Students are most successful in online courses that provide ample opportunities for them to interact with the instructor, other students, and the course content. An interactive online course must engage students as active learners rather than as passive participants. How can instructors design virtual classrooms that offer students with a variety…

This qualitative study investigated older Russian immigrants' reasons for studying English, their learning strategies, and barriers to their progress. Ten men and women in their 60s and 70s were interviewed. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings indicated that the participants' motivation for learning English was to…

This article describes a learning context in which the first grade classroom teacher creates a learning community where she uses different teaching strategies to encourage children's second language use and learning. The first graders share, discuss, and learn both the second language (German) and content.

Thinking about the shifts underway which, combined with the spread of the Internet, are affecting both the content of work and the occupational skills required by employers and, more generally, training/employment relationships, leads us to conclude that contemporary societies are faced with the emergence of a new production paradigm. To decode…

Various factors influence e-learners' feelings of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their e-learning experience, but from an extensive search with six major academic research databases we did not find any research that demonstrated comprehensive profiles of satisfying and dissatisfying factors in e-learning. We conducted a qualitative study to…

The impact of a previously successful or unsuccessful experience on the subsequent acquisition of a related task is not well understood. The nature of past experience may have even greater impact in individuals with learning deficits, as their cognitive processes can be easily disrupted. Mice with a targeted disruption of the [alpha] and [delta]…

According to Wlodkowski (2003), "accelerated learning programs are one of the fastest growing transformations in higher education" (p. 5). The Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning at Regis University has documented at least 250 colleges or universities that offer accelerated learning programs for working adults. By definition, accelerated…

The aims of this paper are to examine the measurement properties of the Reflection-in-Learning Scale (RLS) and to identify whether there are relationships between RLS scores early in the medical program and outcomes of the students' academic activity later on. The 14-item RLS was administered to second-year students (N=275) at start and at end of…

This article highlights instructional communication and distance education research with an emphasis on the social dynamics of the online learning experience and their impact on the learning experience. Literature related to the twin concepts of immediacy and group cohesiveness--central constructs related to building an effective classroom social…

In this article, the authors present eight strategies that integrate social studies and literacy by connecting assigned readings to students' contemporary knowledge and concerns. Each strategy begins with a reading assignment and is followed by an activity that connects students to the reading a second time by requiring them to go beyond…

The aim of this study was to determine the value of a system of seminars on clinically related biochemistry topics for undergraduate students in medicine and nutrition at the University of Brasilia, Brazil. During the second semester of 1998 (1998-2), the teaching staff decided to establish new and stricter rules for the seminar method and to…

This multicase study investigated the learning experiences of four college students identified respectively as internal and external locus of control. They were taking a basic educational technology course that supplemented classroom teaching with two course web sites. Four categories that characterized their learning experiences suggested some…

This chapter reviews the strengths and challenges of online education and discusses how effective online education is a blend of pedagogy, technology, and organizational support. The author describes how an effectively coordinated online education program is able to foster meaningful learning experiences through unprecedented opportunities for…

Ideally, the learning dynamic between teachers and their students is a reciprocal one, wherein students learn from teachers and teachers learn from students. Though teachers can learn from all students, a particular group--second language learners--may open even wider spheres of learning. In this article, the authors explore this notion of…

This article describes a university-sponsored experiential-based simulation, the NANO SCENARIO, to increase the public's awareness and affect attitudes on the societal implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology by bringing together diverse stakeholders' perspectives in a participatory learning environment. Nanotechnology has the potential for…