As medical education research advances, it is important that education researchers employ rigorous methods for conducting and reporting their investigations. In this article we discuss several important yet oft neglected issues in designing experimental research in education. First, randomization controls for only a subset of possible confounders.…

This study was conducted for the purpose of identifying research needs for technology education by generating a rank-ordered list of research topics that the profession's members might wish to explore individually or in collaboration with colleagues and students. The researchers' goal was to provide a concise list of topics that could be used by…

This paper discusses the complexities of investigating the experiences of participants in hybrid (online/offline) learning communities through educational ethnography. In these communities, people construct small cultures in the liminal spaces or "border crossings" between the virtually real and "actually" real, using computer-mediated and…

This essay aims to provide a critical overview of the main themes to emerge from the Higher Education Close Up 5 conference held at Lancaster University in July 2010. The conference explored the relationship between theory and method in higher education (HE) research. This essay focuses upon four themes that developed from the proceedings. I begin…

Six academics at a regional university in Australia engaged in collaborative research examining their teaching and learning practices, their current understandings and beliefs about teacher education pedagogy and, specifically, the online teaching and learning environments. This collegial self-study project was guided by the goal of achieving…

Practitioner-researchers are well-positioned to apply qualitative methods to the study of significant problems of educational practice. However, while learning the skills of qualitative inquiry, practitioners may be compelled by forces outside of qualitative research classrooms to think quantitatively. In this article, the author considers two…

As one of the most widely used creativity assessment tools, the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) has been praised as a valid tool to assess creativity. In Amabile's (1982) seminal work, the inter-rater reliability was defined as construct validity of the CAT. During the past three decades, researchers followed this definition and…

In this article, the author focuses on bridging the gaps among research, innovation, and practice. First, the author reflects on historical perspectives involving the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Second, the author explores the current climate as reflected by three national reports highlighting future roles of…

We describe findings from a research partnership involving a global airline manufacturing company (The Boeing Company), and learning scientists and aeronautical engineers from the University of Washington. Our starting point for the partnership focused on an 8-hour introductory composites course that was designed for company employees. In phase…

This article presents the author's reflection on his experiences of teacher evaluation implemented in South Africa and his interest in researching this contentious topic in South Australia. He is of the opinion that his research will serve as a source of knowledge generation to teachers with respect to: a) "greater personal, professional and…

This paper argues that all learners need teachers who are not only professionally qualified but also culturally competent. This is particularly so with teachers of indigenous students, who face the conflicting expectations of schools and those of their home cultures. References to Pacific students will be used to illustrate some of the conflicts…

For the past several decades, factors leading to success in postsecondary education have been a target of investigation by psychologists and psychological and educational researchers. Tinto's integration theory (1975, 1987, 1993) is a dominant sociological perspective in studying college student success, especially student persistence. Academic…

In recent years, discussion has arisen among educational researchers and practitioners on how best to teach academically underprepared community college students the basic skills they need to be able to learn from a college curriculum. Research conducted by the Community College Research Center has found that many creative approaches are used in…

A wide range of research has examined trust building within corporations, businesses, and schools, and between and within organizations, but little research has been conducted that examines trust formation between university researchers and classroom-based teachers. Using a qualitative methodological approach, the authors examined the development…

In this review essay we critically examine issues raised by authors whose work is published in the two Special Issues of "JMTE" (Part 1, 13.5 and Part 2, 13.6) on Mathematics Teacher and Mathematics Teacher Educator Change--Insight through Theoretical Perspectives. While the authors have drawn on a wide range of theories and approaches, we have…