As the instructor of a multicultural education course for preservice teachers, I have attempted to guide my students in critiquing and reconceptualizing the deficit view of students, particularly minority students, endemic to the American school system. Yet I am faced with a dilemma: Is the fact that I believe my own students have deficit views of…

Stephen Schneider's perspective on climate change communication is distinguished by its longevity, a keen anticipation of research findings, historical understanding, and grounding in first-person experience. In this article, the author elaborates Schneider's work in terms of its key claims, suggestive research directions, and lessons for…

The reflecting team (RT) is an innovative method used in the training and supervision of family counselors. In this article, I trace the history, development, and current uses of RTs and review current findings on RTs. In my opinion, many users of RTs have diverged from their original theoretical principles and have adopted RTs mainly as a…

For the forty-first time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains twenty-seven…

Blogs are increasingly used in formal education to create personal learning environments, providing self-directed learners with more freedom, choice, and control over their learning. This paper will share findings of a study where students at the tertiary level were asked to commence blogs as a supplementary platform to engage in the learning of…

The gist of the entire constructivist learning theory is that learners are self-builders of their learning that occurs through a mental process in a social context or communication setting, and teachers as facilitators generate learning by creating the expected environment and/or utilizing the process. This article theoretically proves…

This study furthers the understanding of the connections between learning approaches and learning. The research population embraced 44 males from the Jewish ultraorthodox community, who abide by distinct methods of study. One group follows the very didactic, linear and structured approach of a methodical and gradual order, while the second group…

This research project sought to examine the ways in which early childhood preservice teachers develop an understanding of diversity and the teacher's role in supporting learning in diverse classrooms. Preservice teachers in their initial foundations course and in their initial placements in early childhood settings were participants in the…

Many Australian state primary schools have a policy to use generalist teachers to teach music as well as many other subjects, however research indicates that primary generalist teachers lack confidence and competence to teach music in their classrooms. Added to this, preservice teachers enter their initial teacher education course with little or…

In recent research, little attention has been paid to issues of methodology and analysis methods to evaluate the quality of the collaborative learning community. To address such issues, an attempt is made to adopt the Activity System Model as an analytical framework to examine the relationship between computer supported collaborative learning…

Many immigrant children might face challenges in maintaining their heritage languages--that is, continuing using their first languages (L1s) or the L1s of their parents. Factors such as pressure from schools and the desire to assimilate into the mainstream society might lead these children to learn a dominant language at the cost of losing their…

This article presents the results of an analysis of student perceptions about speakers of Spanish in the United States before and after participation in a university course on U.S. Spanish that incorporates a hands-on research component. Three arguments are made here: That these perceptions influence their day-to-day relationship with bilingual…

This action research was a form of "appreciative enquiry" into my practice with my group of Bachelor in Education (TESL) students. I have adopted a postmodernist approach to research as narrative; that is "research as it is experienced" and not just "research as it is described". I used a project as an approach to…

This article explores the use of blogs for pre-service language teacher education in two national settings, the UK (University of Cambridge) and the US (University of South Florida). Taking two approaches to blogging and to learning through blogging (one based on self-reflection and a constructivist approach and one based on social and…

The purpose of this article is to identify some issues related to ethical and moral dispositions in teacher education programs. My intent is to provide a starting point for gaining a professional consensus on the ways that teacher educators approach the definition, assessment, and development of dispositions in their teacher education programs. To…