This paper is based on a qualitative study that investigated graduate student perspectives of online discussions in higher education courses. The data are drawn primarily from interviews and student journal entries. The study examined student experiences of online discussions from a "technorealist" perspective thereby taking into account…

This professional development series is designed to accompany and help put into practice the ideas in Eric Toshalis and Michael J. Nakkula's Students at the Center paper, "Motivation, Engagement, and Student Voice," and their chapter, "Prioritizing Motivation and Engagement," in "Anytime, Anywhere: Student-Centered…

In the twenty-first century, learning and the definition of education is changing. New digital, online, and social tools have the ability to transform the classroom and engage learners like never before. In the midst of this technological revolution, it is crucial for educators and administrators to be able to gauge the impact of digital tools on…

The 160 third, seventh, and eleventh-graders involved in this study agreed, almost unanimously, that reading was "important." Participants cited the empowering benefits of reading as they justified this opinion. However, with regards to the enjoyment of reading, fewer middle and high school participants reported "liking"…

This article derives from a critical discourse analysis study that reports the characteristics of elementary school students' power and solidarity relations in English as a foreign language classroom in Bogotá, Colombia, while we were doing our teaching English as a foreign language practicum. The study was based on theories of power and…

There has been much debate on the concept of student as customer/consumer in higher education but little empirical research, most of which lacks a solid theoretical framework. This article summarises the key arguments in the literature and their shortcomings, proposes a framework to analyse student perceptions and behaviour, and reports research…

Despite the growing number of students on the autism spectrum in postsecondary institutions around the nation, there is a paucity of literature dealing with issues and interventions related to creating inclusive, collegiate learning environments from the perspectives of both faculty and these students. Therefore, this study sought to gain a deeper…

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of Hmong students regarding the Upward Bound Program and how those perceptions related to their participation in the program. A critical ethnography of Hmong students in the Upward Bound Program was conducted and included an examination of potential inequities by creating a literal…

This article discusses why students should play a designer role in the creation of new (and better!) school experiences. Choosing a school is only the first step in planning an academic career. After making a selection, students must match interests and passions with an academic program and make important decisions about which courses to take and…

This article explores how leadership can help to enable student voice to occur in schools. We find that the relationship between teachers and the school leader is a critical context for enabling voice. Specifically, we find that the following concepts were important for efforts to enable and foster student voice: (1) clear vision of school that is…

Questions about the nature and extent of students' active involvement and influence within schools and the wider community prompted this author to investigate ways in which student voice, as one important manifestation of active participation, was translated into action through a "students as researchers" activity. A three-phase…

The "Handbook on Innovations in Learning", published in 2014, responded to a call by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to "leverage the innovation and ingenuity this nation is known for to create programs and projects that every school can implement to succeed." In December 2015, passage of the "Every Student Succeeds…

The paper considers theoretical notions of power in relation to student voice. As an action-oriented practice some aspects of student voice have received little theorisation as yet. This paper aims to contribute to a growing body of work on student voice which is addressing its current theoretical under-elaboration. It does so by concentrating on…

Motivation, one of the leading problems in education, is an ongoing issue for teachers. Motivation is important because it highly contributes to achievement. Teachers have to be certain that their students are being motivated in order to develop a positive outcome. This article suggests some strategies to sustain students' classroom motivation.

A poetry workshop can present opportunities to integrate students' knowledge and perspectives in classroom contexts, encouraging the use of language for expression, communication, learning and even empowerment. This paper describes how adolescent students respond to a poetry workshop in an English classroom centred on teaching writing that is…