Examined participation by (N=9) older adults in a literary discussion group. Results indicated that the impetus for elderly attendance was to learn. Discussed the effect of program design and location, group dynamics, and various facilitation techniques. (RC)

Results indicate a positive relationship between talking rate and leadership choice. People show the greatest liking for those with moderate levels of talking. (Author/BEF)

Assessed college students' satisfaction with and participation in online discussions, examining the effectiveness of a simple strategy to enhance discussion relevance (renaming the discussion groups so that the titles made explicit connections to specific course assignments). Results found that students considered the online discussions somewhat…

Discussion groups with dependent college women (n=177) showed the following: participant level of self-concept affected treatment change overall, and groups formatted to provide didactic and applied experiences showed more positive change. Results suggest discussion group is most productive if format combines cognitive guidelines, participant…

Investigates differences in questions developed and asked by preservice teachers during literature set discussions. Finds that preservice teachers' questioning practices can be influenced by training and practice. Concludes that classroom reading instruction and students' reading achievement may be enhanced through teacher questioning practices.…

Looks at how Book Clubs (student-centered, literature-discussion groups where each student is reading a different, self-selected book) were structured in a particular second-grade classroom. Argues that students had opportunities for learning the academic and social content of literature while engaging in the cognitive processes and social…

Evidence on the effectiveness of school-based smoking restrictions on reducing pupil smoking rates is mixed. So far, the effect of such policies has only been considered using quantitative methods and "level of enforcement" has primarily been measured according to data collected from staff. This qualitative study is based on data collected during…

In this paper, the authors propose that psychological safety, a sense of interpersonal trust and being valued in a work team, is an important determinant of groupware technology adoption in an educational setting. They develop and test a model of antecedents and consequences of psychological safety. Data were collected from 361 university…

Gender studies across the world have produced a wealth of information generated by studies that seek to investigate the existence of a distinction between genders in mathematical-based courses, such as Computer Science courses. However, the Middle Eastern Region remained unexplored largely throughout this effort due to gender segregation during…

Instructors and trainers are increasingly using online education and technology-mediated learning (TML) to supplement or replace traditional approaches to classroom teaching. Because mandatory involvement requirements may not intrinsically motivate learners to achieve high quality learning, social factors with commitment, such as identification…

This case study explores the learning experiences of three international students who were enrolled in an online master's program offered by a large university in Canada. The aim of the study was to understand the international students' experiences with, and perspectives on, the online learning environment. Findings indicate that previous…

At Dalarna University, Sweden, modes of communication are offered at many points of Kenning's continuum with a web-based learning platform, including asynchronous document exchange and collaborative writing tools, e-mail, recorded lectures in various formats, live streamed lectures with the possibility of text questions to the lecturer in real…

The field of distance education is a dynamic field which includes a growing body of research. The field of distance education raises many questions which encompass the spectrum of human and technological questions of interest to those of us who practice various forms of distance education. As doctoral students in the field of distance education,…

A leader's legitimacy through election or appointment has been found to create differing relationships with followers, resulting generally from greater expectations for an elected leader. To compare the authority and influence of elected and appointed leaders, 140 students were recruited to participate in research on "urban planning."…

This report describes the methodology and results of a study of racist attitudes and behaviors. The introduction provides the background and states difficulties due to funding and time constraints. Research and data collection procedures are delineated in the second section. In section 3, results are presented in tabular form, and intercoder…