Online social work education has grown rapidly in recent years, and practice courses now are frequently taught online. The present study contributes to the growing body of knowledge regarding best practices in online social work education by examining the effects of small-group learning communities on student learning and on student satisfaction…

Through the reading, study, and performance of "Copenhagen", a play by Michael Frayn, chemistry students see the application of nuclear chemistry content, acquire a better understanding of the continuum from scientific research to technology design, and also become aware of the many and varied interrelationships of science with history…

The authors present an analysis of facilitation across three cohorts of a phase-two professional development project. Four types of discourse are introduced and defined (correcting, eliciting, probing, and responsive). The analysis attends to implementation fidelity and facilitator moves in light of these four types of discourse. Conjectures about…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) provide an increasingly common structure for teachers' professional development. The effectiveness of PLCs depends on the content and quality of the participants' discourse. This dissertation was conducted to add to an understanding of the science content needed to prepare to teach science, and the…

The case study reported here examined three scaffolding practices employed by two teachers in two Year 5 and 6 mathematics classrooms. One scaffolding practice was the use of discussion. This paper describes the use of whole class discussions as scaffolding, drawing upon observations of six mathematics lessons in each classroom and the responses…

A facilitator is considered to act intentionally when they are deliberate about what they are doing and can provide rationales for their actions. The same facilitator is said to practice intuitively when they are not able to articulate a clear rationale for their actions, yet they are still able to facilitate effectively. A review of the…

Isolation and a lack of support contribute to high attrition rates among novice teachers. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is one mechanism for providing anytime, anywhere support to teachers. Previous research in this area has focused on structuring such discussions to encourage cognitive engagement, yet little attention has been paid to how…

In this paper, we explore the idea of weak ties in networked learning. We go back to the original conception of the strength of weak ties and relate this to Bakhtin and a dialogic understanding of networked learning. These theoretical ideas are applied to the examination of two networked settings in which educational leaders exchange ideas and…

Numerous studies have affirmed the value of asynchronous online communication as a learning resource. Several investigations, however, have indicated that discussions in asynchronous environments are often neither interactive nor coherent. The research reported sought to develop an enhanced understanding of interactional coherence, argumentation,…

The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between degree of participation and learning outcomes in an e-learning course on medical informatics. Overall activity in using course materials and degree of participation in the discussion forums of an online course were studied among 39 medical students. Students were able to utilise the…

In this article, the author reports on how three women saved their school libraries and created an advocacy model for all. The dynamic trio: Lisa Layera Brunkan, the great researcher with exceptional people skills, Susan McBurney, the master organizer with a Ph.D. in linguistics, and Denette Hill, the numbers lady with fantastic business acumen,…

Introduction: This research set out to determine whether communities of practice can be entirely Internet-based by formally applying Wenger's theoretical framework to Internet collectives. Method: A model of a virtual community of practice was developed which included the constructs Wenger identified in co-located communities of practice: mutual…

The Internet promotes computer-mediated communications, and so asynchronous learning network systems permit more flexibility in time, space, and interaction than synchronous mode of learning. The key point of asynchronous learning is the materials for web-aided teaching and the flow of knowledge. This research focuses on improving online…

The study reported here sought to obtain the clear articulation of asynchronous computer-mediated discourse needed for Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia's knowledge-creation model. Distinctions were set up between three modes of discourse: knowledge sharing, knowledge construction, and knowledge creation. These were applied to the asynchronous…

In order to collaborate effectively in group discourse on a topic like mathematical patterns, group participants must organize their activities in ways that share the significance of their utterances, inscriptions, and behaviors. Here, we report the results of a ethnomethodological case study of collaborative math problem-solving activities…