Conferencing gives teachers and students opportunities to discuss student writing and provide feedback in individual settings. Practitioner guides offer suggestions on how conferences can be conducted, but little is known about what types of interactions occur. Two case studies, including a cross-case analysis, were conducted to describe key…

By analyzing the audio recording and transcription of classroom discourse, this case study focused on the ways in which the instructor used follow-up statements to socialize students into intellectual talk. Four relevant categories of follow-up statements emerged: (a) revoicing, (b) contextualization, (c) parallel elaboration, and (d) assistive…

According to our experience, facilitating online reflective writing via Facebook motivates students to improve their writing skills and reflective thinking. Six students and a teacher from an urban school in the northern region of Malaysia were involved in this study. The qualitative data in the form of online archives were categorized as…

In this paper, we draw on Actor-Network Theories (ANT) to explore how material components functioned to create gateways and barriers to a virtual learning network in the context of a professional development module in higher education. Students were practitioners engaged in family learning in different professional roles and contexts. The data…

This study sought to establish whether and how writing their own reflections in open online reflective journals (ORJs) can encourage and support online learners to engage in self formative assessment and meaningful reflections. The study employed case-study methodology within the context of postgraduate teacher education. The study findings show…

The existing literature on indicators of an optimal learning environment for high-ability students frequently discusses the concept of challenge. It is, however, not clear what, precisely, constitutes appropriate challenge for these students. In this study, the authors examined an undergraduate honours course, Advanced Cell Biology, which has…

Microteaching Lesson Study [MLS] combines elements of Japanese lesson study and microteaching. A case study of MLS was conducted with 18 prospective teachers in an initial course on learning to teach. Various data sources (i.e., pre- and post-lesson plans, MLS lesson plans, videotaped lessons, transcripts of group discussions, observation field…

The purpose of the this study was to explore how peer coaches support the development of collaborative communication skills in an online format for consultants in training (CITs). The program examined was Instructional Consultation which pairs a consultant with a teacher to work collaboratively to resolve the teacher's concern regarding a student.…

Within education there has been considerable research into the process of learning to teach. This has often taken the form of investigations of trainee-teachers' knowledge and beliefs. However, within ELT, empirical research into the development of trainees' thinking whilst taking a formal training programme is limited. This article reports on a…