Learning to argue is prerequisite to solving complex problems in groups, especially when they are multidisciplinary and collaborate online. Environments for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) can be designed to facilitate argumentative knowledge construction. This study investigates how argumentative knowledge construction in…

Enacting tasks at high levels of cognitive demand helps preservice teachers make sense of mathematical ideas and serves as a model for instruction. Small group discussions can be useful pedagogical tools for maintaining a task's cognitive demands. In this article, we contrast two small group discussions within a preservice elementary classroom to…

Introduction: This study addresses two major issues with respect to cooperative learning. The study aims at experimentally investigating the function of positive resource interdependence and individual accountability on academic performance of individuals in cooperative learning. Method: To achieve the purpose a two by two randomized post-test…

Much current research exalts the benefits of having students facilitate weekly discussions in asynchronous online courses. This study seeks to add to what is known about student moderation through an analysis of the types of questions students use to spur each discussion. Prior experimental work has demonstrated that the types of questions posed…

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the authors' interaction-engagement approach in facilitating online courses, which focused on a guided inquiry approach to build understanding of core science concepts using hands-on experimental science investigations. The graduate-level courses were taught during 2005 through 2010, entirely online. The…

This study analysed the relationships between teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence in online learning environments (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000), with an emphasis on examining ways in which the design of instructor presentation formats relates to student responses in discussion forums. Both quantitative and…

A forum is a valuable tool to foster reflection in an in-depth discussion; however, it forces the course mediator to continually pay close attention in order to coordinate learners' activities. Moreover, monitoring a forum is time consuming given that it is impossible to know in advance when new messages are going to be posted. Additionally, a…

This study investigated how university students behaved and interacted as they were grouped in large and small groups and while they engaged in intra-group and inter-group peer assessment. One hundred forty five students from two classes at a university in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam participated in this one-term study. The students worked in…

Scientific expertise and outcomes often give rise to controversy. An educational response that equips students to take part in such discussions is the teaching of socially acute questions (SAQs). With SAQs, the understanding of uncertainty, risk and how knowledge is developed is central. This study explores the way in which students from different…

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and explain a cooperative learning technique, Academic Controversy, also known as Cooperative Controversy, Structured Controversy and Structured Academic Controversy. This technique has potential for use in intercultural education and has support in both research and theory. Briefly, the technique involves…

In this article, the author describes the use of active and collaborative learning strategies in an undergraduate sociological theory course. A semester-long ethnographic project is the foundation for the course; both individual and group participation contribute to the learning process. Assessment findings indicate that students are able, through…

Online interaction has been associated with positive outcomes, academically and psychologically. Regarding the latter, social connectedness has been recognised as an important outcome on the basis of its link to subjective well-being and course satisfaction. In adult educational settings, how online interaction can foster social connectedness has…

Due to the recent developments in technology, distance learning and education questions regarding the best teaching methods for the virtual classroom have emerged. Thus, it becomes increasingly necessary to examine how these methods translate into the virtual classroom. This qualitative case study examined how instructors of online courses…

For the fortieth time, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes.…

In CSCL contexts ("Computer Supported Collaborative Learning") collaborative activities with different levels of structuredeness are often used to foster discussion and exchange among students and enhance collaboration. In this field the debate around whether and to what extent it is useful to structure the activities proposed to students, is…