The research design of a study involves continual refinement through experiential processes. This case study demonstrates the importance to novice researchers of conducting a pilot study to test the feasibility of the study's research design and practice data collection (in this instance, interviewing skills). The case study is based on an…

As the need for new leaders has increased, so has the need for new and more effective forms of leadership development (Hamel, 2007; Lojeski, 2010; Gratton, 2011). Action learning has been popularized as one of these new forms of leadership development (Peters & Smith, 1998; Byrnes, 2005; ASTD, 2008; Trehan & Pedler, 2011). However,…

Engaging students in the design, administration, and postelection analysis of an exit poll can be an excellent experiential learning activity. Lelieveldt and Rossen (2009) argue that exit polls are a "perfect teaching tool" because they provide students with a cooperative (rather than competitive) learning experience; help students…

This article presents the keynote address given by Katherine J. Pinch at the 2008 Annual Symposium on Experiential Education Research (SEER). Pinch discusses the importance of evaluation research and argues that the realm of evaluation is where the margins of research and practice have the potential to intersect with the greatest ease. She…

Social work is an applied profession using a combination of theory, research, and practice to meet the needs of client populations. First-hand experiential learning is central to social work education. Just as students learn clinical skills by interacting with clients in a practice setting, students need a forum to use real data to develop their…

Recent research demonstrates that videogames enhance literacy, attention, reaction time, and higher-level thinking. Several scholars have suggested that massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) such as "Everquest" and "Second Life" have educational potential, but we have little data about what happens when such tools are introduced in the…

This paper describes how two research methodologies, grounded theory and action learning, were combined to produce a rigorous yet creative and flexible method for field study of a recent IT-based innovation, virtual teams. Essentially, an action learning program was used to train facilitators of virtual teams and generate research data while…

Examines the consequences of the application of different research methods in the field of experiential education. Discusses the meaning of "science"; aims of science, research, and evaluation; systematic, empirical, technological, or emancipatory power of a theory; importance of nomothetic and idiographic rules; researcher-subject…

When researcher and teacher are united in a common goal of increased understanding, it is a mutally dependent and mutually beneficial endeavour. This paper reports on the methodology used in a recent classroom investigation of teachers' expressed beliefs in which each of the two participating teachers was engaged as co-researcher involved in the…

In qualification programmes based on action learning, there has hitherto been little articulation of what is particular to research dissertations undertaken in an action learning mode. This article addresses the questions of what such a dissertation entails and how it can be undertaken, supervised and examined. It discusses some of the foundations…

This paper is about Ph.Ds, practitioner-centred research and action learning. The aim of this paper is to help develop a framework for those completing doctorates based on action learning. The paper explores relationships between the personal learning of action learning participants and the public knowledge associated with conventional research.…

This paper discusses issues arising from three case studies of the ways people have become tertiary teachers in a polytechnic, a wananga (Maori tertiary institution) and a university in New Zealand. Despite institutional differences, the teachers gained most of their teaching knowledge and skills on the job, learning informally and experientially,…

In recent years there has been a growing call for introspective examinations to uncover the unquestioned assumptions that ground our areas of study. In this paper, we reflectively examine one area of leisure studies--challenge (ropes) courses. By revealing the assumptions that shape practice and research in this field, we also reveal hidden biases…

Discusses the partnership that exists between a zoo and a college in the linking of research and teaching in undergraduate education for the preparation of future scientists. Lists zoo-related projects conducted by various fields of study. States that this type of relationship promotes student interest in science. (RT)

As part of a graduate research course, nine students formed a research team to carry out all aspects of a multimethod research study, including design, data collection and analysis, interpretation, and presentation of results in a final evaluation report to a local school corporation. Benefits and challenges were noted by both the instructor and…