Describes a participatory exercise in which a simulation is used to create the context of institutional discrimination. Explains that student volunteers leave the room while two terms are defined to the remaining students. When the volunteers return, the entire class is given a pop quiz on the terms. (CMK)

Contends that professors of graduate seminars fail to provide the structure necessary for academic discourse. Describes four models for graduate seminars along with the disadvantages of each model. Discusses the issue of authority in graduate seminars. Provides an example of an effective graduate seminar. (CMK)

Describes a study of a graduate level online course that investigated whether the systematic use of instructor-initiated audio emails, as a supplement to regular textual forms of communication, would increase students' participation in group discussion and result in more favorable student perceptions of student/faculty relationships and quality of…

Students talk with teachers about disappointing grades for different reasons, and the way students frame such interactions has consequences for how those interactions are likely to unfold. To explore students' primary goals in such interactions, 234 undergraduates reported on a recent conversation with an instructor about a lower-than-desired…

Electronic discussion sections can create a learning environment that will elicit quality student discussions in classes with large enrollment (i.e., 100 to 150 students). Redressing problems encountered during the first year using electronic discussions, I made changes such as establishing grading criteria for evaluating each student contribution…

The key to improving students' attitudes about reading is to expose them to more contemporary literature--books to which they can relate in settings and themes--books that they are more likely to enjoy. This article describes a collaborative literature circles project between an English teacher and a media specialist that was extremely successful…

Anyone who has spent time looking at science books with young children has no doubt experienced the endless questions that the information and visuals in the books can stimulate. Books prompt questions, which can lead to further reading about and investigation of science topics. Whether from a textbook or a nonfiction trade book, informational…

This study reports the impact of consistently using a Socratic Seminar to interpret historical documents written by women on 9th grade students' historical empathy. Over the course of one semester in a year-long world history course, the class examined three documents written by women living in the complex time period being studied and discussed…

The paper reports a small-scale research on the predisposition of adult ESOL learners in a further education college to the components of autonomous learning. The research is based on the perception that there is an untested assumption that all students will react positively to the concept of autonomous learning and by implication are positively…

The paper reports a study that investigated the construction of a common identity in an online Italian forum of psychologists based on asynchronous CMC. Discourse analysis was carried out on 20 discussions, and three Interpretative Repertoires were identified: (i) Professional Boundaries, (ii) disempowered psychology and (iii) psychology and…

Constructivism is the philosophy that has been cited most frequently in the past 20 years in education. It has been argued that a constructivist philosophy offers a means of education that would result in knowledge generation and creation; therefore, it is superior to other views. Making the shift toward a constructivist philosophy, however,…

Results of an exploratory factor analysis study designed to examine and refine the Corrective Feedback Instrument are reported. The Corrective Feedback Instrument-Revised replaces the Corrective Feedback Instrument and consists of 30 items that can be used to encourage conversations about giving, receiving, and clarifying corrective feedback in…

Leading a productive discussion, one that both engages students and enhances their understanding, may be the most complex and challenging task in teaching. This article explores three approaches to increasing the productivity of discussions. They include framing discussions in a way that allows students easier access to the topic, making the kind…

Discussion and writing are very powerful ways to support learning. This article describes the use of a free, synchronous online forum to expand student-teacher discussions beyond the time/place constraints of the physical physiology classroom. The main participants were medical students enrolled in physiology class at the University of Zagreb…

This study examined two distinct moral reasoning interventions: an interindividual intervention, in which students discussed moral dilemmas, and an intraindividual intervention, in which students individually reflected on moral dilemmas. Ninety-seven 6th- and 7th-grade students were administered pre- and posttest measures of the Sociomoral…