Non-participation and poor quality participation in online environments is often discussed in the literature. Interaction and engagement in online discussions are critical for understanding and constructing new knowledge. In this case study, we examined messages posted by graduate students in four online debates for quantity and quality. The…

The current study investigates the effects of preparing learners for an online debate through a worked example in terms of student perception, participation, level of cognitive skill, and electronic interaction patterns. There has been a change in the focus of distance learning research from comparative media studies to the means to improve the…

Current approaches to oral assessment of English in English secondary schools tend to concentrate more on "confidence" and "participation" than on the quality of children's thinking. This undermines the rich possibilities in classroom talk for cognitive development. Behavioural assessment approaches deny the essentially…