While assigning student roles is a popular technique in online discussions, roles and the responsibilities allocated to them have not been consistently assigned. This makes it difficult to compare implementations and generate principled guidance for role design. This study critically examined frequently assigned student roles and identified a set…

Teachers are encouraged to plan their teaching based on students' needs from the student-centered perspectives. Of the many teacher training programs, teacher-student role reversal is regarded as one of the most effective avenues to help teachers identify students' learning difficulties and further provide adaptive instruction. However, as the…

During student-centered learning, the individual assumes responsibility for determining learning goals, monitoring progress toward meeting goals, adjusting or adapting approaches as warranted, and determining when individual goals have been adequately addressed. This can be particularly challenging while learning from the World-Wide Web, where…

In this study, we investigated the effect of type of positive interdependence (roles, rewards, roles-plus-rewards, or no structure) and affiliation motives (high vs. low) in an asynchronous, collaborative learning environment. College reentry students worked together in small, fully online discussion groups that lasted for seven days. Results…

Examines three distance learning programs conducted over Vision Athena, an interactive television distance learning system. Emphasis in each project was on using interactive television to engage secondary school students in communities of practice in designed, or intentional, learning environments. Discusses the changing role of teachers,…