On the long and arduous journey toward effective educational assessment, business schools have progressed in their ability to clearly state measurable learning goals and use direct measures of student learning. However, many schools are wrestling with the last stages of the journey--measuring present learning outcomes, implementing…

This study aims to explore what pre-service elementary teachers think about the use they will give to research in their future teaching professional practice. Thirty-three pre-service elementary teachers from a Chilean university were interviewed using a phenomenographic approach. Analysis yielded four categories of description, ranging from…

This study reports on an effort to illustrate the coupling of educational research with ongoing curriculum development to promote effective and evidence-based online learning. The research findings have been used to inform the "EarthLabs" curriculum development team as they revise existing modules and create new modules, in order to…

Teachers need practices that can be implemented in the classroom to teach children how to address conflict and solve problems proactively. There are curricula available for teachers to use in promoting improvement in the social behavior of students and for further enhancing their ability to self-regulate their behavior (Smith, Lochman, &…

Article discusses and compares successful and unsuccessful programs for educational research. Stresses a need for new research which focuses upon program implementation, quality assurance, direct observation and exportability. (Author/ML)

The vast amount of literature on curriculum and instructional design does not establish a clear frame of reference to help teachers utilize and operationalize concepts and information. Four specific problem areas are of special concern in the literature: (1) the terminology and definitions are confusing; (2) the place of the classroom teacher is…

The case for basic research in relation to curriculum material is that (quite apart from any contribution to the general body of educational theory which may result) it can provide what otherwise might be lacking--a sound foundation for the development of material. (Author)

A new kind of systems approach to science educational publishing is presented in this paper. This synergistic approach to the publishing of instructional materials for science education would require input from psychologists, scientists, classroom teachers, and science education researchers. The role of the science education researcher is…

Presents a case study of a curriculum project in an Ontario school board to illustrate how researchers can intervene appropriately in the policymaking activities of practicing educators. After discussing and rejecting two traditional models of involvement, illustrates and justifies two practical principles to guide researchers in these situations.…

There is a critical difference between what educational researchers know and what educational practitioners do. Curriculum workers, who are the most important variable in improving the quality of education, must not only use research but must become a part of the R process. (HD)

Teachers rarely use research results to improve their instructional practice or their professional knowledge. In a recent survey, teachers requested practical research results which they could use in their own classrooms. Teachers also requested that research results be presented in a manner in which they could be easily understood. (JN)

Theme articles discuss the impact of research, accountability, linking programmatic questions to answers developed through research, starting an agriscience research program in high school, a student's perspective in research in agricultural education, student achievement in agricultural education, and user-friendly research. (JOW)

A study examined the situation-specific program development strategies used in 47 different settings in the southwestern United States from January 1987 to January 1988. Specialized and elite interviews were administered to program developers to identify the approaches that are being used and to determine how they relate to the approaches…