Plenty of reports and research have documented the achievement gap between black males and other students. But few have acknowledged that current structures and practices have contributed to that gap. To address the low achievement of black males, schools must be willing to accept that there are ways of looking at the world, modes of…

This case study reports on patterns of participation in a virtual collaboratory organised around goals associated with the involvement of graduate students in research and writing projects. Traditionally, distance learning classrooms have been devoted to teaching content matter (in a virtual context) yet this case study reports on the use of…

This study examines interactions between teachers and students during reading comprehension instruction to determine how certain patterns of teacher-student talk support student comprehension achievement and reading engagement. The central focus of the study is "conceptual press discourse," a pattern of teacher response that includes requests for…

This article explores the possibilities of graphic novels with young readers. During the 2009-2010 school year, while working with four fifth-grade students, the author examined the question "In what ways do readers engage while reading a graphic novel?" The fifth graders took part in book discussions and one-on-one interviews after reading two…

A great deal of research by legal studies scholars pertains to employment law, international law, and corporate governance, as well as other fields including ethics and international law. The fields typically addressed are very important and rightfully receive considerable attention in the scholarship and textbooks. However, bankruptcy as a…

This essay argues for a particular form of student blogging as a powerful tool for generating and sustaining student engagement and conversation. After a brief discussion of pedagogical principles, "hub-and-spoke" blogging is presented as a means to facilitate a more student and discussion-centered classroom. Based upon recent research and the…

This article outlines the "Inquiry Cycle" at Ilam School in New Zealand. It is underpinned by the main tenets of the New Zealand Curriculum "Teaching as Inquiry" statement. Ilam's cycle involves seven core elements that evolved over a two-year, whole-school journey focused on developing a meaningful localised curriculum…

Summiteers are people who rush to the top. There is a mountain summit and a metaphorical summit inside us which we can climb. In the area of mountain summits, Reinhold Messner is surely the best known and most successful summiteer. He climbed, among other things, the highest peak on earth without supplemental oxygen. In the language of the country…

This study is an exploration of alternative teacher professional development. While using symbolic interactionism for a research lens, it characterizes the discursive practices commonly found in formal, informal, and blended-space speech communities based on the talk within a leadership-development program comprised of five female, church-based…

This study examined the influences of online and blended instructional delivery methods, as defined by the Sloan Consortium (2006), and the influences of adult learner discussions on engagement in a classroom. Asynchronous and hybrid delivery methods were examined through the learner's perceptions of the level of discussion, community, and teacher…

This discussion paper outlines processes, as well as opportunities and constraints, for "enabling" BC Transfer System institutions to enhance transfer credit information in the BC Transfer Guide, making it more reflective of institutional practices and student mobility. BCCAT's focus is increasing the availability of transfer credit…

This study explores the impact of using assessment items with competing theories to encourage students to practice evaluative reflection and collaborative argumentation in asynchronous discussions. Thirty undergraduate students from various departments worked in small groups and took turns collaboratively discussing the given item's answer,…

A comparison was made between students' overall performance, as measured by overall grade, in different teaching and learning protocols: (1) traditional textbook and lecture along with standard examinations; (2) lectures with online augmentation and PowerPoint lecture notes along with standard examinations; (3) similar to "(2)" but with…

Proficiency in oral communication is necessary in school and in society. To do well in the different curriculum areas, pupils must speak with clarity and understanding. For example, in a discussion group in the social studies involving the topic "the pros and cons of raising taxes," pupils need to express knowledgeable ideas with appropriate voice…

A wealth of research suggests the importance of classroom discussion of controversial issues for adequately preparing students for participation in democratic life. Teachers, and the larger public, however, still shy away from such discussion. Much of the current research seeking to remedy this state of affairs focuses exclusively on developing…