This study investigated the chemistry laboratory classroom environment, teacher-student interactions and student attitudes towards chemistry among 497 gifted and non-gifted secondary-school students in Singapore. The data were collected using the 35-item Chemistry Laboratory Environment Inventory (CLEI), the 48-item Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and the 30-item Questionnaire on Chemistry-Related Attitudes (QOCRA). Results supported the validity and reliability of the CLEI and QTI for this sample. Stream (gifted versus non-gifted) and gender differences were found in actual and preferred chemistry laboratory classroom environments and teacher-student interactions. Some statistically significant associations of modest magnitude were found between students' attitudes towards chemistry and both the laboratory classroom environment and the interpersonal behaviour of chemistry teachers. Suggestions for improving chemistry laboratory classroom environments and the teacher-student interactions for gifted students are provided.

<span>Using asynchronous online discussions for interschool collaborative project work represents one of the innovative practices in the Singapore classroom. With anytime, anywhere access to interactions among the students and teachers, the asynchronous nature of these interactions leads to new paradigms for teaching and learning, with both unique problems of coordination and unique opportunities to support active participation and collaborative learning. A research study was conducted to investigate how primary school students participate and learn in project work based on co-construction of knowledge in asynchronous online learning environments. 10 teachers and 20 students from 5 primary schools participated in this half-year long research study. Teachers crafted project tasks for implementation at the students' level and these tasks were addressed collaboratively by the students who formed project groups with members from another school. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of students' activity in the asynchronous online environment were conducted. Students' sent and received notes as well as the frequency of scaffolds used in the online environment were evaluated. Each note was also ranked according to Gunawardena, Lowe and Anderson's (1997)</span><em>Interaction Analysis Model.</em><span> The findings provided evidence to suggest that primary school students participating in the online project work learning environment were capable of the co-construction of knowledge up till Phase IV of the</span><em>Interaction Analysis Model.</em>

This study aims to replicate and extend a previous study which was conducted on primary school students' asynchronous online project-based learning. In this study, 276 high school students' participation and interaction in a project-based learning environment was mediated by an asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) tool. The students' high participation revealed their adaptability to this teacher-facilitated learning environment. However, in terms of interaction, these students' notes were found congregating mainly in phase I (comparing and sharing information, 82.7%) but lesser extent in the subsequent phase II (the discovery and exploration of dissonance or inconsistency among ideas, concepts or statement, 13.5%), phase III (negotiation of meaning/co-construction of knowledge, 3.7%) and beyond when these notes were analysed using Gunawardena's Interaction Analysis Model (IAM) (1997). These findings were compared, discussed and referenced to the earlier research conducted in the primary school to surface gaps for future research that will focus on addressing obstacles to students' learning issues pertaining to participation and interaction socially and cognitively in such a learning environment.

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