Purpose: Utilising data from 18 in-depth case studies, this study seeks to explore training, development and human resource development (HRD) practices in European call centres. It aims to argue that the complexity and diversity of training, development and HRD practices is best understood by studying the multilayered contexts within which call…

This dissertation explores the formal theologies and organizational readiness for change with a view towards adopting missional prototypes for theological education across a school's (system's) tradition, curriculum, and structure. The research assessed five theological schools in the United States through an exploratory, action-oriented,…

The purpose of this study is to use concept maps as an "expressed model" to investigate students' mental models regarding the homeostasis of blood sugar. The difficulties in learning the concept of homeostasis and in probing mental models have been revealed in many studies. Homeostasis of blood sugar is one of the themes in junior high…

The "Literacies for Learning in Further Education" (LfLFE) research project has been funded for three years from January 2004 as part of Phase 3 of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme in the UK. The project involves collaboration between two universities and four further education (FE) colleges. The intention is to investigate…

Various methods have been performed to identify teachers' attitudes towards assessment. Recognizing the idea that mapping is one of the most efficient tools, this study was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of attitude maps in the evaluation of teachers' attitudes towards assessment. The instrument, composed of open-ended questions, was…

This study explores concepts of learning used by leaders, focusing on learning for leadership through day-to-day workplace experiences. The participants were drawn from the senior management team within a school, the chair of governors of the school and the local authority school improvement advisor. Concept mapping was used as a participatory…

Research on the qualities and characteristics that individuals value in those from whom they seek "career help" is very limited. Existing studies provide little insight into the meaning behind the labels individuals use to identify valued qualities and characteristics. We address this neglected area using qualitative interviews based on life story…

Concept mapping (Novak & Gowin, 1984) has been used extensively as a graphic organiser in classroom teaching. This article addresses two particular approaches to using concept mapping that go beyond classroom planning into the realm of "idea-exchange" with concept mapping as mediator. The notion of "negotiative concept mapping" is examined in two…

As part of the Learning How to Learn in Classrooms, Schools and Networks Project, a mapping tool and associated interviews were devised to capture practitioners' views of the networks associated with their schools and local authorities (LAs). This article discusses the development and use of the mapping tool, including its trialing, and the first…

This article reports the findings of Phase II of our study of student use of web-based tutorial materials for general chemistry and student understanding of chemistry concepts. We have found that students who use the web site valued the aspects of visualization of chemistry concepts and availability of materials online. In our analysis of student…

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two different types of post-instruction concept interviews: one that did and one that did not embed a concept mapping process as means of eliciting students' post-instruction conceptual understandings about the nature of, source of, and problems caused by chlorofluorocarbons…

Researchers use an array of measures to provide lenses and levels of magnification for exploring teacher candidates' thinking. This paper describes five measures in terms of their costs, benefits, and the kinds of data each yields. These measures include a demographic questionnaire, concept mapping, a learning questionnaire, stimulated recall…

This case study examines the validity of 1 measure of representation and employs multiple measures to examine whether they provide mutually informative or independent pieces of information. These measures include (a) concept maps, which measure how individuals represent their content knowledge of a domain as a whole; (b) problem sorts, which…

This article analyzes collaboration in a computer-supported learning environment based on the professional practices of mediation and dispute resolution. In so doing, it explores the nature of collaborative learning in a setting marked by competition as much as cooperation. Interviews with students suggest that the processes of collaborative…

To identify and describe the basis upon which instructors make curricular and pedagogical decisions, we have developed an artifact-based interview and an analysis technique based on multilayered concept maps. The policy capturing technique used in the interview asks instructors to make judgments about concrete instructional artifacts similar to…