This study developed a framework that can be used to build a forum environment, referred to as a Collaborative Interaction Management System (CIMS) that incorporates an automated method of assessing student's individual contributions and group collaborative learning. The framework was fine-tuned by conducting a survey that identified 20 major…

The strength of Cooperative Extension lies in the breadth of knowledge and experience of its faculty and staff. Yet those working in Extension can get so bogged down by the weight of this knowledge and become so focused on details, ownership, and process that it can be hard to respond to emerging needs or work effectively as a group. "Shark…

A group of 46, first-year, primarily classically trained, undergraduate students took part in an exploratory research study on Group Ear Playing (GEP) in higher education. The students attended the "Playing by Ear" component of the Practical Musicianship module, which adopts the materials and strategies on playing by ear in the…

This dissertation will look at large scale collaboration through the lens of online communities to answer questions about what makes a collaboration persist. Results address how collaborations attract contributions, behaviors that could give rise to patterns seen in the data, and the properties of collaborations that drive those behaviors. It is…

Using conversation analysis as the research approach, this study explores how L2 learners utilize their task-related identities during task interactions and how those identities are used as resources for task management. Eight students in an ESL academic reading class formed two groups while they did their reading circle task for six rounds. In…

COVID-19 and its imposed social confinement entailed a radical shift in research, supervision and learning in doctoral education. Heightened flexibility in delivery, sensitivity and compassion and greater reliance on technology sought to address not merely scholars' pedagogical but holistic needs, which became more prominent during the pandemic.…

This experimental study was intended to investigate the effect of collaborative learning technique; fishbowl on the academic success of students studying in a secondary school. A pre-test post-test equivalent group design was employed. The objectives of the study were; (i) to explore the effects of collaborative learning technique, fishbowl, on…

In problem-based learning large cohorts of students are divided into smaller groups that pursue learning objectives with separate instructors called tutors. This presents challenges for tutors tasked with providing similar educational experiences and assessment of multiple groups of students. Here we evaluated between-group variation in test…

Background: Cooperative and inquiry-based pedagogies provide a context for classroom discourse in which students develop joint understanding of subject matter knowledge. Using the symbolic interactionist perspective that meaning is constructed as individuals interact with one another, we examined how student groups enrolled in an undergraduate…

This qualitative study explored the interactions of six triads of Year One students in the United Kingdom (n = 18; mean age = 5 years, 7 months; 9 female) investigating interpersonal regulation of learning, social dynamics, and "group dialogue," evident in instances of productive collaboration during problem-solving activities. Group…

M. Tomasello, A. Kruger, and H. Ratner (1993) proposed a theory of cultural learning comprising imitative learning, instructed learning, and collaborative learning. Empirical and theoretical advances in the past 20 years suggest modifications to the theory; for example, children do not just imitate but overimitate in order to identify and…

Bullying in schools, defined as a systematic abuse of power in interpersonal relations, may be undertaken individually and/or by groups. The extent to which schoolchildren report that they are bullied by their peers in each of these ways was examined in a survey of Australian schoolchildren (N = 1688) in Years 5-10 attending 36 coeducational…

Effective collaboration in small teams is valued by employers. Group projects can be a valuable experience in academics to apply knowledge, solve problems, and develop teamwork skills. Students frequently encounter group work in academic classes but are often not taught how to facilitate effective group collaboration and left to "figure it…

According to the OECD, The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and other education policy experts all over the world, an urgent reform is needed to promote education innovation with "competencies" as the core. To investigate the feasibility to apply competency-oriented education, this pilot study surveyed the…

This dissertation is a quantitative study which presents a conceptual framework which views schools as learning communities. The study focuses on relationships among professional learning communities, teacher self-efficacy, and collective efficacy. The researcher also explored teacher perceptions of these three constructs. The specific purpose of…