Educational research

This paper describes a research project undertaken to compare how doubt evolves while learning about electricity in two different learning contexts. In the problem-centred context, students learn about a subject through the experience of solving problems, while in the teaching-centred context, students listen while the teacher talks.

High-diversity classrooms have become one of the defining features of Alberta’s schools as the province welcomes increasing numbers of children from other countries, traditions, languages and cultures. As well, students show a great deal of variance in cognitive, affective, physical, and communicative development.

Parents, teachers, and decision-makers all have a stake in ensuring that children are well-prepared when they begin their formal education. However, the authors of this document note that the meaning of the term “ready to learn” is not as clear as it might first appear.

In this document, the authors explore the implications of research that shows wide variations in learning outcomes among sub-groups of English as a Second Language (ESL) students in schools in Canada’s largest cities.

Research has shown that being bilingual confers many cognitive benefits, including diminishing the effects of aging on the brain. In Canada, being able to function in both English and French can also have economic benefits.

Non-permanent teachers are known by a variety of titles, including substitute teachers, supply teachers, occasional teachers, or teachers on call. Whatever title they are given, they play an important role in Canada’s education systems: between Kindergarten and Grade 12, a child will be taught by a non-permanent teacher the equivalent of one full year.

Despite Canada’s strong performance on international assessments of mathematical skill among 15-year-olds, many Canadian students have weak math skills and struggle in their math classes. It has been suggested that classroom strategies fostering exploration and discovery, and guiding students to construct their own learning and knowledge, can be effective in ensuring that all students acquire strong mathematical skills.

This paper offers a review of 18 studies, published between 2003 and 2007, about the effectiveness of homework in strengthening learning outcomes. Fourteen of the studies were conducted in the United States and the remaining four in Germany.

The authors found that while the majority of studies favour homework, some of the evidence was contradictory and required more careful examination.

This report looks at completion and dropout rates for registered apprentices among two groups created from the Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS). These groups are made up of registered apprentices who first enrolled in an apprenticeship program in 1994 or in 1995.

In this essay, the author looks to American philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey for guidelines to shape the emerging field of teacher research.