The progress of the first cohort of an innovatory "flexible" postgraduate initial teacher training programme in the North-West of England was tracked over a two-year period. The programme itself was introduced by the British government at a time of teacher shortage, and was designed to attract people into teaching from other careers. Its…

Research on ethnic Chinese students studying in a Western (New Zealand) learning environment exposed differences in communication and learning between their first culture and the host culture. Thirteen ethnic Chinese students in a New Zealand university business school participated in an 18-month ethnographic study. The findings indicate that…

This study examined native English speakers' reactions to nonnative primary stress in English discourse. I measured North American undergraduate students' processing, comprehension, and evaluations of three versions of an international teaching assistant's speech: with primary stress correctly placed, incorrectly placed, or missing entirely.…

Some learning scientists are beginning to investigate social and cultural aspects of learning by examining the interactions between a learner and the environment as well as with other people in the learning environment. This article proposes conversational analysis (CA) as a tool to analyze interactions between learners and instructors in…

This article addresses the lack of outcome-based research on the integration of technology into pedagogy at the undergraduate college level. It describes a study performed at a Midwestern university, testing the relative effectiveness of paper and electronic topographic maps for teaching map-reading skills, and considers the relationship between…

This article presents an experimental study demonstrating how 120 learners use help tools in a virtual learning set-up. More specifically, several types of tutoring are investigated to find out the extent of the use of help tools in each. The effects of two independent variables which may have an impact on the behaviour of learners are studied:…

In this article, the author relates how an experience in 4th grade impacted his future career and aspirations. He emphasizes the relevance of learning, at an early age, good writing and speaking skills, the ability to ask the right questions, and the importance of learning from each other. He contends that learning from each other is a very…

In this article, the author examines the character of the conversations generated in an elementary teacher group as they worked on mathematical problems together and analyzed their students' work. Two distinct forms of talk--"exploratory" and "expository"--were found. The first type of talk occurred most prominently when discussions centered on…

In this article, the authors present an approach to developing creativity through meaningful learning relationships that involve art, literature, dialogue, and experience. They present a model of creative teaching, Person-to-Person Learning, that includes a 3-stage process: (a) constructing the creative space, (b) engaging the learning theme, and…

Existing research indicates that there is a disproportionate number of students with cultural and linguistic differences, English Language Learners (ELL), who are misidentified as learning disabled when their problems are due to cultural and/or linguistic differences. As a consequence, these students do not receive appropriate services. With the…

To improve the management of hybrid courses, the relationship between learner characteristics and learning performance was analyzed in two regular university courses. Undergraduate and graduate students participated in two 15-week hybrid courses which consisted of face-to-face lectures (Information Industrial issues), and the corresponding modules…

This research study investigated the use of technology tools to support constructivist learning experiences in a preservice teacher education reading methods course. Learning opportunities based on Kolb's learning styles model were used to support understanding of course content in the constructivist environment. Technology tools were used during…

Alberta parents enjoy a range of choices for their children's education, including the option of home education. Alberta's "School Act" and its funding guidelines for education recognize the central role of parents in the education of their children. No matter what your decision about educational programming, your ongoing involvement…

Tutoring has long been recognized as superior to group instruction, especially for students with special needs. Tutors can adapt instruction to the learner's pace, learning style and level of understanding. Feedback and correction are immediate. Basic misunderstandings can be quickly identified and corrected. Tutoring also has emotional benefits:…

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of occupational education officers concerning the instructional skills professional development needs for part-time faculty members within the community colleges in the U.S. The types of instructional help part-time faculty members were perceived to need most were concentrated in the…