The aim of the current research is to characterize the conceptual flow processes occurring in whole-class dialogic discussions with a high level of interanimation; in the present case, of a high-school class learning about image creation on plane mirrors. Using detailed chains of interaction and conceptual flow discourse maps--both developed for…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using Tablet PC to provide feedback on student engagement and achievement in hybrid special education courses. Student engagement was determined by the number of hits and postings in online discussions. Student achievements were compared through pre- and post-tests on course content areas,…

This is the first study in Cyprus aiming to gain insight into the factors responsible for the low attainment of ethnic minority students observed in earlier studies. Teachers from different schools and cities on the island participated in a focus group discussion. Identified factors related to the child, parents, home environment, teachers,…

Students often voice computations during group discussions of mathematics problems. Yet, this type of private speech has received little attention from mathematics educators or researchers. In this article, we use excerpts from middle school students' group mathematical discussions to illustrate and describe "computational private…

Images, diagrams, and other forms of visualization are playing increasingly important roles in molecular life science teaching and research, both for conveying information and as conceptual tools, transforming the way we think about the events and processes the subject covers. This study examines how upper secondary and tertiary students interpret…

This article reports on BSW and MSW students' satisfaction with a required orientation workshop designed to socialize them to professional educational and to academic and professional standards of behavior. Students viewed video-recorded vignettes that addressed problematic behaviors in class and field, followed by faculty-led, small-group…

To research children's notions of self, semi-structured interviews, drawings and focused group discussions were used with 14 children with mobility "impairments" aged 11-16 years. The objective was to capture children's "lived realities". Findings illuminated immense variation and fluidity in children's understanding of "disability". Children…

This essay concerns applications of computer-mediated communication (CMC) research in groups toward the enhancement of relations between members of potentially hostile ethnopolitical groups. The characteristics of CMC offer several possible means of facilitating the reduction of animosity through online contact among intergroup constituents. The…

Sociocultural theories of learning and sociocultural theories of technology are explored as a way to view and to map the complex interactions that can occur in online professional discussions. The case of synchronous online moderation meetings are used as an example of the combination of variables that can impact on the development of shared…

Discussion forums are a widely used activity in online courses. However, knowledge construction within online discussion rarely reaches higher levels. Therefore, it is important to understand which aspects of online discussion encourage learning and increase knowledge construction. This paper investigates the effect three Structured Divergent…

Many researchers argue that students must be meaningfully engaged in the learning resources for effective learning to occur. However, current online learners still report a problematic lack of attractive and challenging learning resources that engage them in the learning process. This endemic problem is even more evident in online collaborative…

This report describes the approach that REL Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI) used to guide its eight research alliances toward collaboratively identifying a shared research agenda. A key feature of their approach was a two-workshop series, during which alliance members created a set of research questions on a shared topic of education policy and/or…

Knowledge elaboration plays a critical role in promoting knowledge acquisition and facilitating the retention of target knowledge in online collaborative discussions. Adopting a key-term-based automated analysis approach, we proposed an indicator framework to measure the level of knowledge elaboration in terms of coverage, activation, and…

Identifying how students can manage the psychological complexity of receiving assessment feedback is important to gain maximum learning and for teachers to facilitate empowering online learning environments. This study discursively explores how a group of students, learning online, psychologically process assessment feedback. Data comprised 29…

The purposes of this study were (1) to develop a teacher training program that integrates knowledge management (KM) and blended learning and examine its effects on pre-service teachers' professional development in creativity instruction; and (2) to explore the mechanisms underlying the success of such KM-based training. The employed KM model was…