Having discussions and working together in groups with other learners is the indicator of the collaboration aspect of engagement. Collaborative engagement can be fostered through active learning approaches, since they provide more opportunities for interaction among learners. In Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) classrooms, small…

Educators have applied the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) standards to classrooms of children and youth for over 30 years. However, few studies have focused on applying the strategies in higher education. Therefore, this multiple-case study investigated one of those standards, Instructional Conversations, with…

Online community college instructors' failure to effectively utilize asynchronous discussion boards negatively impacts student course outcomes. However, it is unclear exactly what practices instructors use in their discussion boards. The purpose of this qualitative content analysis study was to investigate community college instructors' practices…

With the recent surge of online language learning, it is important to explore the different possible modalities of online learning and the factors that could influence the success of those modalities in language learning. This study found differences in (1) motivation, (2) anxiety, (3) perception of the learning community, and (4) oral proficiency…

This study investigated the difference in the impact of several different online teaching strategies on student self-efficacy to work with suicidal clients. An online written module, written module plus online synchronous role play, and written module plus online synchronous discussion groups comprised the teaching strategies utilized in the…

There have been sweeping changes in foreign language education in the United States. As the world is experiencing unprecedented globalization, knowledge of a foreign language and familiarity with other cultures have become increasingly important. Public schools are now implementing dual immersion programs to better prepare students for the…

In this dissertation, I analyze the impact of three environmental education strategies implemented in rural northern Tanzania focused on forest-related knowledge. In Chapter Five, I assess the impact of two strategies--face-to-face group discussion and mobile phone texting--on knowledge. I also compare the effectiveness of the two strategies in…

The focus of this study was to answer the following overarching question: How does a Twitter discussion format compare to a Facebook discussion format in terms of promoting collaborative argumentative discourse? Data analysis focused on the difference in amount of arguments, counter-arguments, reasons, and elaborations generated by participants…

Piaget's classic work on cognitive development showed that engaging learners in critical discussions with peers about ideas that are "different" than theirs leads to deep conceptual understanding. Implementing such an approach in college-level STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) courses has some specific challenges: (a) Short…

Argumentation incorporated into class discussions can improve students' problem solving skills and enhance their epistemic and conceptual understanding. Research indicates students sometimes need scaffolding such as goal instructions to improve their argumentation skills. This study examined the effectiveness of different types of goal…

Dual-processing theories of conceptual change hypothesize that if children are more personally involved in a lesson they will process the information more deeply leading to more and stronger conceptual change (Dole & Sinatra, 1998). This study tests this theory by increasing personal involvement through anticipation of a future discussion.…

Nursing programs have embraced distance learning in their curricula, but discussion is ongoing about course assignments and grading criteria to increase examination scores in nursing distance learning courses. Because course examinations are a predictor of success on the postgraduate licensing examination (NCLEX-RN), the purpose of this study was…

Discourse analysis of literature circles can lead educators to understand the different types of interactions taking place as students talk about text. Social and academic interactions exist in both face-to-face and online discussions of reading material. This study examines two different settings of literature circles and compares interactions of…

This dissertation is a qualitative practitioner research study in which I explore how my students and I engage in critical literacy using sociopolitical Articles of the Week (AoWs). Critical literacy is the ability to read, write, and speak about texts in a reflective manner to better understand power, inequality, and injustice that prevails in…

Collaborative learning, particularly in the context of team-based, project-based learning, is common in undergraduate engineering education and is associated with deeper learning and enhanced student motivation and retention. However, grouping students in teams for project-based learning sometimes has negative outcomes, which can include lowered…