Content analysis is a valuable research tool for social scientists that unfortunately can prove challenging to teach to undergraduate students. Published classroom exercises designed to teach content analysis have thus far been predominantly envisioned as lengthy projects for upper-level courses. A brief and engaging exercise may be more…

The introduction of standards into the education system poses numerous challenges and difficulties. As with any change, plans should be made for teachers to understand and implement the standards. This study examined science teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the standards for teaching and learning, and the extent and ease/difficulty of…

Providing students with supplementary course materials such as audio podcasts, enhanced podcasts, video podcasts and other forms of lecture-capture video files after a lecture is now a common occurrence in many post-secondary courses. We used an online questionnaire to ask students how helpful enhanced podcasts were for a variety of course…

This article examines secondary students' design of experiments after engagement in an innovative and inquiry-oriented module on heat transfer. The module consists of an integration of hands-on experiments, simulated experiments and microscopic model simulations, includes a structured series of guided investigative tasks and was implemented for a…

To complement traditional learning activities in a masters-level research methodology course, social work students worked on a formal research project which involved: designing the study, constructing measures, selecting a sampling strategy, collecting data, reducing and analyzing data, and finally interpreting and communicating the results. The…

This article describes action research within a multicultural pedagogical praxis orientation in a teacher education course at a higher education institution in Brazil during the academic year 2003. The narrative draws on the ways in which the course sought to develop a research perspective that could equip student teachers with elements that allow…

This paper presents the results of a postal questionnaire survey carried out in the south-west of England into the teaching of braille to school-age children. It reports upon the qualifications and experiences of the school teachers and learning support assistants (LSAs) involved in this work. It also enquires into materials and resources…

This guide provides practical advice, based on research expertise, for teachers looking for reliable research results without waste of time or effort. The six sections of the guide present and discuss the decisions and actions that have to be taken to get good results: (1) the pros and cons of collecting information by questionnaire; (2) sampling;…

This paper reports on research carried out at the Contemporary Music-making for Amateurs (COMA) Summer School. A range of qualitative research methods were used to investigate participants' reasons for making music, and from these data a number of educational themes emerged: (i) general interactions between tutors and participants; (ii) evaluation…

This manual is a guide to the "Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire" (MSLQ) for assessing college students' motivational orientations and their use of different learning strategies for a college course. The MSLQ, based on a general cognitive view of motivation and learning strategies, contains two sections. The motivation…

This book considers education policy throughout the 1990s. It outlines curriculum innovation, teacher professionalism and school improvement. Whitty evaluates Labour education policy in terms of its fostering of social justice and inclusion. Though challenging, this is an interesting book for those working in education who are seeking a political…

Presents the results of a United Kingdom study comparing computer anxiety, mathematics anxiety, and computer experience among college students and elementary students. Includes discussion of age, sex, and the relationship between anxiety and experience. Reports that the younger children had higher computer experience and less computer anxiety.…

This paper presents a study that: (1) documented the course of problems for borderline students in an undergraduate medical program; (2) compared documentation by the same tutors of weaker students with good students in the same tutorial group; (3) documented which of six dimensions (knowledge, problem solving, critical appraisal, clinical skills,…

This thesis documents an exploratory study of the degree Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.). A Ph.D. acquisition model was used as the conceptual framework for the investigation. The model incorporated the three fundamental components of the degree (lengthy study, original research, thesis preparation), which were determined from the historical and…

A discussion of survey methodology for investigating second language programs and instruction examines two methods: oral interviews and written questionnaires. Each method is defined, and variations are explored. For interviews, this includes individual, group, and telephone interviews. For questionnaires, this includes self-administered and…