Computer Supported Collaborative Learning literature relates high levels of collaboration to enhanced learning outcomes. However, an agreement on what is considered a high level of collaboration is unclear, especially if a qualitative approach is taken. This study describes how methods of Social Network Analysis were used to design a collaboration…

Online discussion forum is an important component for most online courses. There are different approaches to evaluating the quality of online discussion. This study proposed a multiple-dimensional evaluation framework from a knowledge building perspective. The proposed framework focused on how a topic was advanced in a sub-thread, what was the…

It is possible that the pedagogical benefits of a discussion board or any asynchronous communicative tool may not be realised as inscribed in terms like "collaborative learning environment" or "discussion board" due to two things: first, as instructors, we focus on what the technology can do and should do and ignore "what…

Online education continues to grow, and the application of theory to practice becomes increasingly important as practitioners examine the impact technology has on e-classroom interaction. Adult students, in particular, look for interaction that is collaborative and student-centered. A common area for dialogue within the online classroom is the…

Participation is a complex process, engaging the whole person, implying cognitive, emotional and relational aspects. In online open and distant learning, group work is a commonly used strategy, given its collaborative nature and constructivist framework ([Bates and Poole, 2003], [Garrison and Anderson, 2003] and [Jonassen, 2005]). In this context,…

Following the pioneering work of Randy Garrison and colleagues, online teachers in the US and internationally see their discussion boards as communities of inquiry (CoI) which promote sustained communication and higher-level learning. The CoI approach to online discussions is based on John Dewey's conception of education in which teachers and…

The purpose of this study is to examine how fifth grade students were impacted by the infusion of multiple writing tasks in mathematics. In this study, writing tasks provided opportunities for students to communicate prior knowledge, share ideas to construct and justify arguments, for reflection, and assessment. In this deductive qualitative…

The aim of this article is to discuss key elements of a constructivist-based elementary mathematics methods course and the role of each component in enhancing elementary school teacher candidates' mathematical understanding, interest in, and confidence with learning and teaching mathematics while decreasing their math-related anxiety and fear. The…

The benefits of teamwork and collaboration have long been advocated by many educational theories, such as constructivist and social learning models. Among the various applications of collaborative learning, the iterative team-based learning (TBL) process proposed by Michaelsen, Fink, and Knight (2002) has been successfully used in the classroom…

The purpose of this article is to investigate preservice teachers' (PSTs') perceptions about the features that facilitated their learning and engagement in asynchronous online discussions. Participants included 12 PSTs enrolled in an online classroom management course at a public university in New England. Using constructivist grounded theory…

Findings are presented from a descriptive qualitative study of 10 adults who were deafblind who were interviewed about their social lives. Additional data were collected from a discussion board and e-mails from the study participants. Three findings emerged from the data: (a) Navigating adaptations was a significant part of socialization. (b) Gaps…

As proposed by social constructive theorists, meaningful learning and individual development were achieved through social interaction. To foster social interaction among students, this study formed an online learning community in which they played multiple roles as writers, editors and commentators. In playing different roles, they read peers'…

The Community of Inquiry Framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) has been an important contribution to the online distance education field and has been useful in providing researchers with the construct of "teaching presence". Teaching presence as described by the framework provides insight into the types of interactions…

This study investigates how previous exposure to a foreign language and culture influences student performance in online knowledge-building tasks. As knowledge-building tasks allow students to share and distribute their knowledge; this study examines whether foreign language and culture knowledge is also distributed amongst the group. The study…

This paper reports the results of the first phase of a mixed methods study investigating the attitudes of students enrolled in a distance education MBA program towards interacting more with other students online. It grapples with the issue of whether students enrolled in a successful distance education program grounded in instructivist and…