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The study examined the gender difference in an online asynchronous discussion which was an integral part of a face-to-face undergraduate course. It was carried out with 30 fourth grade math pre-service teachers in the faculty of education at a university. The content analysis of the online discussion was performed according to Henri's model (1992). The messages in this online discussion were assessed by a grading rubric developed by the researcher with the inspiration from the rubric of Topcu and Ubuz (2004), and Henri's model of cognition and interactivity. The interrater reliabilities for objectivity on content analysis in the dimension of cognitive skills, interactivity and message composition were 0.76, 0.87 and 0.91, respectively, which can be taken to represent excellent agreement beyond chance. The findings indicated that there was no significant gender difference in the online asynchronous discussion performance when pre-service teachers' prior success and, their computer and web experience were controlled. The study suggests that an instructor should use facilitative questions to deepen interaction and develop feeling of confidence rather than to clarify the content of the course in the asynchronous online discussion.

This qualitative inquiry presents the case study of five gifted eighth-grade students who engaged in an e-mentoring project in mathematics. The study reported in this article investigated the role of e-mentoring in gifted students' academic life. Three themes predominated in the collected data were (a) motivation, (b) effective communication and supportive interaction, and (c) practicing as professionals. The findings indicated that the students engaged with e-mentoring had high motivation and desire and were able to maintain their perseverance to complete required individual and group tasks. The study revealed that the students formed an efficient and interactive group and worked collaboratively. They were able to find a way of working as a community. Furthermore, the findings showed that the treatment of students as practicing professionals encouraged them to think and work as real mathematicians.