This seven-month ethnographic case study elucidated a kindergarten student's navigation through her first formal schooling experience with relation to expressive oral language. Gee's theory of Discourses and methodology of discourse analysis were used to examine expressive oral language in use. Two discursive contexts germane to…

In order to address concerns with the underrepresentation of spatial thinking in K-12 curricula, (National Research Council, 2006), Valentine and Kopcha (in press) designed and implemented a learning environment integrating cases as alternative perspective (Jonassen, 2011) in the context of eighth-grade mathematics. The design aimed to provide…

This qualitative study examines critical pedagogy in Japanese adult basic education. The research focuses on what teachers and others think the current conditions are for education that deals with social justice. As part of this, the research looks at how critical pedagogy is conceptualized in this context. Participants in the study (literacy…

This article presents results from a research project exploring the relational interplay between school staff and students, its functions and complexity in the secondary school context. School relationships (between students and different kinds of staff) are more or less indirectly related to educational content: subject matter as well as norms…

This study focuses on using wikis as a learning environment, as part of a professional development program for chemistry teacher leaders. The study was performed in Israel and involved 20 chemistry teachers. One goal was to investigate how using wiki may promote effective science teacher professional development. Various aspects of the teachers'…

To help the United States stay globally competitive in terms of innovation and invention, the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has become a priority in P-12 education today. As the need for students to become stronger in STEM grows, so does the need for well-qualified STEM teachers who understand what is needed…

The practicum provides an opportunity for preservice teachers to apply knowledge and skills in actual classroom settings. Thus, it serves as a central component of virtually all teacher education programmes. This study focused the views of 16 preservice science teachers on their practicum experiences. Individual interviews were made to construct a…

This paper reports on the findings of a study into the use of ePortfolios as personal learning environments (PLE) by a group of students pursuing Master's degrees in Education. The qualitative study explores the potential of the ePortfolio to support learners in engaging in formative peer and tutor feedback as well as in developing a learning…

In this paper I consider the case of one student, Todd Alexander, through analyzing the transcripts of his interviews between him and his teacher (Wolff-Michael Roth). I examine the role that emotions play in the development of the interpretive repertoires that Todd employed as he talked about his scientific and his religious beliefs. I identify…

In this paper the online construction of disability is investigated and the implications for educators working in virtual worlds are considered. Based on the analysis of data collected through interviews with deaf residents of "Second Life", it is argued that research into online identity, disability and education needs to allow room for…

This paper presents a study that used narrative inquiry to explore staff experiences of learning and teaching in immersive worlds. The findings introduced issues relating to identity play, the relationship between pedagogy and play and the ways in which learning, play and fun were managed (or not). At the same time there was a sense of imposed or…

This study probes more deeply on defining the "reform agenda" and answering the question, "How do coaches balance pushing the reform agenda and meeting the immediate needs of school staff?" This study first teases apart what coaches mean by "reform agenda" and "immediate needs." The term "reform…