This paper describes a qualitative study that investigated the nature of the participation structures and how the participation structures were organized by four science teachers when they constructed and communicated science content in their classrooms with computer technology. Participation structures focus on the activity structures and…

In early childhood settings narratives that capture children's learning as they go about their day-to-day activities are promoted as a powerful assessment tool. However, in the New Zealand context there is increasing concern that learning stories currently downplay domain knowledge. Data from teacher interviews and samples of learning stories…

In this paper, we explore the usefulness of three different approaches to facilitating reflexivity and a critical awareness of emerging academic identities for doctoral students. This paper stems from a longitudinal research project entitled "The Next Generation of Social Scientists", which was conducted across three research-intensive…

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in pedagogical documentation and the way in which it can be applied to advance pedagogical practices in early childhood education. This study is a case analysis which focuses on the transition phase from home to kindergarten of a toddler, Leo, and his family. Documentation was performed by the…

More and more educational institutions are moving towards online distance learning. Although asynchronous online learning overcomes the constraints of time, place and pace, online distance learners feel isolated due to the lack of real-time communications. One possible solution for overcoming this sense of isolation is regulating student online…

Research has been conducted to identify and analyze how schools are determining that the activities of their Professional Learning Community (PLC) are directly tied to student achievement as there is currently a gap in the existing literature with regards to this topic. For the purpose of this study, a "successful" PLC was defined as one…

This narrative study examines using a real life simulated problem base learning activity during education of clinical staff, which is expected to design and develop clinically correct electronic charting systems. Expertise in healthcare does not readily transcend to the realm of manipulating software to collect patient data that is pertinent to…

In this paper, we discuss the individuals' "roles", "responsibilities", and "routine activities", along with their "goals" and "intentions" in two different contexts--a school science context and a university research context--using sociological lenses. We highlight the distinct characteristics of…

Technology continues to evolve and become accessible to students in higher education. Concurrently, teamwork has become an important skill in academia and the workplace and students have adopted established technologies to support their learning in both individual and team project work. Given the emergence of social media technologies, I examined…

This paper is based on a study of how students' read nature in different ecosystems. Its focus is on ecology and the context is outdoors. This literacy has to do with an ability to recognise organisms and relate them to material cycling and energy flow in the specific habitat that is to be read. A teaching sequence was designed in order to develop…

Instructional reform movements in the 1990s called for an effective and concurrent integration of various educational components. For effective classroom instructional reform, it was suggested that teaching method (pedagogy), learning theory, and technology be promoted concurrently to form synergistic relationship. Thus, the primary purpose of…

This paper describes a research tool which aims to gather data about pupils' views of learning and teaching, with a particular focus on their thinking about their learning (metacognition). The approach has proved to be an adaptable and effective technique to examine different learning contexts from the pupils' perspective, while also acting as an…

One of a series of Australian publications on social studies skill development, this booklet introduces secondary students to survey techniques and their applications for gathering data in the school and community. Following an introduction, material is divided into eight chapters. Topics covered are the nature and stages of a social survey,…

Describes the author's personal version of the action research cycle, focusing on two research experiences to point out what can be learned from research involving listening to language learners. Suggests that one can learn in two different and equally important ways; one can learn about the research question studied and about how to improve the…

The study examines Turkish pre-service elementary science teachers' scientific literacy levels. The research took place in Marmara University, in 2001-2002 academic year. The research participants were twenty randomly chosen students among all senior classes of the university mentioned above. The research data were gathered with the documents,…