Despite recent emphasis on the use of randomized control trials (RCTs) for evaluating education interventions, in most areas of education research, observational methods remain the dominant approach for assessing program effects. Over the last three decades, the within-study comparison (WSC) design has emerged as a method for evaluating the…

This chapter discusses the research design and the methodological approach developed to investigate teachers' TPACK enactment within their workplace communities of practice. 'The School' section provides a description of the school at the centre of this investigation. This description provides insights into the way knowledge and pressures from the…

I commenced my project in 2010 with a view to developing a teaching model that would make the experience of learning mathematics and statistics fun for university students enrolled on a variety of degree programmes. These students are compulsorily required to study mathematics and statistics courses as core modules of their degree work.…

Our research examines the effectiveness of intake variables used by a Canadian post-degree teacher education program over the period of 3 years to select candidates for entry into the program. Using a mixed-methods approach, we compared intake variables (grade point average, written response, work experience, reference letters, academic…

This case study discusses an assessment project in which a rubric was used to evaluate information literacy (IL) skills as reflected in undergraduate students' research papers. Subsequent analysis sought relationships between the students' IL skills and their contact with the library through various channels. The project proved far longer and more…

When examining the evidence on therapeutic interventions to answer a comparative effectiveness research question, one should consider all studies that are informative on the interventions' causal effects. "Single group studies" evaluate outcomes longitudinally in cohorts of subjects who are managed with a single treatment strategy.…

Once associated with lifetime employment, policing and teaching have become increasingly associated with employee attrition. We used a life course research design to explore career turning points and transitions, in the context of preceding and following careers. Former police officers ("n" = 9) and former teachers ("n" = 15)…

Recent years have seen an increased interest in quantitative educational research studies that use random assignment (RA) to evaluate the causal impacts of educational interventions (Angrist, 2004). The multi-level structure of the public education system in the United States often leads to experimental designs where naturally occurring clusters…

The aim of the research described in this case study was to explore how practice teachers (workplace supervisors) in social care education viewed their role -- what they saw as being most important and least important. What is described here is the process and decisions made when choosing a design that combined quantitative and qualitative…

Technology provides the means to create useful learning and practice environments for learners. Well-designed cognitive tutor systems, for example, can provide appropriate learning environments that feature cognitive supports (ie, scaffolding) for students to increase their procedural knowledge. The purpose of this study was to conduct a series of…

This paper focusses on how researching is done through reflections about, or at a meta-level to, the practice over time of an enactivist mathematics education researcher. How are the key concepts of enactivist theory ("ZDM Mathematics Education," doi: 10.1007/s11858-014-0634-7, 2015) applied? This paper begins by giving an…

Across the disciplines of economics, political science, public policy, and now, education, the randomized controlled trial (RCT) is the preferred methodology for establishing causal inference about program impacts. But randomized experiments are not always feasible because of ethical, political, and/or practical considerations, so non-experimental…

This study aimed to investigate the beliefs of English as foreign language (EFL) learners about speaking in English and being a good speaker of English through metaphor analysis. A phenomenological approach was adopted and 60 EFL learners completed a questionnaire with demographic questions and two prompts focusing on the characteristics of a good…

Despite the increasing awareness of the relevance of empathy in patient care, some findings suggest that medical schools may be contributing to the deterioration of students' empathy. Therefore, it is important to clarify the magnitude and direction of changes in empathy during medical school. We employed a scoping review to elucidate trends in…

This study investigates how international visitor students studying temporarily at a public university in Turkey perceive teaching, language and culture. Qualitative explanatory single case study method was employed in the study. The data were obtained through face to face interview with 10 participants, and a focus group interview with 3…