We live in a multimodal world where communication enabled by digital media supports the expression of ideas, opinions, instructions and experiences in a variety of formats that empower the individual to convey thoughts and emotions persuasively. In education, digital storytelling as a pedagogical strategy can be embedded in student-generated…

The affordances of mobile technologies are well documented (Vavoula (2004); Wali (2008); Pachler et al (2010); Cook (2011); Sharples (2013). Linked with the rapid expansion of the "SMART" phones, where users access fast/high quality information, new opportunities are offered to engage students at a time/place of their own choosing. Our…

This article describes the importance that high school computer science teachers place on a teachers' professional learning community designed around an inquiry- and equity-oriented approach for broadening participation in computing. Using grounded theory to analyze four years of teacher surveys and interviews from the Exploring Computer Science…

This study focused on exploring students' and supervisors' perceptions of ethical problems in doctoral supervision in the natural sciences. Fifteen supervisors and doctoral students in one research community in the natural sciences were interviewed about their practices and experiences in the doctoral process and supervision. We explored to what…

The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) is an association that believes in learning from each other across cultures and borders, building on each other's strengths, and tapping into the power of a network. Building on the strong legacy of the Open Society Foundations' Step by Step program, ISSA has nurtured a culture of belonging to a…

Residential learning communities aim to foster increased academic and social integration, ideally leading to greater student success. However, the concept of academic integration is often conceptualized and measured at the individual level, rather than the theoretically more consistent community level. Network analysis provides a paradigm and…

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to analyse the use of Communities of Practice and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance knowledge sharing between researchers and advisors. The associated research question is to what extent ICT supported a virtual Community of Practice and has been effective in counteracting fragmentation…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show how instructional rounds contributes to shared understandings and facilitates the development of relationships among administrators. Design/methodology/approach: This mixed methods study draws on three years of data in a district engaged in rounds. Administrators annually completed a social network…

As new technologies continue to shape society, there has been a greater need for communities of practice to facilitate changing teaching and learning practices through technology in schools. Legitimate peripheral participation through these communities of practice has become an essential means to spread and support this technology integration…

In European societies, major patterns of plurality have changed over recent decades due to modernization and globalization. In schools, these new patterns of plurality have consequences for learning processes and may be challenging for students and teachers. This article investigates these issues, taking as its point of departure the way they…

The human desire to join and participate in communities can be seen as an attempt to satisfy some of our universal human needs. The theory of communities of practice has been widely used to explain how and why humans participate in multiple communities, and a key requirement of a community of practice (CoP) is that members engage in "joint…

In line with a growing interest in teacher research engagement in second language education, this article is an attempt to shed light on teachers' views on the relationship between teaching and practice. The data comprise semi-structured interviews with 20 teachers in England, examining their views about the divide between research and practice in…

Teacher collaboration has become an increasingly important lever for school improvement efforts. This is especially true in high need urban districts, which struggle with capacity building in the face of significant teacher turnover, major shifts in curriculum and instruction, and scarce resources. This paper employs a mixed methods approach to…

The aim of this study is to examine validity and reliability of Community of Inquiry Scale commonly used in online learning by the means of Item Response Theory. For this purpose, Community of Inquiry Scale version 14 is applied on 1,499 students of a distance education center's online learning programs at a Turkish state university via internet.…

Nearly three decades after its publication, "A Nation at Risk" continues to impact our educational establishment. Most notably, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was established as a result of "A Nation Prepared," Carnegie's response to "A Nation at Risk." Some contend that the national board has…