This study focuses on investigating the nature of small-group collaborative interaction in a voice-enhanced multiplayer game called "eScape". The aim was to analyse the elements of groups' collaborative discussion and to explore the nature of the players' shared problem solving activity during the solution critical moments in the game. The data…

There is considerable agreement about the fact that the presence of researchers in the classroom mediates teaching and learning. Why "should" two very different forms of human activity, one designed to study the other, interact and mediate each other? In this article, we propose cultural-historical activity theory as a framework for understanding…

In this article, we propose a framework for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) employing dynamic groups, where at different stages students work independently, interact with each other in pairs, and conduct joint work in larger groups with varying numbers of participants. A Dynamic Group Environment for Collaborative Learning…

CSCL systems which follow the dual-interaction spaces paradigm support the synchronous construction and discussion of shared artifacts by distributed or colocated small groups of learners. The most recent generic dual-interaction space environments, either model based or component based, can be deeply customized by teachers for supporting…

Four mechanisms of social control are analyzed in relationship to a typology of school staffs which in several respects resemble primary groups. Findings suggest the co-variation of structures of colleague relations and colleague social controls in elementary schools. (Author)

Indepth studies of micropolitics at the school level are presented in this book, which includes nine qualitative studies of school politics conducted by different researchers. Chapters 2 through 10 examine the formal and informal processes and structures that constitute everyday political life in the schools. The studies explore how individuals…

This study compared achievement of students in two types of deliberate learning communities at William Rainey Harper College (Illinois) with achievement of students in two comparative groups. In the "linked classes" format, the same students enrolled in the same two course sections and two faculty members taught in a team format. In the…

The old-fashioned focus on individuals as separate from their surroundings is no longer tenable. The papers in this edited volume are informed by the Group Relations model which was designed to help those providing services to children and adolescents to evaluate treatment programs and to make needed improvements. The chapters describe how a…

Contrasts teacher-student interactions in typical teacher-fronted second language classrooms with the organization of talk across a variety of alternate educational participant structures--a teacher-student conference, small group work, the making of a class video, and a problem-solving interaction in a computer lab--that deviate from the…

This study analyzed student contributions to an online interactive discussion forum. Participants included six graduate students enrolled in a graduate education course; the instructor also contributed to the online discussions. Students read articles, posted commentaries, and responded to each other on weekly discussion topics. Students also…