Online learning is a process that incorporates a "mind over matter" mentality of rigorous, intrinsic learning. The course design addresses what the mind has to know in order for it to matter. Online learning is not a new concept but its acceptance continues to be a daunting one. Many are plagued with the task of gaining knowledge within limited…

The basic thesis explored in this paper is that rather than seeing spirituality as a byproduct of music, the other arts, and religion, music, the other arts, and religion might be seen as a byproduct of spirituality--hence, the proposition that music is a language of spirituality. If that is the case, there are twin dangers: talk of "wholism" can…

The purpose of this paper is to examine, using the tenets of cultural theory, critical theory, constructivist theory, and transformational theory as a lens, selected theoretical foundations of the scholar-practitioner. These foundations form the framework for understanding the nature of the scholar-practitioner construct and provide insight into…

This article examines the connections of linear algebra concepts in a first course at the undergraduate level. The theoretical underpinnings of this study are grounded in the constructivist perspective (including social constructivism), Vernaud's theory of conceptual fields and Pirie and Kieren's model for the growth of mathematical understanding.…

This case study deals with a solitary learner's process of mathematical justification during her investigation of bifurcation points in dynamic systems. Her motivation to justify the bifurcation points drove the learning process. Methodologically, our analysis used the nested epistemic actions model for abstraction in context. In previous work, we…

How can teachers make learning exciting for students who are immersed in the digital age of television, interactive computers, video games, and Internet entertainment? To meet this challenge, teachers continually look for ways to motivate and involve their students. One option for bridging the gap between traditional learning environments and the…

Over the last two decades, art teachers and museum educators have increasingly embraced group dialogue to help students make meaning from works of art. To an outside observer, most dialogues about art could appear to be the same. Nevertheless, careful analysis reveals that the spirit and dynamics can differ greatly from one dialogue to the next.…

Student affairs professionals benefit from understanding paradigms, worldviews, and ways of being among diverse faculty, staff, and students. It is challenging to understand core differences of paradigms, design student affairs practice and research in congruence with or across specific philosophies, and work effectively with individuals operating…

For their 61st annual conference, the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) met in St. Petersburg, Florida. This year's conference theme was "Engaging All Readers through Explorations of Literacy, Language, and Culture," which was also used as the title for this year's "Yearbook." This "Yearbook"…

An important issue in teacher education is how to design and implement effective virtual internships for future educators. Today, these experiences should reflect best practices (as found in more traditional programs) by infusing constructivist values and strategies into the process. Interns can develop needed content knowledge and delivery skills…

English is one of the most spoken languages in the world and widely accepted as a foreign language in many parts of the world. However, though there has been a high demand for English as a foreign language in the 21st century, it has still been taught or learned through traditional methods and conventional pedagogical approaches. In the digital…

Self-directed, inquiry-based learning opportunities focused on transdisciplinary real-world problem solving have been shown to foster creativity in learners. What tools might we provide classroom teachers to scaffold them and their students through this creative process? This study examines an online informal learning environment and the role the…

This exploratory study sheds new light on students' perceptions of online feedback types for a complex writing task, summary writing from spoken input in a foreign language (L2), and investigates how these correlate with their actual learning to write. Students tend to favour clear-cut, instructivist rather than constructivist feedback, and guided…

They are found at picnics and family outings, apparently attracted by the food provided at these events. Large populations in fast food establishments further support their association with food. Yet little is known about the biology of "Utensilus plastica" (common name: plastic eating utensil). The authors have conducted an in-depth study of this…

This article reports a case study conducted at a school in Bogotá. It was based on constructivist and poststructuralist frameworks that viewed gender positioning as a social construction in foreign language learning contexts (Baxter, 2003; Sunderland, 1992; Tannen, 1996). Aiming to understand how ninth grade gender positioning is constructed, and…