The case for a National Writing Project for teachers
This is a report funded by CfBT that presents the case for a version of the US National Writing Project to be piloted in the UK.
TDA E-Learning Grant Reports Round Two: CILT
This is a report for a TDA funded project, based at CILT, focusing on the development and impact of e-learning on ITE provision.
The impact of a thinking skills approach (CAME) on students’ mathematical ability
This is a research digest from the DCSF Research Informed Practice Site (TRIPS). The article is a précis of the paper entitled ‘Fostering cognitive development through the context of mathematics: Results of the CAME project’ published in Educational Studies in Mathematics (2007). It reports the findings of an intervention project, Cognitive Acceleration in Mathematics (CAME), initiated in 1993. The aim of the project was to investigate whether the CAME approach would accelerate the cognitiv
Curiosity Kits: The impact of non-fiction book bags on boys’ reading at home
This 2001 NFER Topic (now PRE-Online) article reports on a small-scale pilot project which was supported by the National Year of Reading (1998–99) and the UK Reading Association, as well as publishers and other businesses. This research involved placing sets of book bags (‘Curiosity Kits’) in four Year 4 classes across the country, and monitoring the home-school reading patterns of these pupils compared with four control classes. The kits, contained in sports bags, comprised at least one
National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth: Evaluation
This is a summative evaluation to the now historical National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY) that was funded from 2002-2007 by the then DfES. The project was initially based at the University of Warwick, but following a competitive open tender process in August 2007 was awarded to CfBT Education Trust, who replaced NAGTY with the Young Gifted and Talented (YG&T) Learner Academy. Over the five years that Warwick held the contract, NAGTY developed a three 'academies' structure: the
The Extra Mile: How schools succeed in raising aspirations in deprived communities
The resource is a DCSF document produced largely as a project brief for “the ‘extra mile’ trial”. The project runs from July 2008 until summer 2009. The document sets out twelve activities that schools bidding to be part of the project may decide to focus upon. The final part of the document outlines information for trial schools and annexes to support application, which had to be completed by July 2008.
Enhancing the communication learning environment of an early years unit
This research paper, presented at BERA 2001, reports on an action research project in which a group of teachers, nursery nurses and teaching assistants worked with an Open University consultant, Melanie Nind, to improve the language and communication provision in an early years unit. The project took an inclusive approach, rather than starting with a deficit model, through which the learning environment was enriched for all children. The development and evaluation of changes was guided by the co
Survey of Musical Futures
Musical Futures was a three year project, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, which explored different ways in which informal learning practices and pedagogies could be applied within music education. The project built on the work on Professor Lucy Green in her recent publications (Green 2001, 2008). This survey establishes analyses the impact of the project across secondary schools from teachers’ and pupils’ perspectives. The survey provides an informative insight into the success and fai
TDA E-Learning Grant Reports Round Two: Cornwall SCITT
This is a report for a TDA funded project, based at the Cornwall SCITT, focusing on the development and impact of e-learning on ITE provision. This project focused on enhancing the routine use of school-centred ICT learning tools.
How does age relate to pupils’ perceptions of themselves as readers?
This is a short paper which draws on the results of a larger study, focussing on the differences between secondary and primary school children’s perceptions of themselves as readers, drawing on evidence collected from over 1,600 children. The children were all from 29 schools which were part of the Reading Connects project - a DCSF funded initiative delivered by the National Literacy Trust – which provides support for schools to develop reading communities.
Taking control: how teachers use research
This 2004 PRE-Online article draws on the findings of a National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report, to identify the barriers preventing teachers from using research to inform their practice, as well as to highlight some of the ways Local Authorities have helped to remove these. The project also examined the barriers to accessing, engaging with, carrying out and sharing research, as well as evincing why teachers should be interested in using it.
Assessing Quality in Applied and Practice-based Educational Research
This ‘Framework for Discussion’ originated from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project whose remit was to examine in a critical and informed fashion the different definitions of and approaches to applied and practice-based research. The authors seek to clarify the concepts and models currently employed in order to enable a review of recent governmental and other initiatives which recognise the value of applied and practice based research. The primary motivation is to a
Boys and Literacy: Exploring the Issues
The resource is a NFER PRE journal article, published in 2002, which discusses a piece of action research that took place in a South Wales primary school. Although the initial focus of the project was on boys’ literacy difficulties, the researcher, Trisha Maynard, and her team from the University of Wales worked with teachers to discover more about attainment in and attitudes to reading and writing of both boys and girls. As a result of this, significant changes were made to the teaching of li
TDA E-Learning Grant Reports Round Two: University of Winchester: Videoconferencing
This is a report for a TDA funded project focusing on the development and impact of e-learning on ITE provision. This project was based at the University of Winchester and focused on the use of videoconferencing in supporting teacher education and training. This extensive report provides an account of how videoconferencing was undertaken.
TDA E-Learning Grant Reports Round Two: Billericay Educational Consortium
This is a report for a TDA funded project focusing on the development and impact of e-learning on ITE provision. Based at the Billericay Educational Consortium, it focused on the development of an e-learning platform to replace paper based information and assessment systems.
ICT and attainment: A review of the research literature
The resource is a pdf document, available from Becta’s archives. It is the result of a DfES and Becta funded project to produce a summary of the literature available on ICT and attainment, nationally and internationally, both in primary and secondary schools. The resource was published in 2003. It is one of a pair, undertaken by the same team at King’s college, London and is number 17 in the DfES series of reports ‘ICT in Schools Research and Evaluation Series’.
Hard to Teach – Secondary Maths Using ICT
The resource is a Teachers TV video highlighting a Mathematical Association project developed to support mathematics teachers tackling hard to teach subjects through the use of ICT. The programme features three different teachers working in their classrooms looking at different KS3 topics of mathematics, supported by two project leaders from the Mathematical Association.
Tool-kit 1: planning your research project
This 2005 Topic (now PRE-Online) article focuses on planning research projects in schools. It is the first in a series of articles published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) designed to equip the reader in primary or secondary education with the tools to conduct their own research project.
Crossing Views on the First World War
Crossing Views on the First World War is a project website. The partners in the project include educational associations and teaching bodies and are carrying out research in schools in France, Belgium, Romania, Austria, Italy, Poland and Germany.
DCSF Gender Agenda Project Publications
Findings from the the Gender Agenda Project research are now available in the form of three publications.
