Journal writing was introduced as a means to assess student learning and acceptance of evolutionary science in a nonmajors' biology course taught at a community college. Fourteen weeks of instruction were performed, each initiated by student-centered, in-class activities and culminated by a discussion, to elucidate tentative conclusions based on…

This diachronic study describes an innovative university experience consisting of the development of multimedia concept maps (MCM) in relation to social educators and social workers main intervention areas and an active discussion in online forums about the results obtained. These MCMs were prepared by students who attended the Information…

In the first part of the discussion forum on extensive reading (ER) in "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL") (April 2015 issue), many scholars in the field shared views regarding the core features to be considered when implementing ER, frequently referring to Day and Bamford's (1998, 2002) top 10 principles for teaching ER.…

The paper critically evaluated the discursive practices on the Moderated Discussion Board (MDB) of Virtual University of Pakistan (VUP). The paramount objective of the study was to conduct a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the MDB on the Learning Management System (LMS) of VUP. For this purpose, the academic power relations of the students…

Cooperative learning was employed as an instructional approach to facilitate student development of spectroscopy problem solving skills. An interactive online environment was used as a framework to structure weekly discussions around spectroscopy problems outside of class. Weekly discussions consisted of modified jigsaw-style problem solving…

The need to diversify digital communications for a global twenty-first century has prompted many theorists to reimagine literacy teaching and learning. Although the new Australian curriculum acknowledges multimodality and multimodal texts, professional learning continues to privilege print-focused literacy. Utilizing a multiliteracies' and…

Web.2 technologies allow people to be the producer of information and this will increase the information in a network. Discussion Boards (forums) are Web.2 technology that enable student to interact, collaborate and exchange knowledge in different online courses. The main objective of this research study is to investigate the impact of Discussion…

This paper presents findings from empirical study on assessing third year students' academic performance and development of generic skills through participatory teaching. Generic skills inventory and academic performance were utilized as measuring instruments where as activities of participatory learning used as an independent variable. The main…

With the dramatic rise of diversity in American schools, the need to prepare teachers to work with this population, and the increasing popularity of online instruction, teacher educators and researchers need to pay greater attention to the effects of online instruction. This study examines and compares the impact of a critical multicultural…

The purpose of this study was to research the effect of the rubric on the level of learners' cognitive engagement and to explore the effectiveness of Web-based concurrent discussions experienced by learners. The participants were 20 undergraduate students of D Women's University and they were divided into six groups for concurrent discussions in…

This paper describes and analyzes a Debate-Discussion Learning Project designed to foster student engagement with the subject matter and each other in reflective and analytical dialogues. This project is a significant component of a course, The Rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement, which has a major goal of understanding how the legacy of racial…

Although educators believe in the importance of dialogue and dialogic encounters, and often propose to engage their students in "discussion," dialogic communication is rarely used in the classroom. Rather than through relational and substantive conversation, most educational dialogue in public schools is limited to telling, asking one-way…

The author, a 5th-grade teacher, offers strategies intended to assist and encourage ELL students to participate in academic conversations. They include insisting that children take part in conversations despite their apprehension and teaching them the language they need to communicate their ideas. One strategy is Think, Pair, Share--a simple…

Research consistently demonstrates the benefits of employing classroom discussions; however, there has been less attention given to teaching students about discussions. The current research compared 2 advanced social psychology courses: 1 without (control) and 1 with (experimental) a week devoted to learning about and discussing discussions.…

Columbia University offers two innovative undergraduate science-based bioethics courses for student majoring in biosciences and pre-health studies. The goals of these courses are to introduce future scientists and healthcare professionals to the ethical questions they will confront in their professional lives, thus enabling them to strategically…