The purpose of this research was to determine if there is an opportunity for colleges and universities to improve the quality of knowledge constructed in online (asynchronous) discussion boards by optimizing the number of students in the discussion. 93 online graduate students and 36 online faculty were surveyed to gain the perspective from both…

This study examined how adult graduate students made use of technology to mediate group interactions and processes in an online learning environment, also noting why individual groups of students chose particular tools and methods. The online course was delivered using a third-party course management tool. The structure of the course and the use…

A September 8, 2006, ruling by the New Hampshire Supreme Court that the state's current education financing system is unconstitutional was the latest in a long string of court decisions, legislative responses, and subsequent court opinions that have made school funding one of the state's most contentious issues. This report summarizes how the…

The development in the last decade of methodology for measuring and scaling household food insecurity and hunger in U.S. populations makes possible systematic examination of the ways in which hunger and food insecurity affect individuals and families. The impact on children has always been of primary concern for policy, advocacy, and science…

CNN Newsroom is a daily 15-minute news program specifically produced for classroom use and provided free to participating schools. These classroom guides, designed to accompany the daily CNN (Cable News Network) Newsroom broadcasts for September 2-29, 1997, provide program rundowns, suggestions for class activities and discussion, student…

As an outcome of the author's experiences at several American universities, and based on critical race theory as espoused by Bell (which uses narrative to bear witness to lived experiences of racism in American society), a project was undertaken to record conversations with four non-white students at a university in the southern United States.…

This paper describes a first-year English-as-foreign-language junior college reading course in Japan that utilized a combination of whole class instruction and cooperative learning techniques to encourage group discussion and language skill development. Students were randomly divided into groups of eight--a group which became the students' home…

This study examined how support tools (i.e., prompts that support students to use self-explanation and self-monitoring strategies) facilitate convergent knowledge building processes in a World Wide Web-based virtual university engineering course. A quasi-experimental study was designed. An engineering class of a virtual university was selected as…

Students will combine reading in the detective fiction genre with expository writing. Embedded in this unit are reading and writing skills, such as defining, editing, explaining, illustrating, justifying, revising, supporting, and validating. During fifteen 40-minute lessons, grade 6-8 students will: recognize a form of literature according to its…

Through this lesson, teachers can use children's nonfiction books and the Internet to help their students develop accurate, substantive information about Native American people in the present day. During one 50-minute session, students will: participate in critical discussions about their knowledge of Native Americans; work cooperatively in small…

This paper discusses comparisons of student comments and analysis of comments from a face-to-face course with Web-enhancements, a video-based, hybrid course with Web-enhancements and a Web-based course. In order to provide student problem-solving participants both individual and personal experiences (and attitudes) concerning the use of course…

In the face of panic and life-threatening situations in a hospital emergency room (ER), doctors must rely on well-defined procedures to assess the situation and respond appropriately. Because decisions to act must not only be timely, but also ingrained and swift, practice and experience in a wide range of situations is essential. This paper…

This study evaluated differences between persisters and nonpersisters in a 3-year teacher development program. Participants were K-12 teachers from a large school district with both urban and suburban schools. They were part of a grant to help teachers implement state content standards through cognitive coaching, nonverbal classroom management,…

This paper presents three case studies of collaborations with student teachers in a college course on the Psychology of Teaching in which they reflected after class on class events. The paper traces the development of the reflective laboratories through the three cases, which illustrate the process and content of collaborative reflection. The…

This study investigated professional growth as an individually reflective and authentically collaborative phenomenon. The study examined the extent to which self-directed professional learning, personal and shared reflection, and authentic collaboration within a supportive study group could create changes in secondary teachers' perceptions of…