Agile methods, initially used by cross-functional teams in software development projects, can also facilitate teamwork in collaborative research projects. For this, project management-related issues need to be addressed, including the challenge of finding practical means for coordinating scientific collaboration, while garnering commitment from…

Research reported in this article has been conducted from the theoretical perspective of the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic developed by Y. Chevallard and his collaborators, and from the institutional perspective of university mathematics education in France. It focuses on the teaching and learning of algebraic structures. The article…

This paper challenges current dominant thinking in Universities about the processes of ethical appraisal of research studies in the Social Sciences. It considers this to be founded on unjustifiable and inappropriate principles, the origins of which are presented before discussing alternative, more inclusive and ethically defensible approaches. The…

This work refers to a research project named 'Math walks', whose aim is to investigate a few students' common conceptions and difficulties related to symmetries as well as to guide the student in the transition from visualization to conceptualization. As far as this issue is concerned, we designed a learning activity (LA) according to Dina van…

This article revisits a previous publication which questioned how Teaching Assistants (TAs) manage behaviour in mainstream English primary schools (Clarke and Visser, 2016). That paper highlighted the lack of specific research in the area and noted, that despite increases in research on TAs work, there remained a lack of understanding in relation…

This article examines the question of how biology courses can take student concerns more seriously than they often do. The focus is on school biology although the arguments apply to other biology courses too. The article begins by examining Michael Young's argument that schools should provide students with access to powerful knowledge--the sort of…

The final year dissertation is an important part of an undergraduate degree which delivers a wide range of subject-specific and transferable skills. It plays a significant part in students' learning development and overall experience of university. Finding the right project is emotionally important to students and may underpin their subsequent…

Japan's operating budget for its national universities has been reduced since 2004 year by year, leaving a tight competition among universities in securing research funding. Urban universities with several prominent researchers can operate by securing competitive funding, joint research with companies, and donations, whereas small rural…

Design-based research (DBR) develops solutions in combination with research and has gained increasing popularity in educational research. This research approach involves close collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Many studies show that teachers are often passive participants in DBR projects, where their role becomes implementing…

This study reports on an investigation into the experiences of faculty engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Common challenges that emerged across the interviews included competing priorities, and a lack of background knowledge and research skills relevant to their SoTL work. These challenges were often overcome by working…

Across higher education, teachers have been inspiring themselves (and others) to apply pedagogical innovations grounded in a unifying intention: to prepare students for labour markets and societal challenges. Research-based education has been funded to promote pedagogical innovations with valuable impact on the students' academic success and/or…

According to self-determination theory, the feeling of autonomy during learning is a prerequisite for intrinsically motivated learning. Applied to research-based learning in teacher education, choices in designing a research project for the school context might foster a researching-reflective attitude toward practice. This hypothesis was tested…

Research project modules are a key part of UK undergraduate and postgraduate bioscience degree programmes. Report marking invariably uses two assessors, but marking models are mixed with some institutions using two independent markers and others using the project supervisor as one of the assessors. This latter model is controversial with critics…

This article emerges from an analysis of the data from a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded research project that examined the ways two universities were taking up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its Calls to Action. This article focuses on reconcili"action" as critical social action. A…

The use of a group-based approach to project working has been shown to provide significant advantage to students in terms of project outcomes, motivation and engagement. The Department of Chemistry at the University of Reading has recently explored the use of group projects for final year practical work. In this model, students are presented with…