Online conversations help teachers engage in constructive criticism and attend more carefully to aligning lesson plans with problem solving. This article describes a strategy for using an online discussion board to help teachers evaluate one another's lesson plans. The online peer-review activity suggests that fostering critical pedagogical…

In CSCL research, collaboration through chat has primarily been studied in dyadic settings. This article discusses three issues that emerged during the development of a multi-dimensional coding procedure for small-group chat communication: (a) the unit of analysis and unit fragmentation, (b) the reconstruction of the response structure and (c)…

This paper examines the type of creativity involved in the humorous exchanges that pervade an online discussion board where all interaction and relationships between participants are textually co-constructed. Taking a view of creativity as context-dependent, it considers how participants exploit the particular features of an online environment in…

This article examines the discourse of 10 groups of children during text-based online discussions. Analysis of the discourse in the discussions showed that 8 different rhetorical moves, or argument stratagems, were used by most groups of children, whereas 3 other stratagems were used by 1 group. The use of argument stratagems snowballed; that is,…

This dissertation examines the ideological connections between schooling, mobility, and social difference among students in New Delhi. In it, I argue that educational mobility, especially with regard to English-language education, is an ideology which seems to offer a path to reduce social difference while in fact protecting it. I also argue that…

This volume examines the organization of second language and multilingual speakers' talk and pragmatic knowledge across a range of naturalistic and experimental activities. Based on data collected on Danish, English, Hawai'i Creole, Indonesian, and Japanese as target languages, the contributions explore the nexus of pragmatic knowledge,…

The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test a methodology to determine the relative importance and presence of constructivist elements in online learning classes. A case study method was used to assess the effectiveness of four key constructivist elements: knowledge construction, collaborative learning, authentic learning and…

Faculty, staff, and administrators at a small independent college determined that planning with a Concept Mapping process efficiently produced strategic thinking and action plans for the accomplishment of a strategic goal to expand experiential learning within the curriculum. One year into a new strategic plan, the college enjoyed enrollment…

The purpose of this study was to describe how bilingual, Mexican American third graders engaged with culturally relevant picture books during whole-group book discussions and then to further examine how culture (specifically) was reflected in efferent and aesthetic responses. Engagement was defined as the nature in which the readers interpreted…

In this article, the author shares his experience in teaching a course called "American Political Theory" at Nanjing University in Nanjing, People's Republic of China. The course the author designed was intended to explore the philosophical background of what drove the North American colonists to declare their independence; what ideas…

The effectiveness of computer-based learning environments depends on learners' deployment of metacognitive and self-regulatory processes. Analysis of transmitted messages in a context of Computer Mediated Communication can provide a source of information on metacognitive activity. However, existing models or frameworks (e.g., Henri, 1992) that…

This essay describes the administration of peer observation programs with a focus on supporting scholarly teaching. The factors found to be influential in designing these programs are emphasized in an attempt to provide a framework on which others may build their own variations of a self-study group.

The purpose of this action research project report was to reduce bullying in middle school students through the use of student-leaders. Twenty-eight 8th graders, two counselors, and 24 teachers participated for a total of 54 participants. The study was conducted between September 11, 2007, and December 20, 2007. This project focused on four types…

Daily, teachers step foot inside their classrooms with the intentions of making a difference in their students' lives by demonstrating care. Depending on a teacher's individual style, care may be demonstrated in multiple ways. The author explores four distinctive themes of a caring teacher. These are: (1) student-oriented; (2) work-oriented; (3)…

The author's charge in this article is to focus particularly on the question of how an academic community can sustain itself and work productively and positively to achieve normally high aspirations for its students and all members of the community. Writing from the perspective of a longtime member of the Virginia Tech community, he begins with a…