Previous studies have confirmed the benefits of small group sizes in asynchronous online discussions. However, there is no consistency in which small group size is the optimal option for maximizing students' discussion performance. Moreover, few researchers attempted to apply the smallest group size (i.e., one-on-one) to online discussions and…

This descriptive study focuses on using voice activity detection (VAD) algorithms to extract student speech data in order to better understand the collaboration of small group work and the impact of teaching assistant (TA) interventions in undergraduate engineering discussion sections. Audio data were recorded from individual students wearing…

Only a few studies have dealt with the challenge of bridging the linguistic gap between the dialogic realm and the talk of disengaged students. Bridging this gap is particularly relevant to the CSCL community since one of its utmost aims is to promote the dialogic. This study aims to articulate how to harness the CSCL design and affordances to…

This study investigated students' turn-taking patterns during dialogic collaborative problem solving, with analysis based on the participation-shift analytical framework. 168 primary fourth-grade students were assigned to 42 groups and worked on three mathematical problems for a total of 30 minutes. Group-level analysis revealed that most students…

A core element of student-teacher partnerships, a form of student participation, is their dialogical nature. However, little research attention has been paid to communication in this context. Therefore, this study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of their deliberative communication patterns. Seventeen deliberative episodes, derived from two…

Student researchers encounter ethical issues daily, but little is known about their unique perspectives. This article presents the results of 30 qualitative semi-structured interviews exploring students' views and experiences around ethical issues in research groups. During the interviews, students were asked to describe challenges and successes…

The dynamics of the student-student relationship within the asynchronous online classroom, as evidenced by conversations in an online discussion board, is a balancing act potentially more complex than those occurring in real-time. In order for learning to truly be considered effective, a collaborative, safe environment needs to exist among…

This article describes an action research project designed to help students improve the quality of their small group discussions. Practical classroom advice is included.

We all know that they do it, but what do students laugh "about" when learning science together? Although research has shown that students do use humor when they learn science, the role of humor in science education has received little attention. In this study, undergraduate students' laughter during collaborative work in physics has been…

Web-based instruction is not a new phenomenon. There are 15-20 years of research and literature to support the effectiveness of web-based instruction. The purpose of this article is to synthesize the research in this field in order to determine which factors are critical to the success of web-based instruction. We created a toolkit to assist…

Group work projects are common components of graduate course curricula. Instructors often try to mitigate the benefits of group work projects for students while avoiding negative effects. Informal learning and participatory culture practices like video logs can enhance learning environments. Video logs that promote both informal learning and…

Group work is becoming increasingly common in introductory physics classrooms. Understanding how students engage in these group learning environments is important for designing and facilitating productive learning opportunities for students. We conducted a study in which we collected video of groups of students working on conceptual electricity…

Creativity makes life more enjoyable and successful, both for students and people generally. The complex elements of society require that people be creative in order to guide humanity forward. Thus, educators often strive to promote creativity among their students and themselves. The present paper offers a broad definition of creativity and then…

This article examines how the levels of student interaction change through the use of small groups and moderators in online writing courses. The study examines three technical and professional online writing courses: one course that employs small groups and group moderators and two courses that have no small groups or moderators. The results of…

Although compositionists recognize that student talk plays an important role in learning to write, there is limited understanding of how students use conversational moves to collaboratively build knowledge about writing across contexts. This article reports on a study of focus group conversations involving first-year students in a cohort program.…