Amy Goods's software review article "V-Note: A video analysis tool for teacher | researchers" stimulated our interest in adopting this software to understand social bonding dynamics in a group of 10th-grade science students' during a science inquiry project. Three of us employed V-Note to analyze two video files for the same lesson in…

We describe findings from a research partnership involving a global airline manufacturing company (The Boeing Company), and learning scientists and aeronautical engineers from the University of Washington. Our starting point for the partnership focused on an 8-hour introductory composites course that was designed for company employees. In phase…

This article traces the development of the theory and practice of what is known as "community of inquiry" as an ideal of classroom praxis. The concept has ancient and uncertain origins, but was seized upon as a form of pedagogy by the originators of the Philosophy for Children program in the 1970s. Its location at the intersection of the…

By tradition the action learning community has encouraged an eclectic view of practice. This involves a number of different permutations around a kernel of nebulous ideas. However, the disadvantages of such an open philosophy have never been considered. In particular consumer protection against inauthentic action learning experiences has been…

Background/Context: The type of professional development provided for teachers has been undergoing change from a one-time workshop approach to a more embedded, long-term, reflective, and collaborative structure. Although findings on the impact of new forms of professional development (PD) are beginning to emerge in the literature, there is little…

This study investigated the process by which shared understanding develops in a chat learning space. It used a practical inquiry model to assess the development of cognitive presence. The study also explored how the pattern of conversation in synchronous discussion supports cognitive presence and how cognitive presence changes over time. Results…

This article examines the challenges of discussing deeply rooted notions of ability, intelligence, and tracking in teacher inquiry groups and offers suggestions to educators who want to begin dialogue about detracking at their schools. Specifically, this article underscores the importance of unpacking the terms tracking and detracking, exploring…

Dialog leads to collective meaning-making and shared understanding by building a sense of connection and belonging. Skillful discussion displays rigorous critical thinking, mutual respect, weighing of options, and decision making that serves the group's visions, values, and goals. When school faculties develop these skills, they transform their…

Conditions in schools that reduce the effectiveness and perceived value of instructional supervision can be diagnosed and corrected through a cyclical process called "organizational learning." Rather than merely responding to symptoms, this method focuses on eliminating or mitigating the underlying causes of "organizational…

This paper explores four issues that have emerged from the research on social, cognitive and teaching presence in an online community of inquiry. The early research in the area of online communities of inquiry has raised several issues with regard to the creation and maintenance of social, cognitive and teaching presence that require further…

Utilizing an integration of social-cognitivist and socio-cultural approaches, this study--comparing the interactive processes among peers and their mentor in two contrasting groups--was designed to explore the reasons why two learning groups, engaged in an inquiry-based learning project with comparatively sustained discussion, produced vastly…

This collaborative paper, created online by Ph.D students in a three-year cohort learning program at the California Institute of Integral Studies, explores the development and felt experience of distance learning. The purpose is to give a sense of how it feels to learn online and to describe the essence of learning. Results of this collaborative…