In this study, the PTEchLS WebQuest on Gas Laws was evaluated. It was designed for Form Four students with active learning styles. The focus of the evaluation was on the usability and effectiveness of the PTechLS WebQuest. Data were collected from interviews and students' achievement scores. Two teachers and eight students volunteered to…

The purpose of this action research was to investigate how the use of technology promotes interaction to foster high school students' mathematical understanding. This mixed method study is guided by social-constructivist theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and framed within Moore's (1989) model of learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner…

The aim of this study is to reveal how well online communities of practice (oCoPs) help teachers share explicit knowledge and bring their tacit knowledge to the surface. An Internet based oCoP platform called "The Professional Development Circle" (The PDC) was developed for this study. The study was conducted in two phases: 1) a…

Spiritual development and nonheterosexual identity development are both slippery topics that are individually complex and multifaceted. Scholars from various disciplines have called for a deeper understanding of the intersection of spirituality and nonheterosexual identity (Buchanan, Dzelme, Harris & Hecker, 2001; Love, Bock Jannarone, &…

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative case study was to explore teacher perceptions and use of the Internet as a tool for constructivist learning. Based on a review of the literature, some researchers concluded that the Internet may be a catalyst for an instructional paradigm towards constructivism (Collins, 1991; Sheingold, 1991; Hadley &…

As increasing numbers of educators explore the use of virtual worlds for education, there is a need to consider which pedagogical approaches can provide an opportunity to do more than recreate the traditional classroom by leveraging the unique characteristics and potential that the technology can offer. This study identifies Communal…

This qualitative inquiry explored the personal reading interests of 42 10th-grade students as they selected and began reading a novel. The study's goal was to inform those interested in supporting students' reading interests of what students from one rural school could and could not verbalize about their personal reading interests. The…

Science education is concerned with the meaningful pursuit of comprehension, knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes. In Vygotskian social constructivist learning, personal interpretation, decision-making and community cooperation fosters long-term understanding and transference of learned concepts. The construction of…

Research has shown that simply linking learners from different countries using technology does not automatically bring about learning benefits; instead it frequently ends in tensions that, if not addressed, could potentially hinder learning. Using the lens of Vygotsky-inspired sociocultural theory, activity theory, and Engestrom's activity systems…

With technology changing the world at a rapid rate, the impact of ubiquitous computing in the classroom has had an influence on education. As the number of one-to-one laptop initiatives grows, the need for further research on the effects of teaching and learning also increases. This case study sought to examine changes in teaching that resulted…

The purpose of this case study was to examine students' perceptions of their learning experiences while working on a real world instructional design project in a performance oriented team in the context of a situated and problem-based learning environment. Participants were 11 graduate students enrolled in a learning-by-doing instructional design…

A decade of research studies document that while blended learning has experienced rapid growth on K-12 campuses, little is known about its diverse impacts on teachers in secondary schools. Narrowing this knowledge gap was the purpose of this study, as it addressed questions relating to the extent to which high school practitioners blended subject…

Is instructor presence important in an online distance education class? Yes, said the students of this mixed methods research study. Students (n=241) enrolled in 31 Web-based sections of classes at four Midwestern post-secondary institutions in two different states were surveyed. The survey instrument included both the Rovai Classroom Community…

To understand the student experience on social software, the research aims to explore the disruptive nature and opportunity of social networking for higher education. Taking four universities, the research: (1) identifies the distinction between the students' current usage of social software; (2) reports on the students' experience on…

The use of authentic tasks is derived from social constructivist principles of locating learning in the context of reality. Authentic tasks can foster learning transfer because collaboration among students not only helps them learn the concepts under discussion, but also exemplifies how these concepts are used in real-world contexts. To achieve a…