For novice and experienced instructors alike, facilitating online discussions can seem like a daunting prospect. Many ask themselves how to do so in an effective and meaningful way that actually adds to the course experience rather than seeming like mere busywork. The MANIC discussion strategy is one that promotes deeper student interaction with…

State tests, which assess reading comprehension, ask students to make inferences and connections beyond the text. The problem of practice in which this study is situated is that students are having difficulty making meaningful connections and developing inferences in relation to the material that is read aloud together in class or assigned for…

Describes the use of reading guides as an interactive technique to stimulate comprehension. Provides an example using a popular novel. (MG)

The use of student-led discussions, or literature circles, offers the potential to engage all students through a more democratic, dialogic approach. The central goal of this research was to understand how adolescents practise literacy within the context of a peer reading group, and how gender impacts these practices. Transcripts of student-led…