The aim of this study is to evaluate the capacity of an e-learning tool (blog) to facilitate reflection among students as part of collaborative group learning. The paper provides insights into student attitudes towards blogs as an interactive and reflective learning tool. Additionally, the study highlights the differences between domestic and…

This paper argues that all students, whatever their linguistic identities, can benefit from an explicit and structured introduction to academic writing. It argues that this tuition should no longer be seen as support, and therefore marginalised, but as a transformative process of acculturation that needs to be located in the mainstream of the…

Reflection is a key component of service learning, but research shows that in order to maximize learning, the reflection must be of high quality. This paper compares the affordances of three different models of written reflection in engendering students' higher-order thought processes. Student reflections were compared across axes of guided versus…

This generation of technology is characterized by mobile and portable devices such as smartphones and tablet computers with wireless broadband access. Mobile technologies enable a new kind of learning called "here and now learning," where learners have access to information anytime and anywhere to perform authentic activities in the…

Creative problem solving which results in novel and effective ideas or products is most advanced when learners can analyze, evaluate, and refine their ideas to improve creative solutions. The purpose of this investigation was to examine creative problem solving performance in undergraduate students and determine the tasks that support critical…

This study applied an Integrated Triadic Model (ITM) to a social studies methods course and measured the extent that preservice teachers' TPACK changed. The study also gathered beliefs about the effectiveness of course activities for developing TPACK. Data collected and analyzed from self-assessment surveys and reflective writings indicated an…

Undergraduate students' reports of their service-learning course experiences and their gains from participation in those courses were investigated with a sample of 250 students at Tulane University. The students completed a survey in which they rated their service-learning courses in terms of three aspects: Value of Service, Focus on Service, and…

In this essay I explore the tensions between the static nature of standardised assessment and the dynamic student-focussed approach to appreciating literature that I value. I have closely analysed two of a series of lessons on the gothic literary genre taught by a student teacher on her first placement. By reflecting critically on my own journey…

This paper discusses and examines the effectiveness of course assignments designed to promote reflection processes and critical thinking of pre-service teachers. Specifically, the study explores and identifies the range of students' level of reflectivity and critical examination of their own developing pedagogy, with foci on content knowledge,…

The field of professional development is moving towards the notion of professional learning, highlighting the active learning role that teachers play in changing their knowledge bases, beliefs and practice. This article builds on this idea and argues for creating professional learning that is guided by a collaborative action research (CAR)…

This paper examines a good practice for service learning that has been implemented for years in TESOL Internship, a professional unit for students doing Master of Arts (MA) in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at a major university in Australia. The author has investigated and identified three key features of a good practice…

The study examined the impact of the conjunction of structured journal writing and reading for pleasure on students' reading and writing skills. Forty male students from UAE University participated in the study. The participants are of different academic abilities, majors and nationalities. Many of them have little experience with reading for…

We explore the place that the digital can occupy in teachers' pedagogical practices around social justice and especially how memory-work can deepen and enhance teacher practices. Like Walter Benjamin, we see memory as being a medium for exploring the past and where the digital provides greater opportunities for teachers to work productively across…

Critical discussion of the social conditions that shape educational thinking and practice is now embedded in accredited Australian teacher education programmes. Beneath beliefs that critique of educational inequality is desirable, however, lie more problematic questions around critical pedagogies, ethics and power. Emotional investments can work…

The purpose of this article is to outline the implementation of a summer reading project targeted at middle school students with identified reading deficits and behavioral concerns called Pathway to Graduation (PTG). The project was a collaborative process between a school district, local university, and department of mental health. The students…