Studies have shown that electronic discussion can be used effectively to teach critical thinking and can achieve greater understanding. The use of online discussions is common in polytechnics and universities, and many schools in Singapore have begun to introduce online forums for discussion beyond the classroom. This research investigates lower…

This case study examined the experiences of two middle level teachers as they worked with a literacy coach and university partners in an instructional improvement initiative. Robert and Janice worked together as a two-teacher team. Across the three years of the study, they collaborated with Melissa, the literacy coach, to integrate reading and…

How do students bridge everyday life views into physics understanding? We report from in-depth analysis of one group of four students, video-recorded over 135 min solving a context rich problem (CRP). Through transcripts of the group's conversations and from flow-charts made of the group talk we have categorised how students' experiences develop…

This article presents data from a mixed-methods study that collected data through surveys (n = 656), interviews (n = 15), and discussion groups (n = 75) to explore the use of social strategies such as education and outreach by non-governmental organizations and government agencies to reach outcomes related to biodiversity conservation and resource…

This pilot study aimed to address persistent gaps in the research regarding effective professional development models associated with reading comprehension pedagogy in content area classrooms (science). An appropriate instructional model was developed, ("Do-Read-Do") which attempts to embed the explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies…

This article reports a case study of how staff in a new university in England are making choices about their use of time. Weekly time logs, small discussion groups and individual interviews reveal that the principle of "service" is embedded in the professional identities of staff. The paper explores how this perspective is reinforced by…

Discussions are commonly used in online teaching and have been shown to foster student learning and collaboration. This case study uses content analysis to explore the interaction patterns of student online discussions during a semester-long teacher preparation course using concepts from sociometry. Findings suggest that interaction patterns were…

Despite the fact that foreign language speaking anxiety is a common phenomenon in the teaching of English as a foreign language in Greece, teachers do not always identify anxious students, and often attribute their unwillingness to participate in speaking tasks to factors such as lack of motivation, or low performance. This article aims to…

The human desire to join and participate in communities can be seen as an attempt to satisfy some of our universal human needs. The theory of communities of practice has been widely used to explain how and why humans participate in multiple communities, and a key requirement of a community of practice (CoP) is that members engage in "joint…

In this case study, we examined the influence of five groups of communication activities on the quality of student's contributions to online discussion. The activities were the nominal group technique, debate, invited expert, WebQuest and reflective deliberation. Quality of discussion was operationalised as "cognitive presence", a construct…

Genetically modified (GM) crops such as maize (Zea mays L.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Moench], and canola (Brassica rapa L.) have been widely adopted by American farmers. In spite of their use in the United States, the European Union (EU) imposed a 6-year de facto moratorium (1998-2004) on the cultivation/import of…

The purpose of this article is to investigate the concept of "texts" and how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) affords teachers opportunities to implement media literacy education, in turn providing developmentally and culturally responsive middle level practice and promoting 21st century skills. This has implications for middle…

This paper reports on empirical research into formative assessment conducted in a blended learning environment within a professional doctorate in education (EdD.) programme in an English university, focusing primarily on peer discussion forum activity. This was conceptualised within sociocultural learning theories, where learning entails processes…

The use of online learning is growing very fast in universities. Consequently, understanding how to promote student contribution in asynchronous online discussions, which is considered an integral part of online learning, has become increasingly crucial. Previous research has examined how factors, such as instructor facilitation techniques may…