Literacy intervention research tests our best ideas about instruction and forges a pathway forward toward deeper and more nuanced understandings of how children think, communicate, and learn. This chapter describes the components of the development of literacy interventions, explaining how to construct and evaluate each component in sequence to…

MegaSoTL projects are scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) projects that generate evidence of learning from multiple institutions. While being increasingly practiced, MegaSoTL projects and their potential contribution to improve higher education pedagogy remain understudied in higher education literature. In this article, we introduce…

This paper reports an interdisciplinary research (IDR) initiative conducted by two lecturers from different university faculties who found they shared an interest in using animations to support teaching and learning. The research comprised an exploratory pilot to test the feasibility, and to explore the impact on learning, of having undergraduates…

In this article we illustrate how the piloting process has influenced two widely different studies within the educational sciences. These studies differ in design but have as a common denominator that they used piloting methods in their preparatory process. They are also similar in the intention of the main researchers of conducting research with…

The authors redesigned a Lifespan Development course using Fink's (2003) taxonomy of significant learning and measured changes across his six domains: Knowledge, Application, Integration, Human Dimension, Caring, and Learning How to Learn. Using case studies and group work, 151 undergraduates completed identical pre- and post-tests that measured…

Learning to teach well is a complex task. Teacher-educators have a significant role to play in enabling students to reflect critically and analyse their own practice. However, there is a danger, as a result of funding pressures and other contrary factors, that many institutions that provide teacher education will become separated from their…

The purpose of this article is to exemplify and enhance the place of modelling as a qualitative process in educational research. Modelling is widely used in quantitative research as a tool for analysis, theory building and prediction. Statistical data lend themselves to graphical representation of values, interrelationships and operational…

This article guides readers through the decisions and considerations involved in conducting focus-group research investigations into students' learning experiences. One previously published focus-group study is used as an illustrative example, along with other examples from the field of pedagogic research in geography higher education. An approach…

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) carried out an evaluation of a pilot/programme that was introduced in 2004 to help raise the achievement of bilingual learners in primary schools. Within participating authorities, pilot consultants were appointed and were managed by the Primary National Strategy managers and the Ethnic…

Using interviews with Year 2 and Year 6 students (n=44) from London (England) area classrooms, presents the results of a study that examined young children's views of learning. Utilizes the four cards activity where four statements about learning are written on a card with accompanying clip art. Includes references. (CMK)

The aim of this report is, first of all, to present the KP-Lab approach toward stakeholders in the wider framework of European policies. Secondly, the KP-Lab definition of stakeholders and the strategy to address different stakeholders needs, concerns and expectations is presented in the following paragraphs. The second chapter presents concrete…

The rate of adoption of mobile technologies in Africa's developing countries is amongst the highest in the world and by 2005 there may be almost 100 billion mobile users in Africa (Keegan, 2002; Brown, 2005). This is just one of the reasons why servicing distance students in this country through m-learning support tools should enjoy…

While small-scale initiatives in educational innovation do have advantages, problems are often encountered during the process of project replication or extension. Increased awareness of potential hazards with regard to pilot projects is a prerequisite for successful educational planning and development. (RM)

A research project called Support Services for Flexible Delivery was commissioned by the Australian organization TAFE (technical and further education) Frontiers. Since 1995, the project has been conducted by using a research approach called the Generalizations from Case Studies (GCS) research method. The GCS method was developed, tested, and…

The objectives of this research into ways of helping children who have difficulty finding and using their singing voices were (1) to make an intensive study of singing difficulties of elementary-school children, (2) to discover, observe, and analyze successful techniques and materials for use with children who have not learned to "carry a tune,"…