Online discussion groups have become a resource for teachers seeking ongoing professional development. Despite their popularity, there has been little systematic investigation into the nature and quality of the dialogue that occurs within an unstructured virtual community to which participants voluntarily subscribe. In this study, we explored how…

To develop and nurture critical thinking, students must have opportunities to observe and practice critical thinking in the classroom. In this parallel mixed method classroom study, we investigate the role of collaborative concept mapping in the development of kindergarten learners' critical thinking skills of analysis and interpretation over a…

Project-based learning using online learning environments is becoming increasingly popular. To in-depth explore the behavioural patterns and limitations faced by students in project-based learning where online forums are used. This study conducted an empirical case study of an online project-based learning activity in a management course, in which…

Written interaction between pre-service teachers engaged in progressive inquiry using Knowledge Forum in two intense summer courses were analyzed to detect and rank those students in terms knowledge sharing, pressing on for further inquiry and the number of partners they communicated with. Social network analysis techniques were employed to…

Much has been written recently about the role of talk in content-area learning, including science learning. However, there is still much to be learned about how teachers begin to engage students in the kinds of peer-to-peer conversations that help them make sense of their investigations in science and that advance their conceptual understandings.…