Educators have used narrative fiction to expand knowledge and facilitate awareness about underrepresented populations, including those with disabilities. This study is a content analysis of nine award-winning young-adult narrative fiction books with characters depicting individuals with ASD. The analysis yielded a total of 285 symptoms that were…

The healthy messages parents convey to their adolescents about risk behaviors may be related to better adolescent outcomes. Few studies have examined the types of messages or strategies caregivers use to discuss dating violence with their early adolescents. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 African American maternal caregivers of…

Sociocultural and dialogic theories of education have identified the need to integrate both pedagogical content and language knowledge into teachers' professional development to promote effective interaction with students about subject content. In this intervention study, a meta-perspective on language was developed to understand how experienced…

Research has demonstrated that conversations among museum, aquarium, and zoo visitors can be a clear indication of active learning, engagement, and participation in scientific reasoning. This descriptive study sought to determine the extent of talk about ecology-related topics exhibited by family groups visiting marine touch tanks at four Pacific…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has steadily increased in prevalence in recent years, with a current estimate of 1 in every 68 children eligible for such a diagnosis. Prevalence within the general population is reflected in the growing number of college and university students with ASD, with more students registering for services than ever before;…

The authors discuss the relationship between information seeking and epistemic beliefs--beliefs about the source, structure, complexity and stability of knowledge--in the context of collaborative information-seeking discourses. They further suggest that both information seeking, and epistemic cognition research agendas, have suffered from a lack…

Nearly one in three students in the United States today is negatively impacted by bullying. Teachers can play a critical role in stopping bullying-related violence, but many struggle with how to engage students in difficult conversations. Traditional classroom-based pedagogy used to teach communication skills (e.g., modeling & role-play) is…

Siblings have been shown to influence youth substance use and violent behavior. However, limited research has examined sibling-influences on sexual activity, particularly among urban Black youth. The current qualitative research was an exploratory study to describe discussions among siblings about sex and sexual health. Individual interviews were…

With the emergence of mobile technologies, students' access to computing devices is omnipresent, as is their ability to collaborate through multiple modalities. This 21st-century affordance has generated a shift in the way preservice teachers are prepared to use, understand. and interact with social media (e.g., blogs) during their academic years.…

The implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) in schools has been shown to increase the academic performance of students and develop a beneficial and productive culture of true teacher collaboration. Despite these demonstrated benefits, resistance to PLC implementation has been documented in various forms throughout the…

This study performs a content analysis of the communication that develops in online educational situations. It focuses on two aspects of communication in a context in which we observe instructional leadership: how leadership is seen in the virtual classroom and how teachers view their role. The study attempts to answer the question of how teachers…

This study aims to investigate the association between the mental state talk of mothers and their preadolescent children, with the hypothesis that an intergenerational transmission of mentalizing abilities may extend beyond early childhood. The participants were 41 mother-preadolescent child nonclinical dyads. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)…

This study investigated the research trends in language learning in a virtual reality environment by conducting a content analysis of findings published in the literature from 2004 to 2013 in four top ranked computer-assisted language learning journals: "Language Learning & Technology," "CALICO Journal," "Computer…

Researchers claim that pedagogical agents engender opportunities for social learning in digital environments. Prior literature, however, has not thoroughly examined the discourse between agents and learners. To address this gap, we analyzed a data corpus of interactions between agents and learners using open coding methods. Analysis revealed that:…

This research explored how a group of religious leaders and scholars understand and make meaning of their experience in interfaith dialogue, and the reported impact it had on their spiritual and professional practice. It considered a broad range of themes, including participants' motivation to engage across religious difference, their…