This paper reports on issues in carrying out research into online discussion. The context is a study of a distance learning module within an MBA program. The module required students to tackle problems based on real life scenarios within small online groups. Students were studying part time and shared similar professional backgrounds. The research…

This paper proposes a process model of reflective practice for second language teachers, designed to facilitate a closer understanding of language use and interactive decision-making. The L2 classroom is portrayed as a dynamic and complex series of inter-related contexts, in which interaction is central to teaching and learning. An understanding…

In this paper we argue that the use of audit trail data for research and evaluation purposes has attracted scepticism due to real and perceived difficulties associated with the data's interpretation. We suggest that educational technology researchers and evaluators need to better understand how audit trail data can be processed and analysed…

Conveying information to clients has a variety of purposes in professional-client interactions. It has a clear relationship to client access to participation in the decisions made about a presenting problem. Speech-language pathologists tend to assume they do this competently and to the advantage of their clients, but rarely has this assumption…

The purpose of the study reported in this chapter was to determine if senior evaluation consultants experienced stages of growth in their practice similar to the small business development stages described by Bruce and Scott, to identify the stimuli that led to those changes, to determine what the consultants learned from these incidents, and to…

A learning object is a small, stand-alone, mediated content resource that can be reused in multiple instructional contexts. In this article, we describe our approach to design, develop, and validate Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) compliant learning objects for undergraduate computer science education. We discuss the advantages of…

This paper discusses the contribution of international studies on educational effectiveness in the light of 4 papers presented at the new ICSEI Methodology of Research and Effectiveness (MORE) Network in Barcelona in January 2005 and published in this issue of the journal. A brief historical overview is used to provide a context for these papers…

We study the comprehension of a multimedia technical document about gear functioning by young pupils. The research is focused on the effect of three factors on the construction of a mental model: illustration format (animated versus static) signaling cues (presence versus absence) learner-control of information delivery (three rhythms of…

This article, a 5-month ethnographic research in Oaxaca, Mexico, examines various aspects of the literacy curriculum in 2 Mexican primary schools. The author observed and interviewed 35 students in 6th grade and 7 teachers in 2 schools, as well as examined student writing and teaching materials. The research suggests that though the…

Background: Many scholars have called for physical education to be part of interdisciplinary units at the elementary level. The study of Native American cultures is required in most North American elementary schools. Folk dance, however, has traditionally included Western European folk dances, square dance, and, more recently, line dancing. In our…

This paper reports a study that compared the writing of non-native speaking students provided with background reading texts for their own academic writing with students who had not been given the texts. Essay quality was compared in terms of length, the number and extent of elaboration of the points presented, and the writer's overall…

The experience of one group engaged in classroom research is recounted, focusing on the variety of uses to which the results were put. The report begins with an overview of classroom research principles, then describes the project in question. The researchers were seven teachers of English as a Second Language at the University of Hong Kong who…

Four studies are reported that used a metacognitive evaluation procedure that can be group-administered and objectively scored. The procedure assesses the knowledge monitoring component of metacognition by evaluating the discrepancy between students' estimates of how well they are likely to perform on a task and their actual performance. The first…

This paper reports on a study conducted to examine the status of efforts by the State of Minnesota, its institutions of higher learning, and its public school districts to recruit, prepare, and retain staff members of color (minority) for professional teaching service in public school districts. Methodology employed for the study included a review…

The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) serves as an example of how three specific problems of representativeness in a longitudinal study may be approached and overcome. NELS:88 was designed to provide longitudinal data about the educational transitions experienced by students as they leave eighth grade and move through high…