Value chain analysis is widely taught in business schools and applied by practitioners to improve business performance. Despite its ubiquity, many students struggle to understand and apply value chain concepts in practice. JetFighter uses a complex manufacturing process (making intricate paper planes) to provide students an opportunity to enhance…

Sorting shapes and solving riddles develop and advance children's geometric thinking and understanding while promoting mathematical communication, cooperative learning, and numerous representations. This article presents a brief summary of how children develop an understanding of the properties of geometric shapes as well as a description of the…

The research field of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) includes a large variety of approaches which present significant theoretical and methodological differences. This diversity complicates the articulation of the knowledge that is produced within this investigative framework. The paper addresses this problem from a dialectic…

"NSDC Policy Points" is a newsletter published by the National Staff Development Council (NSDC). This issue of "NSDC Policy Points" discusses why collaborative learning is critical to professional development. Included in this newsletter is an article about team learning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. [For Volume 1, Number 3 of…

From June 2004 through January of 2005, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta hosted the traveling exhibit, "The Genomic Revolution," described as the most comprehensive presentation on the complex subject of genomics. Originally created by the American Museum of Natural History, this exhibit presented cutting edge…

A geometry textbook or mathematics journal that prints all the work that mathematicians use as they generate proofs of mathematical results would be rare indeed. The false starts, the tentative conjectures, and the arguments that led nowhere--these are conveniently omitted; only the final successful product is presented to the world. To students…

Two decades have passed since Frank Smith's "Joining the Literacy Club: Further Essays into Education," and educators can make two relatively safe comments: (1) Smith's call for recognizing and honoring the social nature of literacy growth has been largely overshadowed by pursuits of accountability, and (2) Smith is right: Literacy "learning is…

This research was designed to enhance dance technique learning by promoting critical thinking amongst students studying on a degree programme at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. Students were taught Cunningham-based dance technique using pair work together with the traditional demonstration/copying method. To evaluate the study,…

In this volume, Furberg and Arnseth report on a study of genetics learning from a socio-cultural perspective, focusing on students' meaning making as they engage in collaborative problem solving. Throughout the paper, they criticize research on student understanding and conceptual change conducted from a cognitive/socio-cognitive perspective on…

This study examines how a group of bilingual ninth grade algebra students discussed two word problems stated in terms of "real life" contexts. Using a lens of mediated action (Wertsch, 1998), the analysis reveals two distinct ways that the problem contexts influenced the group's mathematical reasoning. In one problem, the problem context…

Problem Statement: Gender differences in the effects of group learning play a contested role in mathematics education. Several researchers concluded that male students perform better on mathematics than female students. Whilst on the other hand, others reported that female students perform best under the group learning setting whereas the male…

This study is a continuation of previous work by the authors. Most of the NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) scales are positively related to higher Business ETS MFT (Major Field Test) scores. The NSSE scales are Active and Collaborative Learning, Enriching Educational Experiences and Integration of Diversity into Coursework. In…

Despite a growing demand for a well-educated workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math-related (STEM) careers, fewer American college students are pursuing these majors. Students with disabilities are one of the at-risk groups whose interest in pursuing STEM careers is frequently compromised by systemic barriers to participation.…

A longitudinal evaluation study of a science professional development program for K-12 teachers was conducted using the CIPP evaluation model. Eleven years of program data were described and analyzed. Elementary teachers comprised 62% of the 384 participants, 17% of all participants were middle school teachers, and 13% of all participants were…

Although reading is a vital component of academic, career, and social success, the majority of adolescents struggle to read proficiently. As a result, there has been increased attention on reading instruction for older adolescents and on what programs, methods, and tools are highly effective in improving their reading achievement. Since motivation…