This paper examines students' mixed perceptions of the use of active learning techniques in undergraduate science lectures. Written comments from over 250 students offered an in-depth view of why students perceive these techniques as helping or hindering their learning and experience. Fourth- and fifth-year students were more likely to view…

This study investigated how a teacher in a multilingual classroom attempted to support learners who are struggling to translate written/verbal mathematics into a symbolic form. Thirty-six Grade ten learners in one multilingual classroom in South Africa were given a written test involving one algebraic question and then a discussion on the solution…

Traditionally, small-group math instruction has been used as a format for reaching children who struggle to understand. Math coach Kassia Omohundro Wedekind uses small-group instruction as the centerpiece of her math workshop approach, engaging all students in rigorous "math exchanges." The key characteristics of these mathematical conversations…

In this study, I considered the development of mathematical meaning related to the Invertible Matrix Theorem (IMT) for both a classroom community and an individual student over time. In this particular linear algebra course, the IMT was a core theorem in that it connected many concepts fundamental to linear algebra through the notion of…

Teacher presence plays a significant role in supporting student learning in online environments. Research shows that teacher presence corresponds to student satisfaction and perceived learning in online courses. However, the teacher needs to restrain his/her presence in student-centered online discussions to promote student voice. This paper…

Background/Context: Discussion is central to mathematics teaching and learning, as well as to mathematics as an academic discipline. Studies have shown that facilitating discussions is complex work that is not easily done or learned. To make such complex aspects of the work of teaching learnable by beginners, recent research has focused on…

In this study, positioning theory was used as a theoretical framework for analyzing facilitator presence and identity in online discussion transcripts. The study has two purposes. First, the study provides a description of naturally occurring facilitator positioning by facilitators and students in two online and two blended classes. Second, it…

While the current reform efforts in Bangladesh require a substantive change in how science is taught, an equally substantive change is needed in the culture of professional practice. This study will, therefore, investigate how science teachers' learning in a professional learning community (PLC) influences the ways in which participant teachers…

Purpose: School effectiveness and instructional leadership research over the past 30 years has largely concluded that principal effects on student achievement are small and indirect. It has been assumed that the principal effect is important but mediated through other school factors. Findings: This experimental study found that one-on-one…

This collaborative research project sought to determine the attributes, skills and expertise/knowledge needed by distance language teachers. The first phase of the project explored tutor perspectives using discussion groups, questionnaires, interviews and a yoked-subject technique. Statements and categories of expertise were identified, elaborated…

This study investigated the effect of time on the development of a community of inquiry by examining an online course offered over two different time periods. The study was guided by the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, "The Internet and Higher Education" 2000; 2(2-3): 87-105). The focus was on a graduate level…

This article presents research on students' experiences of learning through a blend of face-to-face and online discussion. The participants in our study were students enrolled in a foreign policy course at a major Australian university. Students' conceptions of learning through discussion, and their approaches to both face-to-face and online…

Feedback is central to pedagogic theory, and if feedback is to be effective, students need to engage with it and apply it at some point in the future. However, student dissatisfaction with feedback--as evidenced in the National Student Survey--suggests that there are problems which limit student engagement with feedback, such as their perception…

The contribution introduces the present situation and the basic challenges of school social work in Austria. Starting with the perception of a developing "knowledge society" (Höhne, 2004), school is seen as a life place at which social subjects and problems occur and are made manifest. The analyses are based in particular on empirical…

This study examines attitudes to school science classes amongst primary school children, based on the assumption that these will influence their attitudes and choices later in life. 1298 primary school students in grades 4-6 were given a Likert-type questionnaire and asked to provide verbal explanations for their agreement/disagreement with each…