The community of inquiry (CoI) framework identifies three essential elements--social, cognitive, and teaching presences--that are crucial for fostering a successful online learning experience. This study utilized the CoI framework to examine whether differences existed in students' perceived CoI presences between online and face-to-face sections…

This qualitative case study delved into students' understanding and positioning while they participated in solving an authentic, conceptually-based problem in a high-school chemistry class. Verbal and nonverbal cues, particularly gestures, offered broader awareness of students' engagement in sensemaking during the learning experience. The…

This mixed methods study examines 126 community college students enrolled in developmental reading courses at a mid-sized Southwestern community college. These students participated in a survey-based study regarding their reading experiences and practices, social influence upon those practices, reading sponsorship, and reading self-efficacy. The…

Noted educator Carol Ann Tomlinson shares the insights that shaped her thinking about informative assessment. Informative assessment goes beyond tests and the grade book. It means assessing students both formally and informally in multiple ways and giving frequent, productive feedback on student work. Informative assessment isn't separate from…

Following research that documented inadequate motivation as a problem through assessment of academic performance, student motivational surveys, teacher class records, and teacher journal entries, a program was conducted to increase the level of motivation of junior high school students in a middle-class community in central Illinois. Observations…

English departments are increasingly under pressure to offer writing courses online, but research that informs effective pedagogies--including effective ways to respond to students' drafts--is still limited. By investigating students' perceptions of online teacher response to student writing, this study suggests that in order to develop sound…

Described are five approaches to teaching reading: Language Experience, Modified Alphabet, Linguistic, Programmed, and Basal. It is suggested that a good teacher, well trained, certified in his or her profession, an active participant in professional organizations, can teach reading successfully using almost any approach. (KC)