Research stresses the importance of social components in learning. The social contact with peers and tutors stimulates reflection and supports higher processes of learning necessary for the internalisation and application of new knowledge. However, merely proposing opportunities for interaction does not necessarily lead to fruitful discussion and…

Our research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the democracy and human rights course taught with a "Learning Model Based on Democratic Life." The study was conducted with an action research design. The research study group, determined using purposeful sampling, consisted of 10 students taking a Democracy and Human Rights course at a…

A key stimulus of learning efficacy for students in the classroom is active participation and engagement in the learning process. This study examines the nature of teacher-student and student-student discourse when leveraged by an interactive technology--Group Scribbles (GS) in a Primary 5 Science classroom in Singapore which supports rapid…

This paper presents both a conceptual and empirical investigation of teaching and learning in online courses. Employing both the Community of Inquiry framework (CoI) and the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy, two complete online courses were examined for the quality of both collaborative learning processes and learning…

Reports on a small-scale study of 13 dyads working at number tasks that found "sidework," a modified form of associative interaction, gave rise to more high order talk and to more posttest learning than did collaboration. Suggests sidework may have greater potential to enhance students' learning than the collaborative mode. (TJQ)