The results of PISA 2015 indicate that Taiwanese students have excellent mathematical and scientific knowledge but are weak in applying such knowledge and in conducting practical experiments in the laboratory. To support students conducting practical experiments in physics laboratories, a real-time data logging system and an online tool for…

Authentic student-led inquiry and exposure to scientific research impact students' science career choices. Given Australian students decline in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] skills, knowledge of whether such programmes impact student learning is critical. This research examined the short-term impact of an authentic,…

This paper focuses on our experience of researching the influence of ResourceSmart Schools, a sustainable schools programme in Victoria, Australia. Drawing on ideas from programme theory and realist synthesis, we illustrate and reflect upon our approach to conceptualising, investigating and generating evidence about the programme's…

A mind mapping approach to evaluation called Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) has been developed and used by a number of Extension faculty across the country recently. This article describes three approaches to REM, as well as key differences and similarities. The authors, each from different land-grant institutions, believe REM is an effective way to…

Gamification is a strategy of using game mechanics and experience design to digitally engage people to achieve intended goals in non-game contexts. There has been increasing discussion among educators and researchers about harnessing the idea of gamification to enhance current learning and teaching practices in school education. This paper…

This paper describes a participatory design approach to the development of inquiry-based learning supported through a technology toolkit. The work is part of an interdisciplinary project--Personal Inquiry (PI). The paper focuses on the approach we adopted, concentrating in particular on the two mediating artefacts we used to guide and frame the…

Lesson study, a form of school-based professional development widely practiced in Japan, has gained popularity in the United States over the last two decades. However, research on its effectiveness has been limited in scope, typically conducted shortly after the conclusion of the professional learning and focused primarily on the practices of…

This study examined how a professional development program which incorporates the use of electronic data-loggers could impact on science teachers' attitudes towards inquiry-based teaching. The participants were 28 science or technology teachers who attended workshops offered in the United States and Japan. The professional development program…

Background: This article reports on an evaluation study of a project seeking to develop the use of position-linked datalogging with primary pupils in environmental science contexts. Purpose: The study sought to find out the extent to which the project had developed: (1) participant teachers' confidence in using datalogging as an everyday part of…

During the 2007-08 school year, the New York City Department of Education launched the second phase of its ambitious and innovative initiative known as "Children First." Ultimately, this initiative aims to intensify the focus by all educators on student performance and in doing so to stimulate the development of evidence-based cultures…

In the United States in the last few years, a considerable amount of attention has been given to literacy programs as a way to close the academic gap between English-only (EO) students and English language learners (ELL). Teacher education programs around the country have been dealing with issues of academic inequity for some time. There are no…

The Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) project includes training elementary and secondary teachers. This training component, Ecology Explorers (EE), prepares teachers in grades 4 through 12 to teach about ecological principles and processes. The EE pedagogy employs scientific inquiry and data collection protocols.…

The 12th iteration of the International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2019) is organized under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society in Montreal, Canada. The theme of this year's conference is EDM in Open-Ended Domains. As EDM has matured it has increasingly been applied to open-ended and ill-defined tasks…

An overview is presented on action research and practical inquiry, with attention to the initial phase of starting this approach, gathering data, analyzing the results, sharing findings, and judging the quality of action research and practical inquiry. Gifted education practitioners are encouraged to share action research findings. (SW)