This paper reviews the research conducted in the last 20 years on the application of technology in support of collaborative learning in higher education. The review focuses primarily on studies that use Internet-based technologies and social interaction analysis. The review provides six sets of observations/recommendations regarding methodology,…

The benefits of active learning in the traditional classroom setting are well established among engineering educators; however, this learning model can thrive in other settings, namely in a research group. This work presents findings from an educational research project specifically designed to foster active learning among undergraduates and…

Many minority adolescents in the United States today are at a high risk for truancy, dropout, and academic under-achievement. Truancy is related to a host of preceding and subsequent risks such as delinquency and limited vocational outcomes. Using participatory research methods, this federally funded, 10-month study assessed youths' perceptions of…

This study explores how group processes, such as group cohesiveness and group norms, influence an individual EFL learner's autonomy--their autonomous beliefs and actual autonomous behaviors. Questionnaires were administered to 152 Taiwanese university students from the English Department of a National Science and Technology University in southern…

A social dynamics perspective of aggression in school is presented. This framework focuses on the role of natural social processes in the establishment and maintenance of aggressive behavior in the school context. The five articles in this special issue are briefly reviewed and a synthesis of their contributions for understanding the social…

This paper presents five tools for librarians to use in building effective intercultural communication that reaches out to diverse populations. Librarians can more successfully cross intercultural boundaries if they are aware of the key tenets of intercultural communication and information provision, and then apply the five leadership tools in…

This article reports on a case study of negotiation that occurred in peer group oral interactions under assessment conditions. Discourse analysis was used to illustrate how participants negotiated and co-constructed the assessment format itself as well as meaning exchange sequences. Analyses of the data point to the advantage of using peer group…

This exploratory study investigates the potential of Wiki technology as a tool for teaching and learning. Wikis are a component of Web 2.0 technology tools that provide collaborative features and active learning opportunities in a web-based environment. This research study sought to empirically determine the pedagogical value of using Wiki…

While literature suggests that college students may be less reluctant to seek help in online rather than traditional courses, little is known about how online instructors give help in ways that lead to increased student help seeking and academic success. In this study, we used theories and research on learning assistance and scaffolding, teacher…

Outdoor adventure activities such as whitewater boating, caving, rock climbing, and mountaineering continue to be popular among the public. As a result of this popularity, numerous organizations "contract out" the leadership and delivery of the adventure portion of their curriculum. This paper explores two widely used venues for offering outdoor…

Multimedia construction is a complex and theoretically valid process for developing higher order thinking that can be implemented as a teaching activity and optionally associated with formal assessment in many ways. This paper explores the associated learning strategy--learning through multimedia construction, through research and reflective…

After a brief review of integrative small group learning models that have appeared in the educational psychology literature, this article then looks into the group dynamics literature and describes one of that field's most well-documented findings: that interactions among group members change somewhat predictably over time. How theorists from…

Brock University offers both undergraduate and graduate programs and is host to approximately 17,000 students. It is the only Canadian university located in a World Biosphere Reserve--the Niagara Escarpment. The Bruce Trail passes through campus, and offers ample opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, nature interpretation and outdoor…

There is a moral panic in the US about youth civic engagement because data show decreasing rates of involvement in organized groups and with voting. There are multiple interpretations of what this means for democracy and about young people. One major reading is that interest in civic life is decreasing and this is seen to be related to…

Purpose--What is required of job design and production planning, if they are to result in a work group taking a self-starting approach and going beyond what is formally required of it? This paper aims to contribute to group research by testing a theoretical model of relations between job design on the one hand (captured as completeness, demand on…