Research has shown that collaborative learning is a very powerful methodology as it ensures interaction among students, humanises the learning process and has positive effects on academic achievement. An activity based on this approach can also benefit from the use of technology, making this task more appealing to our students today. The aim of…

The article presents a review of the experience of practical testing (based in 385 experimental sites of the Russian Academy of Education) of current achievements of scientific academic schools that are developing the traditions of education. The organization of the innovative scientific and practical activity of the experimental sites of the…

Project GOAL is a systematic dropout prevention model including individual and peer-mediated group interventions for at-risk students. This article provides an overview of the Project GOAL model and describes a 2-year experimental pilot study of Project GOAL with a cohort of eighth-and ninth-grade students in a low-income school district in the…

Empirical Education Inc. is the independent evaluator of WestEd's 2012 i3 Development grant for Internet-based Reading Apprenticeship Improving Science Education (iRAISE). This interim report provides an update on the progress of the randomized control trial (RCT) during the 2014-2015 school year. The RCT measures the impact of iRAISE on student…

An educational intervention's effectiveness is judged by whether it produces positive outcomes for students, with the randomized controlled trial (CRT) as a valuable tool for determining intervention effects. However, the intervention-as-implemented in an experiment frequently differs from the intervention-as-designed, making it unclear whether…

How useful are podcasts in the political science classroom? Some educators argue that podcasts will revolutionize education; others are less convinced. However, to date, the evidence on podcasts has been slim. This article reports the results of a year-long trial using podcasts to aid in teaching political science to undergraduates at a research…

This paper is a first approach to the problems raised by the concept of experimentation in the field of functional literacy. It is divided into three main sections: (1) necessity, limits, and means of experimentation; (2) methods and fields of experimentation; and (3) the fields of experimentation. Hypotheses examined include: (1) The cultural…

A mini-pilot test was conducted by the Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration to develop training on enforcing the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act. The situation that necessitated the test is presented; mini-pilot test examples are explained; and pros and cons of the mini-pilots are examined. A sidebar contains suggestions…

A critical assessment of the 10-year Experimental World Literacy Program (EWLP), which consisted of a series of pilot projects and micro-experiments in different countries (Algeria, Ecuador, Iran, Mali, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madgascar, Tanzania, Sudan, Zambia, and Venezuela) sponsored by UNESCO, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and various…

Reviews the history of the "pilot scheme" for introducing French into the curriculum of British primary schools, highlighting the project's limitations and the negative findings of the National Foundation for Educational Research report, and assesses the prospects for the future of the project. (AM)

A 3-month pilot project was undertaken at the University of Texas to gain experience in administering the Cynthia Buchanan Language Program (Buchanan, 1967) and to test its effectiveness in making meaningful changes in the language development of disadvantaged Mexican-American preschoolers. A group of 114 Mexican-American children were chosen as…

In 1970, the Office of Economic Opportunity tried to establish several voucher test sites to evaluate the voucher concept. Alum Rock Union School District, San Jose, California, was the only district in the country to agree to be a test site. In July 1973, responsibility for the Education Voucher Program was transferred to the National Institute…

Describes a 1981-82 pilot project in the use of computers in grades one through eight by six schools in two suburban Washington, DC, school districts. Despite "the many obstacles and barriers to computer literacy," three of the six schools made "amazing progress." (JBM)

This publication consists of descriptive reports of 183 projects funded by Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act from 1966 to 1968, submitted by the directors of those projects conducted by local educational agencies in California. The reports are reproduced as submitted. The report for each project includes: designation of the…

This study surveyed evaluation and dissemination/diffusion practices of ESEA III projects funded in the 1969 fiscal year, which projects are nearing the end of their operations as federally supported programs. The study attempted to discover if (1) the projects were evaluated in accordance with generally accepted procedures, (2) the project…