Researchers surveyed and interviewed teacher education students to understand their motivation to participate in class discussion. Students' estimation of the worth of their ideas was an important factor. Men and older students most often believed their ideas made important contributions. Topic, classroom climate, and advance preparation strongly…

Examines 31 book club discussion guides prepared by major book publishers for book club readers to explore which particular ways of reading and discussing books they might sanction. Finds that they steer readers toward a rather narrow collection of academic reading practices (analytic and text-based) and away from other types of responses. (SR)

Evaluated the use of an online discussion group to strengthen preservice teachers' communication, inquiry, and reflection. Analysis of participants' dialogue indicated that the most important benefit was that practicum students placed at different grade levels communicated their observations and concerns in a non-evaluative setting. The paper…

Schools which enforce a no-smoking policy may experience lower rates of pupil smoking. Little is known, however, about how young people view such restrictions and it has been argued that smoking bans might actually encourage adolescent smoking. This paper presents pupils' views on the extent to which staff could, and should, enforce smoking…

A future-search conference is a participatory planning and decision-making process in which a group of individuals with diverse perspectives come together; engage in a process of data collection, discussion, and learning; and decide on an appropriate course of action. The competencies, skills, and intellectual capital developed as part of this…

This paper describes a final year biosciences module consisting of workshops to which web-based tools were introduced. The ability of the online tools to facilitate group work and assess the students was investigated. The online module was delivered via WebCT as the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). The initial concept was to enhance rather than…

As universities and history departments argue over how best to make history "relevant" to students of the twenty-first century, and as professors are increasingly under pressure to integrate technology into their courses, many questions remain unanswered as to the usefulness, reliability, and pedagogical soundness of the new and ever-changing…

The author experienced the introduction of the Internet as a high school student. Reflecting on that experience, he now realizes that he did not understand the possibilities offered by chat rooms, instant messaging, and other Internet-based communication tools to increase sociopolitical connectedness. As the teacher of an eleventh grade social…

This research report examines how two groups of bilingual algebra students made connections among representations while solving a non-routine generalization problem. Using a socio-cultural orientation to mathematics learning, together with a semiotic lens on students' joint mathematical activity, this report details the type of connections among…

This study investigates students' work on analyzing a literary text, a cartoon strip, with focus on their use of instructional, analytical concepts. Excerpts from a group conversation and from individually written texts are analyzed from a sociocultural, dialogical perspective. The analysis of the conversation shows how such concepts help the…

A critical review of research to date suggests a need to explore the development of graduate student research capacity from the standpoint of graduate students. Six members of an interdisciplinary graduate student colloquium at the Centre for Youth and Society (Victoria, Canada) offer their perspective. Our research involved four phases, each…

Institutions of postsecondary education are poised to leverage the presence of racial diversity to educate for social change. The purpose of this study was to examine how a race/ethnicity intergroup dialogue facilitates the development of confidence and frequency of white college students' engagement in actions that are congruent with the…

This article explores perspectives and strands of thought among teachers from five countries about power dynamics in learning environments, perspectives on power of dominant cultures and impacts of power on concepts of citizenship and social justice. Discourses revealed teachers have some understanding of how power impacts teaching and learning,…

Dialogic teaching--a pedagogical approach that involves students in a collaborative construction of meaning and is characterized by shared control over the key aspects of classroom discourse--has been largely advocated by contemporary research and theory. However, studies in the US and UK continue to document the persistence of monologic…

Time is limited. Teachers often struggle to address the diverse needs of learners in their classrooms, especially when faced with academic and social skills concerns. Finding effective ways to teach social skills in the context of academic instruction makes sense. Books by Dr. Seuss provide a variety of high-interest stories that can be used to…