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Mei Kuin Lai and Stuart McNaughton provide a theoretical and practical account of how PLNs focused on collaborative analysis of data can be integrated into design-based research interventions to improve practice and student learning outcomes.
Relationality and Learning in Oceania: Contextualizing Education for Development critically engages debates in comparative education and international development relating to context, culture, language and indigenous epistemologies. It draws on experiences of a south-north research-practice team in Solomon Islands and Tonga.
Networked by Design brings together work from leading international scholars in the learning sciences that applies social network theory to teachers’ social interactions and relationships. The volume examines the direct and indirect relationships and communities that teachers navigate, as well as the models, plans, and other interventions that allow them to exercise control over these networks. Each chapter draws from case studies or latitudinal research to investigate a different intervention and its outcomes. By presenting research conducted in a variety of scales and contexts, this book offers scholars, future teachers, and leaders diverse insights into how interventions in social capital and social networks can create impactful, meaningful teaching and learning.
Effective research in educational settings requires collaboration between researchers and school-based practitioners to codesign instruction and assessment, analyze findings to inform subsequent iterations, and make thoughtful revisions. This innovative reference and course text examines the theory and practice of design-based research (DBR), an important methodology for conducting studies in authentic educational contexts. Leading experts provide specific examples of high-quality DBR addressing different research foci, grade levels, and subject areas (literacy/English language arts, math, and science). Applications are presented for curriculum development, intervention, assessment, and digital contexts, as well as teaching second-language learners. Also addressed is DBR’s role in educator preparation, professional development, dissertation research, and technical education.
The field of design research has been gaining momentum over the last five years, particularly in educational studies. As papers and articles have grown in number, definition of the domain is now beginning to standardise. This book fulfils a growing need by providing a synthesised assessment of the use of development research in education. It looks at four main elements: background information including origins, definitions of development research, description of applications and benefits and risks associated with studies of this kind how the approach can serve the design of learning environments and educational technology quality assurance - how to safeguard academic rigor while conducting design and development studies a synthesis and overview of the topic along with relevant reflections.
This book illustrates key attributes of professional learning networks that build educators’ ownership, practice, and expertise and highlights the potential of PLNs to address questions of equity, both for educators working in rural communities who have limited access to professional development and diverse learners and equity-seeking communities.
Educational researchers, policy-makers and practitioners are increasingly focusing their attention on Professional Learning Networks in order to facilitate teacher development and encourage school and school system improvement. However, despite the understanding that PLNs can contribute significantly to improving teaching practice and student achievement, there are key challenges regarding their use. These challenges include: ensuring PLNs can provide opportunities for generating and sharing knowledge within schools enabling teachers and professionals to direct their own development helping individuals change their practices through inquiry-led approaches facilitating partnerships which work across a variety of stakeholders In this new edited volume, Brown and Poortman evaluate these challenges from both a theoretical and practical approach. A multitude of perspectives from a team of international contributors covers: the importance of Professional Learning Networks the use of evidence within PLNs the impact of inter-school networks international cases of networks and communities the promotion and sustainability of PLNs Also featuring case studies and exemplars to contextualise sustainable learning networks, Networks For Learning is an accessible and thoroughly-researched book, which will be essential reading and a valuable resource for researchers, teachers and school leaders who are interested in developing professional learning networks.
This book describes the processes and challenges of implementing collaborative practices in School Improvement Networks, focussing specifically on examples from Chile. The Chilean case is significant for other challenging contexts, particularly rural communities, that still seek to implement collaborative inquiry projects.
Lessons in School Improvement from Sub-Saharan Africa describes the planning, delivery and evaluation of an improvement programme by EducAid. The evaluation showed that children in schools, whose teachers had taken part in the programme, made more progress in literacy, attendance and behaviour than children in control schools.
Professional learning networks (PLN) are considered to be an effective way to foster school improvement. In order to generate change PLNs require effective support from school leaders, but these leaders might best support PLNs is currently little understood. To address this, this book presents a case study of the leadership of one PLN in England.
