The purpose of the research was to determine experimentally whether the addition of features to enhance learner motivation and collaboration, termed motivational scaffolding, to the ''traditional'' distance learning design improved engagement, and performance, particularly among procrastinators. Two versions of a web-based five-credit study skills…

A dialogic model for the discussion of issues related to Christian privilege and religious oppression of minority religious groups and non-believers in the United States is presented. The goal of the dialogue circles is to create and maintain a true multicultural community on the university campus.

This study describes the usefulness of a simulation, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, in helping newly arrived international students adjust to the academic demands of university life. It outlines various phases of the simulation. The narrative regarding its implementation in the classroom demonstrates how well many international students adapt to the value…

In recent years project-based learning (PBL) incorporating online discussions has gradually been applied to courses that focus on writing projects. Past studies have shown that learners in PBL often face the difficulties of not having in-depth data analysis and peer discussions and how teachers design the rules and methods for online discussions…

The teaching of controversial issues has been widely viewed as preparing students for effective citizenship and, as such, is regarded as inevitable in social studies classrooms if students are to be able to think intelligently and to participate effectively in society. However, the effective implementation of issue-centered education in African…

Background/Context: The theoretical framework of the paper comes from research on problem solving, considered by many to be the essence of mathematics; research on the importance of oral language in learning mathematics; and on the importance of the teacher as the primary instrument of learning mathematics for most students. As a nation, we are…

Two first-grade teachers and a university researcher study children's inquiry-oriented responses to literature to better understand how children's experiences during read-alouds (and in related, later conversations) help them enlist others in their efforts to make sense of race. The authors argue teachers should be making spaces for children's…

In this study, the author used a multiple baseline design to evaluate the effects of a structured intervention on the engagement and initiations of 3 children identified as at-risk for school difficulty. The intervention had two phases. During intervention (Phase 1) the students received 9 15-min instructional sessions. The intervention had 3…

Discusses current research on how children understand the symbol system and its link to meaning; how they learn to write like authors, including editing and writing for different audiences; how they learn to become literary critics and to discover new worlds in books; and how different classroom contexts can encourage different types of literacy…

These classroom guides for the daily CNN (Cable News Network) Newsroom broadcasts for the month of June provide program rundowns, suggestions for class activities and discussions, student handouts, and a list of related news terms. Topics covered by the guides include: (1) amusement park physics, media resources and literacy, and the war in Bosnia…

These classroom guides for the daily CNN (Cable News Network) Newsroom broadcasts for the month of July provide program rundowns, suggestions for class activities and discussion, student handouts, and a list of related news terms. Topics covered by the guides include: (1) British Prime Minister John Major, trade and Tijuana, sports physics, and…

A study was conducted of teacher perceptions of classroom student speaking opportunities at Cook Junior High School in Cypress-Fairbanks I.S.D. during the spring of 1995. Fifty-four academic teachers of language arts, reading, math, science, and social studies were given a questionnaire to answer according to their attitudes concerning…

A study investigated communication patterns among undergraduate student groups using email for instructional discussion at the University of Minnesota. A sample of three 6-person groups was studied over a 7-week period, during which the groups were given three topics to discuss sequentially for instructional purposes. Students used email outside…

This paper focused on student participation in controlling classroom activity. Issue-Based Discussion is described and promoted as a form of activity that can be used in the classroom to both enculturate students into the ready-made-culture of modern, western science and empower them to share in the control of activity as they participate in a…

At Valdosta State University (Georgia), a philosophy course, "A Virtual Classroom: The Electronic Agora," was developed and conducted entirely through computer media. Twenty-one students were in the class. The two main activities, addressing the central objectives of a philosophy course, were: (1) research, and (2) class discussion and…