This study explores the potential of virtual communities of practice (vCoPs) in fostering leadership growth that aligns with the diverse needs and challenges faced by school principals. The study employs a qualitative research design, and conducts semi-structured interviews with 16 school principals from K-12 schools belonging to the Gulf…

Many first-year, low-income STEM students do not remain in STEM majors past their first year nor do they complete STEM degrees. Our project aimed to support low-income, STEM majors financially and promote their STEM identities by creating a learning community focused on developing positive relationships among students, faculty, and peer mentors.…

In schools today, many elementary school teachers have inadequate training and understanding of foundational mathematics. This lack of mathematical understanding could impact the lessons and activities in their classrooms. This study aims to showcase journeys of teachers' mathematical journeys, their experiences as students, as pre-service…

The field of autonomous language learning in second language acquisition has experienced significant growth since its introduction by Holec in the 1980s. Several studies have explored how to promote learning autonomy in various spaces, including online learning environments. However, research related to autonomous language learning in online…

This paper presents a narrative case study of an innovative Froebelian approach to professional development, implemented in a large Nursery School and Family Centre in southern England undertaken as part of an extended programme of research and development funded by the Froebel Trust from 2021-2024 which was trans-national, including two early…

Chinese-style teaching research is rooted in a well-established culture of observation and introspection, in a tradition which has experienced two thousand years of permutations, leading up to the introduction of new perspectives from modern teaching. The essential characteristics of Chinese-style teaching research are founded in classroom…

Online learning discussion formats provide an opportunity for learners to share their experiences, negotiate meaning, and take ownership of the subject matter. Chat rooms also provide learners with anyplace and real-time ways to participate in academic discussions. Shared understanding occurs when individual experience mediated through group…

This article explores the nature of effective mentoring practices in training Early Years Teachers in a University. A small-scale enquiry was undertaken where mentees and their mentors were asked about their experiences of meeting the standards to gain Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). The results indicate that the use of grading to identify…

Very often, university students deliberately form self-organized study groups, e.g. to study collaboratively for an upcoming exam. Yet, very little is known about what regulation problems such self-organized study groups encounter during their learning process and how they try to cope with these problems. Therefore, this study investigates how…

This paper details a new dimension to an existing internship program developed in response to the effects of COVID-19 in a creative industries faculty at a large Australian university. Recent changes to workplace activities, as a result of the pandemic, have offered an opportunity to test a mode of internships in which students work and engage…

Background/Context: Teachers face many different problems in teaching. Traditionally, research examines the complexity of teaching students and content by focusing on a teacher's physical space and influencing factors therein. While established conceptions of curricular enactment suggest that instructional materials shape both the intended and…

Makerspaces are locations where people with common interests can work on projects, share ideas, tools and expertise to make or create. There is an abundance of "how to" guides and research studies on physical makerspaces, little research focuses on describing the "virtual" making processes and the experiences therein. This…

A writing program based on brief regular writing sessions can greatly improve research productivity. Ten years' experience with a program at the University of Wollongong provides insights into the benefits and challenges in supporting a new writing habit.

This study examined the ways in which early childhood pre-service student teachers (PSTs) used an online community for discussions related to teaching. Using the lenses of communities of practice, our goal was to understand what happens when the PSTs begin to share new learnings about teaching through ongoing practice in online communities. We…

Using video-ethnographic data from a 'try-on day' in a bus-based mobile preschool, we discuss how children with different levels of experience collaborate with one another and with pedagogues to socialize newcomers into an ongoing community. Analyses show how pedagogues create moments of collective orientation and, besides through verbal…