In this forum, I expand upon Teo and Osborne's discussion of teacher agency and curriculum reform. I take up and build upon their analysis to further examine one teacher's frustration in enacting an inquiry-based curriculum and his resulting accommodation of an AP curriculum. In this way I introduce the concept of misrecognition (Bourdieu and…

Research that centers on literature discussion is growing, particularly within the context of elementary classrooms. Recently, researchers have explored an array of features of engaging and productive discussions, including the importance of the learning community within which discussions occur; the kinds of responses children offer as they talk…

Mathematical discussion allows for students to reflect upon math concepts and understand such concepts at a deeper level. This process of reflection requires a certain amount of internalization on the part of the student. This internalization is facilitated by meeting the needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness as advocated by…

One of the main challenges in tapping the full potential of modern educational software is to devise mechanisms to automatically analyze and adaptively support students' problem solving and learning. A number of such approaches have been developed to teach argumentation skills in domains as diverse as science, the Law, and ethics. Yet,…

Over the past decade Problem-based Learning (PBL) and distance education have been combined as educational approaches in higher education. This combination has been called distributed PBL (dPBL). However, more research is needed to obtain more evidence and deeper insight in how to design and implement dPBL. The present study aims at describing the…

Academic staff members encourage university students to use online student discussion boards within learning management systems to ask and answer questions, share information and engage in discussion. We explore the impact of anonymity on student posting behaviour. An online survey was completed by 131 second year undergraduate psychology students…

Children's, adolescents', and adults' (N = 96 7-8, 10-11, and 13-14-year-olds and university students) epistemological development and its relation to judgments and reasoning about teaching methods was examined. The domain (scientific or moral), nature of the topic (controversial or noncontroversial), and teaching method (direct instruction by…

In this paper, we explore what events, activities, and teaching styles invoke student interest in engineering courses. The research is based on inputs from some of the best and award winning faculty members across disciplines. The activities that professors use to keep students engaged are highlighted. Similarly, the actions that professors take…

Test takers should have a voice in testing practices (Mathew, 2004). However, when incorporating their input, systematic processes to ensure the validity of testing practices must be followed. Such processes allow for test development to be a more democratic process (Shohamy, 2001), without sacrificing the value of the resulting inferences made…

To address the need for greater flexibility in access to higher education, an online graduate course in physiology using case studies was developed and offered in summer 2012. Topics in both animal and human physiology were organized as modules that contained a case study with questions, a prerecorded online lecture, and three research journal…

For a variety of reasons, online education is an increasingly viable option for many students seeking to further their education. Because of this, the demand for online instructors continues to increase. Instructors transitioning to the online environment from the traditional classroom may find teaching online overwhelming. While some practices…

Collaborative and problem-based learning strategies are theorized to be effective methods for strengthening undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) is a collaborative learning technique that engages students in problem solving and discussion under the guidance of a trained peer…

Online Q&A discussion forums have recently become important information resources for students and studies have shown that online discussion forums have a positive influence on learning outcomes. However, it remains unclear how the specific characteristics of these forums contribute to this effect. This paper employed a set of evaluative…

In order to empower citizens to analyze the effects, risk, and value of science, a knowledge of scientific concepts is necessary (Mejlgaard, 2009). The formal educational system plays a role in this endeavor (Gil-Perez & Vilches, 2005). One proposed constructivist practice is the use of social learning activities using verbalized, shared…

Achieving the Dream (ATD) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes among community college students, especially low-income students and students of color. A central ATD strategy is to promote a "culture of evidence," in which colleges collect, analyze, and make decisions based on information about students in…