Nowadays, in the United Kingdom, citizens take for granted clean water pumped directly into their homes, but it was not always the case, and is still not so in many countries. Could people clean water themselves if they had to and what could they then use it for? Would it actually be "clean enough" to drink? The author presents children…

Primary science has been a major success story over the past 20 years in the UK. Children like science, and teachers, who may not have thought of themselves as "science-trained", have taken to the subject with gusto. Part of this enthusiasm is because of the practical nature of the subject. Science in UK schools makes good use of…

This paper presents an investigation of how experience-led content in an engineering degree can be strengthened by creating opportunities for engineering students to benefit from the knowledge, skills and resources of students with current professional experience. Students who study civil engineering part-time at Coventry University (while also…

Most history teachers will, at some point, recognise the tension between teaching an engaging history course while at the same time meeting the requirements of an exam specification. Mark Fowle and Ben Egelnick reflect here on how they approached teaching a formal requirement of an exam specification. Rather than see "controlled…

A sweet spot is referred to in sport as the perfect place to strike a ball with a racquet or bat. It is the point of contact between bat and ball where maximum results can be produced with minimal effort from the hand of the player. Similar physics can be applied to the less inspiring examples of door stops; the perfect position of a door stop is…

How do teachers respond to a mathematics curriculum innovation? This paper reports some of the findings from a UK Research Council (ESRC)-funded project investigating how teachers in English secondary schools (students aged 12-16 years) responded to innovation. A Gatsby Foundation funded program implemented new materials; the project investigated…

This article reports on an ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) doctoral study which investigated how teachers consulted pupils about teaching and learning in classrooms. Interest in consulting pupils has increased over the last decade; existing research suggests pupils have valuable perspectives on teaching and learning which teachers can…

This article reports on an international study investigating university educators' ideas about the diversity of their students, carried out by using semi-structured email interviews. The information obtained from participants was analysed using a phenomenographic approach to obtain an outcome space, in which the narrowest conception ignored any…

This paper reports a school-based investigation into revision as a means of improving writing in the English classroom. It suggests that although pupils tend to perceive revision as a teacher-directed, discrete stage in the writing process, during revision they engage in independent questioning, evaluation and employ a working model of audience as…

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…

In this article, the author shows some simple examples of ways in which "Autograph" can enhance learning in the KS3 curriculum. He began using version 2 with A-level students to help them visualise concepts in pure mathematics. He has "Autograph" projected to the front board to keep learners focused on mathematical activity…

This study explored the process and outcomes of constructivist methods of enhancing science understanding in the topic areas of light and the earth in space. The sample was drawn from a group of 41 nine-year-old children, delivered in four two-hour weekly sessions. Each session involved different combinations of interactive discussion and…

This essay discusses issues of cultural difference in dance studies and presents specific pedagogical strategies for engaging the students' embodied knowledge as a research tool in both historical and cross-cultural investigations. (Contains 2 notes.)

This article presents a study on how to improve the quality of Year 1 children's mathematical talk. Using a dictaphone, the children were recorded as they worked with their partner. Later, the children's responses were marked against a checklist of three types of talk: (1) disputational; (2) cumulative; and (3) exploratory. Throughout the study…

This article aims to encourage the development of safe, valuable and scientifically sound field investigations, and offers suggestions or guidelines for your people participating in environmental work on expeditions to areas in the northern United Kingdom. (Author/MDH)