This paper reports on responses of 645 students (N = 6540) on 4 University of London (UoL) distance learning courses to a variety of course components. Published research on best practice in student learning stresses the value of active learning and of student collaboration. By contrast, our respondents report that they regard more active…

This quasi-experimental study investigates the effects of collaborative activities on tertiary-level EFL students' learner autonomy in Turkey. To achieve this aim, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected with the help of a learner autonomy questionnaire, index cards filled out by the students, the instructor's journal, and an…

This qualitative study investigates how young students expressed, explored and expanded their ideas of how they could contribute to sustainable development. We analyse a trajectory in a Norwegian 8th grade class, focusing on the students' emerging understanding through microblogging and talk in individual, group and whole class activities. The…

This paper outlines evaluation of practitioner research into a writing development intervention used with a group of international students studying at Masters level in a UK university. The research was motivated by our understanding that academic writing is a task which provokes significant anxiety for students. Our methodology was informed by…

This paper deals with the problem of making group work and individual achievement meet in the context of combined examination at universities. The underlying idea of this research derives from the policy that is increasingly gaining power at many university departments, namely that it is inappropriate to examine students on the basis of group work…

This research investigates how learning groups affect student learning from two perspectives: first, the amount of group work students do, and second, the role that they take within the group. It is not clear from the current research how a student's role in collaborative learning affects his/her development of critical thinking and the…

Surfacing student voices is of utmost importance in higher education institutions. However, the use of large-scale student surveys may not represent the most effective method of eliciting meaningful student perspectives. Focus groups have the potential to elicit a more authentic student voice through greater engagement with students. Furthermore,…

There has been much discussion about the high performance of East Asian students in international high stakes testing, but little attention has been paid to their lifeworlds beyond school. In this article we explore findings from a survey of 627 Year 4 children (nine and ten years old) in three global cities (Hong Kong, Singapore, and Melbourne),…

A sense of belonging is essential for children in preschool. During the past decade, there has been a striking change in the orientation of the Swedish preschool environment. Now more child observations tend to focus on individual skills and assessment of ability to handle future schooling. A new discourse is clear; one that moves from a group…

To evaluate the impact of active learning approaches in a basic molecular and cell biology course for undergraduate students, we assessed the effect of learning by teaching and peer review on the learning outcomes. A literature seminar activity with peer review and feedback was organized as a compulsory activity for all students, covering about…

Despite the plethora of research on computer-supported collaborative writing, previous studies have failed to provide an adequate analysis of the quality and quantity of multi-authored texts due to the vast amount of unstructured data. This study aims to expand the current research by contributing new perspectives to the understanding of students'…

This qualitative educational action research study aimed to gain knowledge about nursing students' learning from participating in a developmental project that included human-like manikins. 23 second-year Bachelor of Nursing students, one teacher, and one researcher participated in the study conducted at a Norwegian university. In collaboration,…

A growing number of toddlers are attending childcare institutions as part of China's establishment of its infant-toddler childcare service system. However, there is limited empirical evidence available regarding the quality of these childcare services. The purpose of this study is to investigate the quality of teacher - child interactions in…

To prepare students for an increasingly globalized world, intercultural group work (IGW) holds promise as a pedagogical tool, because it may help them develop intercultural competence and second-language proficiency. These skills also are needed to complete the discipline-specific aspects of group work successfully. This study investigates the…

This qualitative study aimed to investigate enablers and barriers facing community-playgroup families in the provision of play opportunities for children throughout periods of lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used a capabilities approach, focussing specifically on the concepts of resources, capabilities and…