Disinformation has become a core concept in communications research, related to media, technological and political phenomena that complexify its definition and diagnosis. Although its approach has been mainly quantitative, focus groups have also been used to understand the perception of the audience of this particular issue. This research is part…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide learners with high-quality learning resources, but learners drop out frequently. Learners' concerns (e.g. the topics in course content or logistics) and cognitive engagement patterns (e.g. "tentative" or "certain") are considered the essential factors affecting learners' course…

This study aims at investigating the kinds of turn-taking mostly used by EFL learners, how the turn-takings are portrayed as a process of EFL learning, and how the EFL learners differ in making their turn-takings according to their gender. This study was qualitative in nature, using 10 members of English Club of English department students,…

This paper introduces the Mathematics Dialogic Gatherings (MDG) as a successful way to encourage adults' learning of mathematics. We report on a group of adults who attended a MDG in an adult school placed in Barcelona. Participants in this group do not have an academic trajectory. They attend once a week a session in the adult school, where they…

Throughout time, the predominant use of certain languages has allowed some nations to take control over others and assure for them a privileged position. This study unveiled how certain practices and ideologies in regard to bilingualism have influenced teachers' professional development. Data were collected through discussion group sessions,…

This paper continues the discussion about student-driven, interactive learning activities in higher education. Using object-oriented activity theory, the article explores the relational aspects of reflexive practice as demonstrated in five online discussions groups to develop students' conceptual understanding. The purpose of the research is to…

We explore and characterize the use of WhatsApp group instant messaging as part of the social media trend in the context of parental engagement and participation in public schooling. We reveal how this platform is utilized within public school parental interactions, emphasizing the possible benefits as well as obstacles for such technologies in…

Knowledge elaboration plays a critical role in promoting knowledge acquisition and facilitating the retention of target knowledge in online collaborative discussions. Adopting a key-term-based automated analysis approach, we proposed an indicator framework to measure the level of knowledge elaboration in terms of coverage, activation, and…

The aim of this research is to identify and analyse the ubiquitous learning acquired through blending education settings devoted to the "lifelong training of trainers" and how these contribute to the development of a conscious, critic and engaged citizenship. Through active exploration of the learning process, the study analyses the…

This study examines the interaction behaviors and metacognitive behaviors of graduate students in the online portion of a flipped classroom. For their time outside the face to face classroom, students were given the choice of two online methods for their interactions--synchronous verbal discussions and asynchronous written discussions. Students…

This article presents an adaptation of established qualitative research methods for online focus groups by using the "Disqus" website-based commenting platform as a medium for discussion among doctoral and early-career academic learners. Facilities allowing Internet users to comment on the content of web pages are increasingly popular on…

In this article we study how members of an interdisciplinary research team use an online forum for communicating about their research project. We use the concepts of "community of practice" and "connectivity" to consider the online interaction within a wider question of how people from different academic traditions…

Recent discourses embedded in higher education policies advocate institutional collaboration and globalisation, while inter-professional learning and student-centred learning have each found favour as good practice in educational delivery. In this article, we detail the process of developing a novel innovation that operationalized components of…

Focussed dialogue (as lived and living practices) can have a powerful role in renewing professional practice, advancing its sustainability and development as administrative and political systems colonise the practices of teachers and teacher educators. However, participating in discussion groups for many teachers, including those in academia, is…

The paper compares discussions in 12 groups of university students (6 Slovak and 6 Scottish) equal in sex and age. The participants discussed the same problem--how to control the spread of HIV/AIDS and respect medical confidentiality (MC). Systematic comparisons revealed striking differences between the two national groups. The Scottish…