In a science education methods course, groups of students were initially involved in a face-to-face discussion and were sensitized about certain conflicting claims regarding a puzzling observation or set of observations. They were then instructed to resolve their conflicting ideas through electronic discussion. Students had two weeks time to…

Lessons from the work of the eleven Urban Educator Corps member institutions are outlined. They include the necessity to create strong partnerships, foster university leadership and address a compelling local need. Successful initiatives build strong financial networks as well as connect the classroom with the community and with parents and…

Objective: The authors examined factors predicting college students' use of tanning beds. Participants and Methods: Undergraduate students (N = 745) at a large Northeastern university participated in the study by answering a survey measuring tanning behavior and other psychosocial variables, including sensation seeking, self-esteem, tanning image…

The popularity of and reliance on emergent computer-mediated communication technologies such as instant messaging, blogs, and social networks have arguably widened the generation gap between faculty and traditional undergraduate students. Marc Prensky defined this generational technology divide by coining the terms "digital natives" and…

What is the current thinking about cyberinfrastructure for the liberal arts, what models for transinstitutional collaboration and institution building are emerging, and what steps can campuses take to move this agenda forward? (Contains 23 notes.)

Diffusion theory posits that information is disseminated throughout a social network by the persuasion of key opinion leaders (KOLs). This study examined the relative and combined influence of peer-identified KOL teachers (n = 12) and mental health providers (n = 21) on classroom teachers' (n = 61) self-reported use of commonly recommended…

Policy makers increasingly include provisions aimed at fostering professional community as part of reform initiatives. Yet little is known about the impact of policy on teachers' professional relations in schools. Drawing theoretically from social capital theory and methodologically from qualitative social network analysis, this article explores…

Two Oregon students create a racist profile on a social networking site, with cartoons about lynching and racist language. Other students link to the profile and post ugly, racist comments. Teachers report that many of the school's minority students are frightened. In another instance, several high school students create a "We Hate…

A new regionalism has been much documented and researched for metropolitan areas; this article documents that there is a new rural regionalism as well. In the United States, these groups appear most likely to emerge in areas that are challenged by outcomes characterizing globalization's effects on the rural condition: namely, exurban or…

New social-sharing applications are transforming the Internet from a "read-only" (Web 1.0) environment to a "read-write" ecology that many are calling Web 2.0. These tools (e.g., weblogs and wikis) enable Internet users to publish information online almost as easily as they can read online, and they have tremendous potential for learning. This…

Web 2.0 tools are changing the way we work online. As lecturers, we need to understand how these emerging technologies impact both on our students' learning and on our own teaching practice. This means we must ourselves become more confident in our use of Web 2.0, to be able to cope with the rapidly changing nature of these technologies. In most…

In order to understand the trend towards resilience and the emergence of "Generation Queer" in Canadian schools, educators need to examine the research that has shaped their understandings of the health and safety needs and experiences of these vulnerable youth. Correspondingly, educators also need to examine the opinions and experiences…

It was the perfect Halloween project. Each class would construct a three-dimensional "monster" out of common classroom materials (construction paper, cardboard boxes, tape, markers, glue, string, etc.), then write down instructions for building the monster and send them off to another class in the district, or in some other district, or even some…

Research shows that peer status in adolescence is positively associated with school achievement and adjustment. However, subculture theories of juvenile delinquency and school-based ethnographies suggest that: (1) disadvantaged boys are often able to gain some forms of peer status through violence; and (2) membership in violent groups undermines…

Using the model for learning and teaching activities (MOLTA), a new technology enhanced hybrid instruction was designed, developed and implemented. The effectiveness of the hybrid instruction in regard to students' achievement, knowledge retention, attitudes towards the subject, and course satisfaction was evaluated in comparison to traditional…