One of the principle tenets of action learning is that it provides the potential to explore and solve complex organisational problems. The question of how best to develop a future business strategy is such a problem. Existing literature on strategy making presents a multi-faceted debate, suggesting that the complexity of competitive environments…

To monitor and enhance the learning performance of learning groups in a Web learning system, teachers need to know the learning status of the group and determine the key influences affecting group learning outcomes. Teachers can achieve this goal by observing the group discussions and learning behavior from Web logs and analyzing the Web log data…

The paper examines how young people describe experiences of bullying when participating in an Internet community dedicated to young people experiencing mental health problems. The micro-analytic focus demonstrates how young people construct their identities in relation to their telling about their experiences of being victims of bullying,…

Each semester, Julia G. Brooks writes "silence=agreement" on the board during a discussion of socialization in her Introductory Sociology classes, and invites students to discuss their initial responses to this statement. Inevitably, there are students who agree with the statement outright, claiming "If people have something to say…

This article reports the findings of a research project concerned with children engaging in scientific argumentation. Discussion activities were designed to enable groups of children to use evidence when making decisions. The findings show a variation in the success with which children construct scientific arguments; some groups debate most of the…

The study investigates the effect of length of meditation history on various factors, namely learning motivation, learning outcome and classroom climate. Data were collected from working adult learners (n = 450) attending meditation classes in two large cities in Taiwan. The investigation categorized learners based on meditation experience, namely…

Purpose: This paper aims to report the process and outcomes of a case study which introduced internal evaluation procedures into academic departments of a university in Iran. The purpose of the study was to identify what benefits could arise from using internal evaluation, and what obstacles existed to its successful introduction.…

Online discussions provide opportunities for learners to engage in argumentative debate, but learners rarely formulate well-grounded arguments or benefit individually from participating in online discussions. Learners often do not explicitly warrant their arguments and fail to construct counterarguments (incomplete formal argumentation structure),…

A classroom-based activity was created to help undergraduate students in a course about the HIV epidemic explore and better understand the nature and scope of anti-HIV stigma. The activity asks students to assess the extent of their sympathy for several people living with HIV disease when given only a brief statement about how each person became…

Findings from an on-going design experiment within a year-long graduate course for middle school teachers of mathematics are reported. The purpose of the course was to help teachers assist students in transitioning from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning. Goals included developing teachers' ability to interpret, compare, and generalize across…

The University of Delaware spent years refining its residence-life education program. One week of public criticism unraveled it. Late last month, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a free-speech group, accused the university of promoting specific views on race, sexuality, and morality in a series of discussions held in dormitories.…

Discussion Boards are at the heart of an Asynchronous Online Learning or Distance Education Environment and can have a great impact on the learning experience. Understanding the individual factors that create a high quality discussion board experience for students and their interrelationships is critical to continuous improvement in distance…

Online fora have become not only one of the most popular communication tools in e-learning environments, but also one of the key factors of the learning process, especially in distance learning, as they can provide to the students involved, motivation for collaboration in order to achieve a common goal. The purpose of this study is to analyse data…

This paper draws on data from a project undertaken with children (N?=?72) in Mongolia and Zambia. The research is distinctive in bringing together diverse children, ranging from those living on the street to those in mainstream education and involving them in discussions about educational research. Being conscious of critiques of adult-initiated…

This microgenetic study examined social influences on children's development of analogical reasoning during peer-led small-group discussions of stories about controversial issues. A total of 277 analogies were identified among 7,215 child turns for speaking during 54 discussions from 18 discussion groups in 6 fourth-grade classrooms (N = 120; age…