Within this dissertation, I use design-based research along with discourse and interaction analysis to study classroom groups of mathematical learners to better understand and design for group structures and cultures that support students' learning mathematics and becoming mathematical communities. Specifically, I focus on the phenomenon of groups…

This dissertation asks what young children do with style at a time when their social and linguistic worlds begin to expand beyond the home, into the peer group. Grounded in a yearlong ethnography of a preschool classroom in the San Francisco Bay Area, I show how play moved gradually from indoors to outdoors as children got older. This shift…

This dissertation study was guided by two research questions: (1) What shapes community college mathematics faculty members' set of racialized ideologies, beliefs, and attitudes that inform their behaviors and teaching practices in the virtual classroom?; and (2) How do the racial and virtual classroom dynamics shape the ways mathematics faculty…

Electronic networks of practice (eNoP) are special types of electronic social structures focused on discussing domain-specific problems related to a skill-based craft or profession in question and answer style forums. eNoP have implemented peer-to-peer feedback systems in order to motivate future contributions and to distinguish contribution…

This study used a social presence construct derived from the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework, with cohesive, affective, and interactive components, to explore online discussion in an Advanced Placement course for rural high school students. The COI is based on the underlying theoretical framework of social constructivism, where interaction is…

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the communication behaviors of online leaders, or those who influence other members of online communities in terms of triggering replies, sparking conversations and diffusing language. It also examines the influence of group attributes on leadership such as size and connectedness. It relies on roughly…

A grounded theory research study employing network analysis as a means of facilitating the latter stages of the coding process was conducted at a selective university that competes at the highest level of college football. The purpose of the study was to develop a better understanding of how interactive dynamics and controlling mechanisms, such as…

This study explored the family dynamics of persistent African American college men. These students were typical Black males, not those pre-categorized as high-achieving or unprepared for college. The stories of participants revealed their strength, ambition, and intentions to successfully gain a baccalaureate degree. In general Black males are…

Reading comprehension plays a key role in academic success in today's classrooms. Literature Circles (LCs), a learner-centered collaborative reading activity, brings together the ideas of cooperative learning, independent reading, and reader response theory to enhance students' reading comprehension as well as their motivation toward learning…