Evidence That Counts: 12 Teacher-Led Randomised Controlled Trials and Other Styles of Experimental Research

This publication contains 12 (A3 open-out) poster-style reports of teacher experimental research. The style of presentation parallels the type of preliminary reporting common at academic conferences and postgraduate events. At the same time, it aims to act as a form of short primer to introduce teachers to the basic options that there are when conducting this type of research. This said, the determined teacher-researcher would be advised to extend their reading further to full-scale textbooks such as Richard Churches and Eleanor Dommett's "Teacher-Led Research: How to Design and Implement Randomised Controlled Trials and Other Forms of Experimental Research" which clearly explains how to choose and conduct the right statistical tests. "Education Development Trust" also offers an in-depth training programme over two days with access to statistical software and support for teachers when conducting and writing up their research. Most of the teachers in this report followed this programme in Wales, or in one case Dubai. Others, associated with Kyra Teaching School Alliance (led by Mount Street Academy, part of the CfBT Schools Trust), attended the Department for Education/ National College for Teaching and Leadership training that Richard Churches delivered as part of the "Closing the Gap: Test and Learn" programme in England. The reports in this publication demonstrate the potential of practising teachers to carry out research which applies a scientific method, both in terms of the generation of school-based local and contextual evidence and with regard to the development of a research-engaged, research-informed and research-led teaching profession. They also illustrate how poster-style reporting can offer an engaging and immediate way of understanding a piece of education research of this type, how the research was conducted and its implications for other teachers. The report was previewed at the 2015 British Science Festival within a session delivered by Richard Churches, Tony McAleavy and Michael Latham. To find out more about the Education Development Trust training programme which supports teachers and schools to conduct experimental research contact: rchurches@educationdevelopmenttrust.com.