While the use of video recording as a method of data collection has helped researchers to resolve the challenge of capturing classroom interactions between teachers and students, it can be challenging for the researchers and teachers to make sense of the rich data collected. This paper describes an approach of analysing and visualising a language…

The goal of this article is to preserve and distribute the information presented at the LASI (2014) workshop on Coh-Metrix, a theoretically grounded, computational linguistics facility that analyzes texts on multiple levels of language and discourse. The workshop focused on the utility of Coh-Metrix in discourse theory and educational practice. We…

Research has shown that educators may be reluctant to implement group work in their teaching due to concerns about students partaking in off-task behaviours. However, such off-task interactions have been shown to promote motivation, trust, and rapport-building. This paper details a study in which student groups were video recorded as they engaged…

An emerging trend toward computer-mediated collaborative learning environments promotes lively exchanges between learners in order to facilitate learning. Discourse can play an important role in enhancing epistemology, pedagogy, and assessments in these environments. In this paper, we highlight some of our recent work showing the advantages using…

The potential for computer-supported learning in educational contexts has opened up the possibilities for learners to interact in informal contexts outside the classroom. The context of the present research is a young American individual's vlog on YouTube sharing his experiences as a learner of French. This paper focuses on the potential use of…

Phenomenograhy, as an approach to educational research, began appearing in publications early in the 1980s with the predominant form of data drawn from semi-structured interviews. As a qualitative approach, it is used to describe the variations in people's experiences through their own discourse and for analyzing meaning that people ascribe to…

While pedagogical and technological affordances of three-dimensional (3D) multiuser virtual worlds in various educational disciplines are largely well-known, a study about their effect on high school students' engagement in introductory programming courses is still lacking. This case study presents students' opinions about their participation in a…

This article addresses the relationship among theories related to classroom language and literacy events by first examining the researcher's theoretical perspective on discourse and sociocultural theories of learning development. The analytical heuristic for a microethnographic approach using a variety of theoretical tools is discussed and…

The number of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States has increased dramatically. Given this increase it is vital for teacher education programs at the pre-service level and professional learning programs at eh in-service level to address the needs of ELLs. This article presents a teacher preparation model--"a language-based…

This study examines how a first-year biology teacher facilitates a series of whole-class discussions about evolution during the implementation of a problem-based unit. A communicative theoretical perspective is adopted wherein evolution discussions are viewed as social events that the teacher can frame intellectually (i.e., present or organize as…

Science educators regard long-term investigations as one impactful form of teaching science through inquiry in K-12 classrooms. While we have idealized notions of what this work looks like, we have few, if any, descriptive studies about investigations that engage students in sustained, focused work over a period of time longer than a few days or…

This study asked how two white, in-service elementary school teachers within the context of their classrooms navigated the cultural gaps between themselves and students from whom they differed (e.g. racially, ethnically, socio-economically, and/or linguistically). Three sub-questions examined: 1) what life experiences shaped how the teachers…

This article presents the argument that combining visual methods with other qualitative research methods enhances the inherent strengths of each methodology and allows new understandings to emerge. These would otherwise remain hidden if only one method were used in isolation. In a qualitative inquiry of an elementary teacher's constructivist…

Examines the discursive structures and linguistic resources of the interactional environments influencing the development of individual communicative competence, with specific reference to providing speaking opportunities to students studying Spanish as a second language. Findings reveal that the ways in which topics are developed differ from how…

Explores whether pragmatic fluency is best acquired by provision of input and opportunity for communicative practice alone, or whether learners profit more with additional explicit instruction in the use of conversational routines. The article hypothesized that such instruction raises learners' awareness of the functions and contextual…