This study explores the nature of the elements that co-influence collaborative creativity in nd the intrinsic potential for enhancing pupil wellbeing as evidenced in a particular secondary-school (extra-curricular) group instrumental programme "Percussion 1." Wenger's Community of Practice (CoP) and Engestrom's Activity Theory (AT)…

In this research we present a new design component for online learning communities (OLC); one that integrates Twitter with an online discussion board (ODB). We introduce our design across two sections of upper-division information systems courses at a university located within the U.S. The first section consisted of full-time online learners,…

In this article, we--a former high school language arts instructor and former K-3 gifted resource teacher--reflect on critical experiences with students that, although unique in scope, are bound together through a common concern: How can teachers provide meaningful writing experiences for talented young writers? We advocate for the use of high-end…

Educational evaluation (Ed Eval) and professional learning communities (PLCs) are two of the nation's most predominant approaches to widespread instructional improvement. Yet key attributes of these reform initiatives are too often experienced by teachers as burdensome, or even detrimental, rather than helpful. The authors of this article contend…

Drawing on insights from Communities of Practice and critical discourse theory, this study investigates how teacher identities are discursively constructed in course of teacher education and under the influence of social structure. The participants were seven Hong Kong and nine mainland Chinese pre-service teachers. Two focus group interviews and…

In South Korea, "Damunwha" students (students from multicultural family backgrounds) have difficulties at school because of others' derogatory perception of them and the different linguistic and cultural settings. In light of this issue, this paper addresses the "Damunwha" students' identities and participation within the…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper was to explore students' learning experiences in culturally diverse urban higher education environments. Design/methodology/approach: The project used an action research method approach with a mixed-method collection of data. The data consist of a survey of undergraduate students from the two different faculties,…

This e-book is a celebration of and reflection on 10 years of the The Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies (LLAS) elearning symposium, an event which is run by the Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies based at the University of Southampton, UK. (LLAS) was founded in 2000 as one of 24 Higher Education Academy subject…

This study examines faculty perceptions of creating learning communities at a virtual university. Through online focus groups with 18 participants, 3 themes emerged: institutional-level community building as creating a learning culture; instructor-level community building as creating respectful interaction; and learner-level community building as…

Professional development programmes that include teacher collaboration can help teachers meet their professional needs and control their professional lives. They can voice their needs and expectations to peers who share similar experiences. Moreover, teachers can discover new teaching roles and opportunities, develop new skills and find motivation…

Working Examples (WEx) is described by the authors as a vehicle for ideating and building radical innovations to change education. It is a community of researchers, designers, and educators working at the intersection of education and technology. "Examples" (ideas, work, and projects) allow people to explore new ideas, learn from each…

As most traditional classroom environments in English as Foreign Language (EFL) still restrict learners' collaboration and interaction in college writing classes, today, the majority of EFL learners are accessing Social Networking Sites (SNSs) as online communities of practice (CoPs) for adopting informal collaborative learning as a way of…

ePortfolios (ePs) have been used in a variety of applications ranging from undergraduate assessment to graduate student work showcases. We hypothesize that the flexible, individualized nature of ePs makes them suitable assessment tools for graduate engineering programs, which are likewise flexible and individualized. Our investigation resulted in…

Establishing and maintaining social presence in an online environment that depends on a learning management system (LMS) can be challenging. While students believe social presence to be important, LMS platforms have yet to discover a way to deliver this expectation. The growth of social media tools presents opportunities outside an LMS to foster…

Critically reflective dialogues (CRD) are important for knowledge sharing and creating meaning in communities. CRD includes different aspects: being open about mistakes, critical opinion sharing, asking for and giving feedback, experimentation, challenging groupthink and research utilisation. In this article we explore whether CRD aspects change…