This study analysed the relationships between teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence in online learning environments (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000), with an emphasis on examining ways in which the design of instructor presentation formats relates to student responses in discussion forums. Both quantitative and…

In an increasingly digital society, educators are encouraged to use synchronous online technologies. This study attempts to explore the community of inquiry in a web conferencing system through synchronous interactions and focuses on the relationships between cognitive presence and academic achievements. Participants were teacher candidates…

Contribution: This paper has demonstrated that the use of blended learning in an electrical machines course has increased student engagement, pass rate, and scores across the GPA spectrum. Background: Lack of engagement by students in electric machine courses have been reported across the world. Interventions however, usually take the form of…

The present study investigated The Mixxer language exchange site (https://www.language-exchanges.org/) as a typical informal online community of self-directed language learners with a focus on how learners interact with each other. Learners' perception was also studied regarding how their language learning was impacted by their participation in…

The purpose of this study was to examine how students used the elements of a historical argument to interpret how equality and opportunity affected marginalized groups in a given historical era. To do this, 150 eighth grade students wrote thirteen historical arguments, and submitted a written portfolio of their work at the end of the school year.…

This paper reports on a study that integrated two instant messaging applications (Moya Messenger App and WhatsApp) and a myUnisa's online discussion forum (ODF), and utilised them as tools to support student learning at an open and distance e-learning university in South Africa. The participants in this study were 41 undergraduate education…

Following the appraisal framework (Martin & White, 2005), in particular the two discourse-semantic systems of Engagement and Attitude, this study examines the extent to which second language learners in a US-Spain telecollaborative project (a) engaged with their own ideas and those of their partners and (b) expressed their attitude towards…

Nowadays, outreach labs are important informal learning environments in science education. After summarizing research to goals outreach labs focus on, we describe our evidence-based gene technology lab as a model of a research-driven outreach program. Evaluation-based optimizations of hands-on teaching based on cognitive load theory (additional…

Much has been written recently about the role of talk in content-area learning, including science learning. However, there is still much to be learned about how teachers begin to engage students in the kinds of peer-to-peer conversations that help them make sense of their investigations in science and that advance their conceptual understandings.…

Engagement matters, and it is critical for student success and for community college faculty and staff who are responsible for helping students learn and achieve their goals. It is particularly critical for community colleges to find ways to engage part-time faculty who are responsible for such a significant part of most students' college…

This practitioner-research study investigated the effect critical literacy has on content area preservice teachers' abilities (N = 14) to perceive the sociocultural influences in text. The study further investigated how content area pre-service teachers engage in critical stance during situated reading practices that centered on discussions of…

This study investigated the integrating possibilities within each creative arts subject. The objective was to optimize the limited teaching time, generally allocated to each art subject in schools, by developing a pedagogical strategy for its successful implementation. While the study was limited to South African schools, the results have global…

In this article, we explore the experiences of four girls with reading difficulties who participated in a book club designed to promote critical discussion of sociocultural gendered issues. Using the book "Dork diaries: Tales from a NOT-SO- fabulous life", they connected content in the book to their lives as relates to school "food…

In recent years, there has been greater emphasis placed on cross-curricular approaches to teaching and learning evidenced in changes to curriculum guidance in a number of countries. Research indicates the complexity and challenge of such approaches to curriculum organisation, and presentation is considerable. This small scale study is focused on…

Students' emotions can significantly enhance or distract from learning. This paper details a case study of innovative pedagogy in which an "emotional curriculum" was central to my teaching. The analysis of student journals, on-line discussions, and metaphorical exercises revealed a vicissitude of emotions that stemmed from challenging course…