In this paper, the author discusses an exercise she uses requiring students to view a popular film that portrays a particular mental disorder or a character with a mental disorder. Students analyze the film and write two papers, one about the sociological model of mental illness and a second about possible links between media images and the…

The interest to improve the quality of teaching in higher education has led to the involvement of a group of faculty members at the University of Granada Faculty of Education in an Action-Research (A-R) experience titled "Towards a model of collaborative lecture throughout the analysis of their educational tasks." This has been an…

This study investigated students' use of an asynchronous communication tool as part of a "hybrid" class that included face-to-face meetings and Web-enhanced instructional activities. The researchers analyzed communication patterns used during asynchronous discussions about class projects and case studies. Also, they examined type of interactions…

A structure for online discussion within a framework for deep learning provides three strategies for dynamic online discussion; flexible peer, structured topic, and collaborative task discussion. This article examines the discussion structure and the three separate roles demonstrated by the instructor in the promotion of deep learning through the…

Objective: Studies spanning nearly 4 decades demonstrate that doctors ignore or dismiss many patient bids for discussion of psychosocial topics. We sought to understand characteristics of doctors, patients, and visits in which this occurs. Methods: Reanalysis of 167 audiotapes from 2 studies of parent-doctor communication in a pediatric residents'…

This article examines the structure of topic movement within face-to-face postgraduate university seminar discussion forums through a conversation analytic approach. The analysis of 12 audio recordings of seminars showed that in spite of clear differences in the management style of sessions by seminar leaders there were important consistencies in…

This paper is part of a larger project in the area of research. The main purpose of this mediated discourse was to implement, observe and analyse experiences of teachers in a training project developed for two different settings in the classroom. The first was between international classrooms through cyberspace and the second was a cyberspace…

This paper reports on a study which contrasts results obtained using semantic and syntactic units of analysis in a context of content analysis of an online asynchronous discussion. The paper presents a review of literature on both types of units. The data set consisted of 80 messages posted by ten participants in an online learning module. Data…

This paper approaches the theme of this special issue, the distinctive contribution of new technologies to collaborative thinking and learning, through an analysis of postings to an EdD bulletin board. Bourdieu's concept of habitus as socialised subjectivity is manifestly appropriate to the focus on professionality, the key theme of the course. A…

In this article, the author explores her teaching experiences in order to better understand the nature of the professional knowledge needed to make use of conflict and to manage a particular teaching dilemma. The author's intention is to show that such a personal inquiry can reveal ways in which her story is a telling case that may enable others…

Civic education, democratic principles, peace and war are tangled together in many ways. When teachers teach children to be citizens, they inform them of processes and practices in which they can and should engage; they inform them of the relations they are to have with their state through its proper institutions; they teach them what they can…

Many online classes use synchronous communication--chat--as a way to conduct class discussion. However, chat can quickly disintegrate into nonproductive chaos if allowed to flow unchecked. The tools provided by course management systems such as Blackboard provide one solution to this problem by allowing instructors to grant or deny access to…

There are many questions to be asked about the pedagogical practice of questioning. Questions provide insight into what students at any age or grade level already know about a topic, which provides a beginning point for teaching. Questions reveal misconceptions and misunderstandings that must be addressed for teachers to move student thinking…

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of online synchronous audio and video systems on the performance of cooperative learning in decision making and intellective tasks. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 156 subjects, divided into 46 groups, were invited to resolve decision and intellective tasks in text messaging and audio conferencing…

We designed an interrupted case study to teach aerobic cellular respiration to major and nonmajor biology students. The case is based loosely on a real-life incident of rotenone poisoning. It places students in the role of a coroner who must determine the cause of death of the victim. The case is presented to the students in four parts. Each part…