Second language acquisition (SLA) is a relatively new field of enquiry. Before the late 1960s, educators did write about L2 learning, but very much as an adjunct of language teaching pedagogy, underpinned by behaviourism, the then-dominant learning theory in psychology. In this view, the task facing learners of foreign languages was to rote-learn…

This study examined the effects of collaboration mode (collocated versus non-collocated videoconferencing-mediated) on team learning and team interaction quality in a team-based problem solving context. Situated learning theory and the theory of affordances are used to provide a framework that describes how technology-mediated collaboration…

This paper discusses the move from learning theories from the industrial society to learning theories from and for dialogic societies. While in the past intrapsychological elements, such as mental schemata of prior knowledge, were the key to explain learning, today's theories point to interaction and dialogue as the main means for achieving deep…

Attempting to implement client-based projects within a single semester often overwhelms students and underwhelms the client and grading professor. In this paper, we share results from a two-year pilot project in which the components of a client project were split between several classes. We discuss the client project model as a valuable teaching…

This qualitative study examined the influences of teachers' experiences on their perceptions of teaching English language learners (ELLs) framed within Mezirow's transformative learning theory. Eight teachers ranging from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade participated in long interviews responding to a 10 item questionnaire. Each teacher…

Different conceptualizations of service-learning are found in higher education, ranging from charity to social justice focused. Little is known about the lasting impact of social justice focused service-learning on undergraduate participants, especially in a global education setting. This study examined the experience and meaning making of…

This research contributes to answer the question whether learning/cognitive styles of students serve as a justified starting point for creating target-group appropriate instruction. The study was realized in a self-regulated problem-based learning environment. Data of 56 participants on their individual learning styles, their acquired problem…

This paper aims to discuss the changing roles and competencies of a teacher in context of prevailing developments accomplished by the vast availability of social software, which have made easy the development of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). This has been accomplished by an in-depth review of the literature on teacher's socially situated…

The present experiments examined perceptual specificity effects using a rereading paradigm. Eye movements were monitored while participants read the same target word twice, in two different low-constraint sentence frames. The congruency of perceptual processing was manipulated by either presenting the target word in the same distortion typography…

In this essay, I remind readers of the importance of using SoTL work in a range of ways and settings at different levels to increase our impact on student learning as well as institutional and disciplinary cultures. I briefly discuss and illustrate six strategies already in use on which we can build. (Contains 3 footnotes.)

For several reasons, the process of writing and completing the doctoral dissertation has been identified as the most frequent road block for many promising scholars. The goal of this study is to help improve doctoral student dissertation completion by focusing on the crucial, central concerns of effective student writing, faculty mentoring, and…

This study modified and validated a measure of motivational orientations--grounded in self-determination theory and originally developed for postsecondary students--for use with younger (pre-college) English language learners (ELLs). Exploratory factor analysis results in Sample A (n = 528) indicated that the data were best explained by a…

Two experiments using the science topics of Magnetism and Light were conducted with younger learners (Year 5) who had no prior knowledge of the topics, and older learners (Year 6) who had studied the topics previously. Half of the learners were presented the information in auditory form only while the other half were presented the auditory…

Maria Andree focuses on an immigrant student whose error in a laboratory activity leads to a novel, colorful outcome that she excitedly shares with peers. After engaging in class activities for a few weeks she returns to her earlier dislike of science, saying: "I hate science, particularly Chemistry." The classroom activity system…

An educator working in a toddler-group (children aged 1-3) took part in an in-service program using a "Learning Study" design within the broader theoretical frame of the "Variation Theory of learning". The purpose of this study is, in qualitative terms and in the context of explorative play, to describe how the educator develops strategies where…