Within English supplementary tutoring centers in China, the professional development teachers are afforded is limited due to time constraints and the qualifications of teacher trainers within those centers. To facilitate a novel means of engaging teachers in their professional development related to guided reading, an innovation configurations map…

This study aims to explore the validity of measuring joint attention through gaze coordination in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) research. Gaze coordination, aligning visual attention in social contexts, aids comprehension and communication. Many CSCL researchers use gaze coordination to gauge joint attention quantitatively.…

The increasingly competitive global environment has made continuous innovation vital for survival. In education, teachers' innovative behaviors have become crucial, as successful reforms depend on their effective implementation. Teachers are central to student success, but constraints on their ability to innovate can negatively impact learning…

Social media has been increasingly used in education to facilitate innovative instruction. Mainland Chinese people could not use popular social media platforms such as Facebook™ because the government blocked them. Little research studied social media use by Mainland Chinese students and teachers in the isolated network environment. This…

In southwest China and neighboring countries, including Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar, there live over 100 ethnic groups who speak languages known as Nuosu, Naxi, Hani, Lisu, Lahu, etc. These languages belong to the "Nisoic Branch" or the "Loloish Branch" of Tibeto-Burman (TB) subfamily of Sino-Tibetan. Though the Nisoic…

This study explores the perceived effectiveness of an Inner Circle created ELT professional development program implemented in China. The study begins with a review of historical literature of ELT in China (highlighting changes and challenges in educational reforms), moves into a discussion of the program and curriculum, and ends with a merged…

The Chinese higher education reform policies since 1993 have been pursued in a centralized, top-down manner, which some theorists characterize as "centralized decentralization" or governmental "steering at distance." This case-study dissertation has two purposes. First, is to evaluate the implementation or the "situated…

Globalization affects all the areas of the world economy, nations, countries, institutions and people (Armstrong, 2007; Suarez-Orozco, 2004). Meaning of this complex phenomenon is understood differently by leaders and the people involved in activities related to global economies. Higher education institutions such as universities are in the midst…