The aim of this study was to describe, reflect upon, and create a deeper understanding of aspects relevant for promoting a positive school environment from a student perspective. The data was analyzed by using an inductive phenomenological method and based on written responses from 200 Swedish students from grades 5-9. The results indicated that…

Every February, schools celebrate Black History Month and teachers teach the grand narrative of famous African Americans such as Martin Luther King, Jr. While the stories communicate bravery, they are also about racism and violence. Here, through narrative inquiry, a teacher deconstructs Black History Month, inviting student responses to stories…

This self-study describes the development and use in a preservice literacy course of the first author's narrative of her own schooling. The introduction to that narrative is included in this paper. The full text of the narrative also describes the impact of school readiness, resource placement, transience, poverty, and teachers' responses and…

This study investigated associations between teacher-student interaction and students' persistence to complete written electron configurations in a high school chemistry classroom. Analyses of the interactions were guided with an Expectancy-Value framework to identify the discourse strategies used by the teacher to build engagement in a classroom…

This study presents three case studies of students' participation patterns in an online discussion to address the gap in our current understanding of how "individuals" experience asynchronous learning environments. Cases were constructed via microanalysis of log-file data, post contents, and the evolving discussion structure. The first student was…

This article describes an innovative collaboration between graduate students and a faculty member to co-design and co-teach a graduate-level workshop-style qualitative methods course. The goal of co-designing and co-teaching the course was to involve advanced graduate students in all aspects of designing a syllabus and leading class discussions in…

There has been a steady growth of the K-12 student population taking courses online. This study examined reasons for students to choose a public online charter school program and their perceptions of online discussion. A survey was sent to 1,500 students newly enrolled in a statewide public online charter school program. From those who responded,…

Institutions of postsecondary education are poised to leverage the presence of racial diversity to educate for social change. The purpose of this study was to examine how a race/ethnicity intergroup dialogue facilitates the development of confidence and frequency of white college students' engagement in actions that are congruent with the…

This article explores perspectives and strands of thought among teachers from five countries about power dynamics in learning environments, perspectives on power of dominant cultures and impacts of power on concepts of citizenship and social justice. Discourses revealed teachers have some understanding of how power impacts teaching and learning,…

Time is limited. Teachers often struggle to address the diverse needs of learners in their classrooms, especially when faced with academic and social skills concerns. Finding effective ways to teach social skills in the context of academic instruction makes sense. Books by Dr. Seuss provide a variety of high-interest stories that can be used to…

The world over, secondary school science is viewed mainly as a practical subject. This may be one reason why effectiveness of teaching approaches in science education has often been judged on the kinds of practical activity with which teachers and students engage. In addition to practical work, language--often written (as in science texts) or oral…

Numerous studies have shown both anecdotal and formal evidence of the benefits students obtain from doing writing activities in classes. Little formal discussion exists about how student writing in geography classes professionally affects faculty. In this article, focus shifts from student-derived benefits of writing in classes to faculty…

What is an action learning set (ALS)? An ALS is a regular, action focused peer discussion group, generally facilitated, to address work place issues. Methods of undertaking ALS: methods are flexible within a range of approaches according to the group's developing needs. Benefits of ALS: builds trust, professional development, enables action,…

Purpose: This article explores the views of Smallholder Marketing Cooperatives' (SMCs) leaders and staff, to gain insight about the particular roles SMCs play in facilitating smallholders' market access. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conceptualized and executed two international workshops in which participants from 42 SMCs from 24…

This article describes the structure of academic discussions during the implementation of a literacy curriculum in the upper elementary grades. The authors examine the quality of academic discussion, using existing discourse analysis frameworks designed to evaluate varying attributes of classroom discourse. To integrate the overlapping qualities…