An ever increasing body of research explores how teaching practice can foster more positive outcomes for students. Yet, despite countless professional development initiatives intended to help teachers develop research-based practices associated with student learning, for the most part research and practice remain disconnected. What gets in the way…

The numbers tell a grim story: By the time students with behavioral or emotional problems get to high school, they may be so alienated from adults or disruptive to their classmates that they simply drop out. According to a 2006 report from the U.S. Department of Education, the high school graduation rate for students identified as emotionally…

Research and development on formative assessment has paid little attention to part-time adult basic education in informal community-based settings. A three-year project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the National Research Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, and the Quality Improvement Agency addresses that gap in vocational and…

This commentary observes that the contributions to this special issue of this journal not only show that the question of the relationship between research and practice is still very much alive today but they are also testimony to the persistent nature of this question. This suggests that the issue of the relationship between research and practice…

There are some important ambiguities in discussions about the implications of "evidence-based practice", both for educational research and for the work of teachers. In this paper we explore several of these through examining the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) study--part of the Teaching and Learning Research…

This document describes the work planned by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education (NCRVE), University of California, Berkeley, for 1990. Part I provides research project descriptions in six issue areas as follows: (1) context, goals, planning, and evaluation; (2) curriculum and instructional methods; (3) vocational education for…

Meaning making in new media presents new opportunities and challenges for those working in formal and informal educational contexts. How this impacts on a literacy curriculum that attempts both to deliver "the basics" and to respond to new technology demands careful exploration. This paper examines what we mean by digital literacy and how it…

In this paper we report on the sustained research and development work at the AMSTEL Institute of the University of Amsterdam to improve mathematics and science education at primary and secondary school level, which has lead amongst other things to the development of the integrated computer working environment Coach 6. This environment consists of…

Purpose--Development activities at work require the use of abilities that include a range of methodological knowledge. This research seeks to develop and promote these abilities into the curriculum. Design/methodology/approach--The paper analyses information from a variety of subject areas about the teaching and learning of practitioner-led…

A review is presented of the operations of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Overviews are provided of ACER activities and future planning in the following programs: (1) social context of education; (2) measurement and evaluation; (3) learning and teaching; (4) survey and psychometric services; (5) advisory services; and (6)…

This article reports on aspects of a recent research and development project in doctoral education. It focuses on the use of email for tutor's formative assessment within the early stages of a Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) in an English university. Its case study methodology included participant observation of the programme workshops,…

Drawing on research literature on online discussion and on reading and learning from the text, we argue that research on learning from text has much to offer but has been largely absent in informing the design and study of online learning environments. We propose several key issues to be considered in research and development of online discussion,…

The research reported in this study focuses on an investigation into the teaching of argumentation in secondary science classrooms. Over a 1-year period, a group of 12 teachers from schools in the greater London area attended a series of workshops to develop materials and strategies to support the teaching of argumentation in scientific contexts.…

This proceedings presents the papers from a workshop on engineering writing and professional communications. The purpose of the workshop was to share resources and ideas for improving the teaching of professional communications within engineering colleges. The papers are: (1) "Engineering the Written Word" (keynote address) (Craig A.…

For the thirty-third year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the national AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…