult…

Carrying out argumentative discussion online has become rather common in higher education. This task is traditionally supported by asynchronous collaboration tools, but this paper suggests that also synchronous supports could be useful. This paper focuses on scaffolding the knowledge construction: the work of two student moderators jointly…

The aim of this paper is to compare the effects of different communication media on the quality of arguments and the development of argumentative reasoning. The study involved 73 undergraduate students. It consisted of a pre-test, an intervention session consisting of either an asynchronous online discussion or a face-to-face discussion, and a…

This article reports an analysis of fifth-graders' comprehension strategy use, as it occurred within peer-led literature discussion groups, and the influence of such strategy use on students' post-discussion gains in story comprehension. Data collection occurred across nine weeks. Data sources included transcripts of discussions, transcripts of…

This chapter examines how the study of popular romantic fiction was used to transform students' understandings of the ways in which gendered identities are constructed and their perception of the way textual meanings are determined.

Asynchronous discussion technologies offer the advantage of providing time for reflection essential for higher order cognitive thinking. In the context of a ten-week graphic design foundations course in the Digital Graphic Design program at Vancouver Community College, this advantage provides an avenue for advancing critical discussion of design…

Reciprocal teaching is an instructional procedure designed to teach heterogeneous groups of learners, including the educationally disadvantaged, how to approach text in a thoughtful manner. In reciprocal teaching, teachers and students take turns leading discussions about shared text to achieve joint understanding through the application of the…

A study was conducted to evaluate the final outcome of the Section 98 writing project, a 3-year collaboration between the School District of the City of Saginaw and the University of Michigan, and to successfully employ the gap reduction design with the pre- to post-test results stemming from the writing project. Students in six sections of…

Describes the development of a computer-assisted college course in group performance skills (GPS) which was designed to expand the instructor's ability to monitor development of individual performance skills and assess their influence on the group output. Computer-mediated communication is explained, and its implications for distance education are…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the activities of collective learning structures. Drawing from ecological-complexity theory it elaborates on a theoretical framework for observing and acting upon collective learning. To interpret the relation between individual action, social interaction and the collective cognitive domain we adopt the…

Investigates how teaching and the teacher's role in elementary and secondary school writing classes have been conceptualized by leading workshop advocates. Uses M. Bakhtin's writing on F. Dostoevsky to develop a metaphor of the writing teacher as novelist. Argues that workshop visions of teaching and the teacher's role mystify meaning-making and…

Examines the role of a collaborative hypermedia system, called Multiple Users Creating Hypermedia (MUCH), in aiding students in the authoring process. Students were instructed to use the annotation facility of the system to comment on others' work. It was found that those who made comments were more likely to improve their own performance than…

Article distinguishes between two types of problems: those that necessitate either-or solutions, and those called polarities, which require both-and solutions. Suggests how inherently unsolvable polarities can be managed by integrating them into men's counseling groups. Suggestions include direct teaching, individual analysis and action planning,…

First article in a new series about reflective communities in teacher education that refers to some of the many communities already developing online. Current definitions are presented, and resources on imitating and/or enriching existing online communities are listed. Changes in education and future projects are discussed. Includes a list of…

In this article, we examine the construction of word meaning by students during collaborative activities in a multicultural classroom at a Dutch primary school. The analysis is based on recordings of student talk in small groups of four or five students during mathematics lessons. Difficulties with specific terms and expressions frequently arose…