Learning to facilitate whole-class mathematical discussions is a complex task. Teachers must become adept at using discourse moves to elicit and extend student thinking and move discussions towards a mathematical point. Practice-based mathematics methods courses give pre-service teachers opportunities to rehearse these moves in a controlled…

Researchers have argued that Twitter has potential to support high-quality professional development (PD) that can respond to teachers' questions and concerns just in time and "on the spot." Yet, very little attention has been paid to instances where Twitter has made just-in-time learning possible. In this paper, we examine one instance…

This article revisits Douglas Barnes's book-length exploration of the implications for teachers of a constructivist epistemology, notably in relation to the importance of small-group talk in classrooms. Empirically based consideration of small-group exploratory pupil-pupil talk enabled Barnes to reveal the learning strategies such a context…

Critical approaches to Whiteness, heteronormativity, masculinity, and educational privileges have contributed in recent years to a greater focus on structural privileges. Various studies have established that structural privileges often remain invisible for the privileged individuals themselves (Bourdieu and Passeron 1997; Frankenberg 1993;…

In this study, we examined whether gendered discourse styles were evidenced in online, synchronous, physics collaborative learning group discussions, and the extent to which such discourse patterns were related to the uptake of ideas within the group. We defined two discourse styles: the oppositional/direct style, theorized to be the socialized…

Research has addressed what instructional conditions may inhibit or promote scientific argumentation. Little research, however, has paid attention to interpersonal factors that influence collaborative argumentation. The present study examines the ways interpersonal factors affected group dynamics, which influence the features of collaborative…

Establishing a communication-rich classroom can be difficult. This article describes the process and findings of a practitioner action research study addressing the question of how teachers can interact with their students while they are working in groups to encourage and enhance student-to-student communication. Recommended research-based teacher…

This study is an exploration of alternative teacher professional development. While using symbolic interactionism for a research lens, it characterizes the discursive practices commonly found in formal, informal, and blended-space speech communities based on the talk within a leadership-development program comprised of five female, church-based…

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…

This study examines the use of narrative and paradigmatic modes of explanation in large group discussions about science in preschool classrooms. Participants comprised students and teachers in 29 preschool classrooms, 19 of which used the ScienceStart! curriculum, a hands-on, inquiry approach to teaching science with young children. Analyses of…

This paper examines the effectiveness of routinizing lexical phrases to a group of second language learners. A group of proficiency class students were drilled or routinized with semi-fixed and fixed phrases which are commonly used in problem-solving group discussion. Basic frequency counts and interview were carried out to see improvement in…

The purpose of this study was to examine the discourse in two different group-work contexts in a diverse Algebra 1 class to better understand what and how students working in small groups learn through talking about mathematics. The researcher gathered data in four categories: participant observation, interviews, collection of artifacts, and…

Describes the nature of online chats in terms of how graduate students structured their conversations in online group discussions, and how they participated and conversed in and across concurrent conversations. Characteristics of the computer medium contributed to the conversational structures and the kinds of structures affected interactivity and…

An Internet user talks about her experiences as a result of a graduate-level class, "Telecommunications in the Classroom," at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Discussion focuses on the Internet community and the various kinds of talk on the Internet, including bulletin boards, real time, creative, political, expert, international,…

Explores the co-shaping of public and private discourse and some of the circumstances under which one occasions the other in the evolution of mathematical thinking by pairs of 13-year-olds. Provides evidence that adolescents within novel problem situations can experience some difficulty in making their emergent thinking available to partners in…