Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have been growing in popularity with educational researchers, instructors, and learners in online environments. Online discussions are as important in MOOCs as in other online courses. Online discussions that occur in MOOCs are influenced by additional factors resulting from their volatile and voluntary…

Over the past eight years, the author has had the pleasure of facilitating discussion groups with gifted middle and high school students. These groups focus on affective concerns, giving students the opportunity to talk about issues they have in common and how life looks and feels through the lens of giftedness. The best school situation for…

This paper reports on two upper primary teachers' use of particular scaffolding practices, individual discussion and the use of manipulatives. The cognitive and affective impact on four low-attaining students in these classes is described. The teachers and students were observed during eight to ten sequential tasks. "Scaffolding…

The instructional approach used in this teaching idea involves high-level cognitive and affective learning rather than passive learning through lecture, which often is the traditional, and ineffective, approach for students being educated about drugs. Objectives: At the conclusion of this drug education teaching strategy, students will be able to:…

Assuming that readers' emotional responses can enhance readers' metacognitive experiences and inform literary analysis, this study of 11th-grade poetry readers features instruction that models both cognitive and affective reading processes. The author: (1) Presents a case for more explicit attention to emotion in language arts classrooms; (2)…

To understand the role of affect in classroom discussion, the authors asked 16 students taking a 3-hr seminar to participate in a semester-long grounded theory inquiry. Coding of classroom observations, stimulated recall interviews, and self-ratings from each class meeting resulted in a model of affect as a catalyst in students' experience of…

This article addresses how close relationships can be conceptualized so that they can be accurately understood over the life span. First, two typical clusters of theories of close relationships, the attachment theory and the social network theory, are compared and discussed with regard to their fundamental but controversial assumptions regarding…

A weekly group-counseling session is used with students having a range of mental and emotional disabilities in order to improve awareness and sharing of emotions, increase the repertoire of feeling words, increase listening ability, and develop empathy. Six groups composed of five to seven students each are involved, with students ranging in age…

Discusses Louis Ormont's theory of group experience and the effectiveness of the Group Meeting and Triad Resolutions processes--part of his Group Process--in modifying the behavior of kindergartners. Suggests that children learn to take charge of their own behavior and are strengthened by feelings of group membership and personal empowerment.…

This study investigated the effects of attendance at a panel featuring gay and lesbian speakers on self-reported measures of individual homophobia. A total of 200 female and 120 male college students enrolled in human sexuality classes were randomly assigned to pretest or no pretest conditions and completed surveys before, after, and one month…