This report was conceived as one of three publications that collectively provide a commentary on research awareness and research use within schools in England. This third report in the series presents findings from a small-scale, detailed study of teachers who are operating as their school's Research Lead. The small scale of the study is…

Despite years of implementing standards-based accountability systems, many teachers today lack the necessary preparation to develop standards-based instructional strategies and to inform decisions utilizing student assessments. The eMINTS ("Enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies") National Center at the…

The effective use of technology is increasingly important in many fields where online and digital communication, collaboration, and production have become more prevalent. Although it is clear that many higher education students come into the classroom with skills involved with consuming technology, they often are much less capable of producing…

The Commonwealth Government of Australia OLT-funded PIVOTAL (Partnerships, Innovation and Vitality -- Opportunities for Thriving Academic Leadership) cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional research confirmed the validity of the PIVOTAL model and its positive impact on the design of postgraduate leadership courses. An improvement in students'…

Poor learner performance in South African schools raises concerns related to lack of commitment and accountability from school leaders and teachers with no common vision to promote a culture of high learner performance. This paper provides a literature overview of research available on the impact of professional learning communities (PLC) on…

This paper presents a case study of a group of Chinese ESL learners in China, who study English by immersing themselves regularly and rigorously in English television drama. A self-directed learning pedagogy has been developed and discussed, which seems to have signposted an effective and economic way for ESL learners to improve linguistic,…

This paper presents masons' professional practices, which are related to mathematics. It aims to contribute to the area of adult mathematics education and to enlarge knowledge about how mathematics is used at the workplace. Methodologically it was followed an ethnographic approach. The key informants of the study were four masons aged between 40…

In any nursing program, it is a challenge to foster an awareness of, and engagement with, the complexity and reality of nursing practice. During their studies, nursing students have to learn the relevant underpinning theoretical knowledge for practice as well as develop their understanding of the role and responsibilities of the registered nurse…

Teacher education and professional development prepare teachers with up-to-date knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective teaching. To sustain this, however, hinges on continued professional learning within schools. Research shows that establishing long-term conditions that allow teachers to learn continuously from one another…

The use of hybrid learning (a blend of face-to-face and distance learning) is rapidly increasing in higher education. However, educational leaders have raised concerns about the proliferation of hybrid programming as an efficiency measure without appropriate attention to learning. This study examined the relationship between social, teaching and…

In 2006, the National Center for Postsecondary Research, of which is MDRC is a partner, launched a demonstration of one-semester learning community programs at six colleges; five of these programs focused on developmental education. This is the executive summary of the final report from the project and includes findings from analyses that pool…

This study evaluated the impact of the implementation of a professional learning community known as Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) on teachers' perceptions of their school as a professional learning community, on professional growth and development, instructional practices, and student achievement. This research utilized a mixed-methodology…

Educators are continuously confronted with initiatives to increase student achievement; however, teacher isolation may hinder advancements to improve student learning. Teacher isolation may be a problem at many schools in which student achievement is not progressing, and teachers are not sharing pedagogical knowledge or instructional practices.…

Research indicates that high school journalism teachers, whose tenures are about half of those of teachers who teach math, science, English, or social studies, may experience detachment and isolation from a lack of collaboration with fellow teachers. Accordingly, this phenomenological study investigated perceptions of high school journalism…

Beyond being responsive to the demand for online learning in the marketplace, UC Davis Extension lacks the system and tools to assess, improve and sustain the quality of online instruction it delivers. This study evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of online instructional quality at UCDE in accordance with Garrison's Community of Inquiry…