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…

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore student perceptions and outcomes surrounding the use of a labor and delivery simulation as a midterm exam in a maternal-newborn lecture course. An exploratory case study design was used to gain a holistic view of the simulation experience. Data from focus groups, written debriefings, simulation…

Background: Obesity is rapidly becoming the most common chronic medical condition affecting children. To address this crisis, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, elementary school partnered with University of New Mexico researchers and conducted a Walking School Bus (WSB). The purpose of this article is to examine the feasibility of implementing a WSB.…

This fourth grade project was piloted in seven Detroit area schools to ascertain whether the School Health Curriculum could be implemented on a broader scale. It was anticipated that the majority of the schools would be unable to finish all units of the curriculum, so student achievement was not assessed. The evaluation focused instead on…

This report presents the results of the evaluation of the Governor's Pilot Distance Learning Project conducted during the spring of 1997 in four rural Wyoming high schools that served as pilot sites for the use of compressed video technology. Such technology provides coursework via two-way interactive video and is used in several states as a way…

A pilot project was conducted to determine if there was evidence to support an experimental program for comparison with the current, conventional programs of 9th grade social studies in the East Lansing, Michigan schools. The experimental program was one in which students were introduced into the world of work and spheres of the citizen within the…

In 1982, a model was proposed for linking the services provided to 16-to 19-year-olds in Great Britain by local education authorities (LEAs), schools, and colleges. A study examined the operation of this model in the Oxfordshire LEA. The full-time educational opportunities available in the LEA were described and mapped. Next, of 1,419 persons in…