Background: Knowledge brokering by intermediary organizations includes knowledge distillation processes (e.g., synthesis, translation). Aims and objectives: This article explores how an educational intermediary performs research distillation when creating virtual knowledge reservoirs for educators. Methods: The authors use qualitative data from…

Courses: Organizational Communication; any advanced communication course that can benefit from using a case study approach. Objectives: This semester-long case study assignment asks students to write a case study around an organizational communication issue based on their empirical data collection of a real organization. Students are expected to…

This article presents "concept landscapes"--a novel way of investigating the state and development of knowledge structures in groups of persons using concept maps. Instead of focusing on the assessment and evaluation of single maps, the data of many persons is aggregated and data mining approaches are used in analysis. New insights into…

Given reform recommendations emphasizing scientific inquiry and empirical evidence pointing to the difficulties beginning teachers face in enacting inquiry-based science, this study explores a well-started beginning elementary teacher's (Sofia) beliefs about inquiry-based science and related instructional practices. In order to explore Sofia's…

Because data access may be perceived by principals as overwhelming or irrelevant rather than helpful (Wayman, Spikes, & Volonnino, 2013), data access does not guarantee effective data use. The data-based decision making literature has largely focused on teacher use of data, considering less often data-based organizational improvements for the…

Design-based learning (DBL) has been considered a useful approach in teacher education because of its emphasis on the investigation of technology integration problems in design processes. Despite recent interest in understanding how technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) translates to action, limited research exists on how TPACK…

Although there is a recognised need for effective practices to support students on the autism spectrum in mainstream schools, there is a research to practice gap in the area of autism and education, whereby evidence-based intervention may take decades to translate into mainstream classroom practice. Thus, current recommendations are that, rather…

At the heart of the effort to enact and scale up successful school reforms is the need for more robust links between research and practice. One promising approach is design development, a methodology widely used in other fields and only recently adapted to education, which offers a disciplined process for identifying practical problems, assessing…

Professional internship experiences play a critical role in the development of pre-service teachers. This research investigates pre-service teachers' personal practical theories (PPTs) and autonomy and how they are developed during professional internship experiences. This study also explores relationships that exist for PPTs and autonomy and…

Over the last decade, New York City (NYC) has been the site of a systemwide high school reform effort that is unprecedented in its scope and pace. Since 2002, the school district has closed more than 20 failing high schools, opened more than 200 new secondary schools, and implemented a centralized high school admission process in which…

Action research places a powerful tool for school improvement in the hands of teachers. By highlighting the outcomes that are possible and presenting clear steps in the research process, this book is one to encourage anyone who is seeking to implement evidence-based school improvement. Eileen Piggot-Irvine uses her Problem Resolving Action…

Implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation has been accompanied by demand for data systems capable of providing a longitudinal record of each student's educational experiences and performance over time. The national Study of Education Data Systems and Decision Making is examining both the implementation of student data systems…

The mixed methods case study described and analyzed the 2004-2006 district-based principal preparation programs in Virginia. This dissertation explored goals stated in proposals for funding as well as program director and program completer perceptions of goals, content, processes, and outcomes for the 10 principal preparation programs that stemmed…

A three-step framework to help teachers examine and modify teaching practice based on data analysis includes: specify current levels of student performance, create action plans, and evaluate and communicate progress. A case study of a teacher who used the framework to pinpoint one student's writing problems, create change in practice, and assess…

Examines difficulties posed in studying local governance because of varied forms found in local government structure. Describes two research methods for drawing upon that variety: (1) building large data sets, and (2) using case studies. Suggests that local research activities, conducted in the context of an educational program, be used as the…