Communication in collaborative discovery learning.

Background: Constructivist approaches to learning focus on learning environments in which students have the opportunity to construct knowledge themselves, and negotiate this knowledge with others. Discovery learning and collaborative learning are examples of learning contexts that cater for knowledge construction processes. We introduce a computer-based learning environment in which the two forms of learning are implemented simultaneously.

Teachers' task demands, students' test expectations, and actual test content.

Background: Previous studies on instructional importance show that individual students and their teachers differ in the topics that they consider important in the context of an upcoming teacher-made test.

Aims: This study aimed to examine whether such differences between students' test expectations and teachers' intended task demands can be explained by the actual test content.

Samples: Participants were history teachers (N=19) and their 11th-grade students (N=388).