This article discusses a study conducted at one of the polytechnics in Singapore. Its purpose was to explore how the cultural characteristics of Singapore students influenced and shaped their e-learning experience in a blended-learning program. The study employed a range of methods to collect rich qualitative data, including individual and group…

The skills for effective teaching were investigated among elementary teachers working in inclusive classrooms to determine whether the appearance of "constructivist" skills are independent of, or follow from the mastery of teaching behaviours that are more transmissive in nature. The data were extracted from the Classroom Observation…

An instrument used to assess educational environments for computers as new tools for teaching and learning was studied in grades 2, 3, and 4 of the Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools (APS) in May 1990. The instrument contained 46 items indexing: (1) the immediate and expanded spaces for the computer stations; (2) the presence of software and…

The notion of a linguistic "register" is useful in posing questions about how the ways language is used differ from one kind of human activity to another. This paper analyzes a videotaped segment of male grade 4/5 students (n=3) who are talking as they work to build a tower from plastic drinking straws and pins. Discussion of the…

A subset of a real data set from a national survey on alcohol use and driving in Canada (original sample of 6,457) is used to illustrate an ad hoc analysis with missing data on multiple response variables. A complete-case analysis initiates this strategy, determining variables that may be deleted without losing effects of interest. By such a…

This study focused on four students and a professor from a mathematics education doctoral program at a research university. Participant observation, informal interviews, and document collection were used to collect data on students' discourse competency development. Two overarching categories emerged during data analysis: (1) what students had to…

This paper describes the Work Performance Assessment (WPA) and the Work Personality Profile (WPP) and provides instructions for their use. The WPA and WPP evaluate behaviors associated with job retention and advancement among disabled workers. Together the two evaluation components form a comprehensive observational assessment designed to provide…

This book was written to help introductory biology teachers gain a basic understanding of contemporary bioinstrumentation and the uses to which it is put in the laboratory. It includes topics that are most basic to understanding the nature of biology. The book is divided into five sections: (1) "Separation and Identification" that includes…

What is the nature and role of reflection for teachers? How is teacher reflection influenced by environmental/situational factors? Examination of stated beliefs and observed practices of four 7th and 8th grade mathematics classroom teachers were used as evidential sources to help answer these questions in this interpretive investigation. Multiple…

A study explored the effect of drama on the writing development of adolescents in four Toronto (Canada) schools over a 6-month period using a naturalistic observation methodology. The range of schools and student groupings included: a grade 10 drama class in a collegiate institute; a grade 12/O.A.C. drama class in a technical-commercial school;…

"Thick descriptions" are descriptions that are layered enough to draw conclusions and uncover the intentions of a given act, event, or process. In a video environment, thick descriptions are images, gestures, or sequences that convey meaning. Neither the quantity nor the resolution of the images makes the descriptions thick. Thickness is…

This paper recommends the replacement of student evaluation methods based on the behaviorist model with holistic assessment based on principles of seeing individuals as active learners who interact with their physical and social environment. Four approaches are recommended: (1) gathering information from a variety of sources and contexts; (2) a…

To make the point that infant emotions are more dynamic than suggested by Differential Emotions Theory, which maintains that infants show the same prototypical facial expressions for emotions as adults do, this paper explores two questions: (1) when infants experience an emotion, do they always show the corresponding prototypical facial…

This paper offers guidelines in the consideration of an open or closed classroom-observation system. Factors in the definition of an observation approach include target, timing, focus, topic of observation, and data-collection system. Because there are advantages and drawbacks to any classroom-observation system, the following factors should be…

In the conduct of field studies, there are three different points at which data may be collected unobtrusively. The first is when there is a "search" for an area of study. The second point in which data may be gathered unobtrusively is when the researcher is attempting to further the analysis. The third point in which data are collected…