The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how secondary teachers describe the role that the elements of the community of inquiry framework (social, cognitive, and teaching presence) play in a virtual learning environment in a rural school district in South Carolina. The community of inquiry framework was used to guide the…

There is strong evidence that professional learning in schools can positively impact learner experience and outcomes. This conceptual paper draws on key literature focused on understandings of high-quality professional learning and what makes an excellent environment in which to learn. This literature informed and spoke to the sense-making of our…

Geography is a subject in the Primary Curriculum in Ireland. It is taught in all schools with some examples of engaging and challenging practices, characterised by enquiry-based learning (EBL) of a range of content, with learning occurring inside and out. In other settings, Geography is more limited in scope and children's geographical experiences…

Although most teachers recognize the importance of taking investigative, open-ended approaches to students' learning experiences, implementing them in high school classes can be challenging for teachers. In this work, we analyzed data from multiple sources from a teaching Community of Practice (CoP) to investigate (a) barriers to taking an…

Background: Online game communities are inhabited by millions of players daily with relevant learning opportunities and dynamics. However, little efforts have been done for exploring their potential. Objectives: The goal of this study is to explore if and how social learning processes are occurring in online game communities. Methods: n = 480…

This paper addresses implementation with respect to the professional development (PD) of teachers of mathematics and the educators/didacticians who work with them, through an "inquiry-based" developmental model. In contrast with a PD model in which educators show, guide or instruct teachers in classroom approaches and mathematical tasks,…

This article views student engagement through the lens of a university wide blended learning initiative. Using the Community of Inquiry framework, student voices help us understand how professors and the institution can increase active learning. Attention is also given to the development of higher order thinking skills as a means of increasing…

The Teaching Scholars Program and Community of Practice (TSCoP) develops educational leadership and research through enabling reflective conversations, purposeful listening, inclusive standards, and bold thinking about Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Teaching Scholars lead innovative practice in their own faculty given their shared…

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Learning Labs (LL) are a learning experience in which adults and youth come together to ask questions about something in their work that puzzles or interests them. Sometimes this is call a line of inquiry. Like working in a laboratory, the LL organizers start with a question -- an inquiry -- and a set of outcomes,…

In this study, we aim to examine the phases of inquiry-based learning and how to best prepare future teachers for inquiry-based teaching. While preservice teachers may leave teacher preparation with an understanding of the tenets of inquiry, their experiences in methods courses and experiences teaching in the field do not adequately prepare them…

Existing research recognizes the crucial role played by imagination in giving meaning to our experience, thinking critically and paying attention to difference. By using a design based on what we called 'embodied imagination' (analogical reasoning) and 'narrative imagination' (contributions from universal stories), we conduct an exploratory study…

Writing professional learning is often overlooked amidst public-school system demands, which include scarce funding and competing state mandates and priorities (Tooley and Connally, 2016). In addition, writing teachers are often subject to professional learning experiences that are directed by others rather than being tailored to their own needs…

Teacher education programs worldwide have adopted the goal of promoting an inquiry stance among teacher candidates. Such programs commonly ground teacher candidates' clinical practice in practitioner inquiry -- a cyclical, systematic, and intentional process supported by inquiry communities. While democratic and justice-oriented purposes are…

This paper reports a study of university students' experiences of learning mathematics in an introductory differential equations course that takes an inquiry approach to learning and teaching. The students are on a trajectory leading toward a bachelor's degree in mathematics to be followed by a year-long teacher education credential program. The…

We explored how various contextual resources accumulated over multiple years operated together to facilitate a team of high school teachers' sustained and agentive learning after a 4-year research-practice partnership (RPP) grant concluded. Specifically, we examined constellations of resources that promoted the co-evolution of the teachers'…