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| The purpose of the Research Notes is to provide to Head Teachers or Senior Management Teams with a concise, simple and jargon-free answer to a commonly asked question, by interpreting available research. The Research Notes use a style similar to popular magazines for Heads and SMTs so the style is journalistic (or commentary), rather than a formal research abstract. The Research Notes begin with a simple, declarative sentence which answers the question and includes references to research summaries and studies as appropriate. The language of the Research Note reflects:
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| • | The principal conclusion for teaching practice, which answers the question |
| • | A simple description of the supporting research, using the frame of reference of the target audience (who will not be familiar with underlying learning theory or methodology) |
| • | Language which reflects the strength of evidence provided by the research e.g. a statement based on a meta-analysis of a number of high-quality experimental studies should be stronger, with fewer qualifications, than a statement based on a single qualitative analysis of a case study) |
| • | Examples and analogies which the target audience will recognise |
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| The questions to be answered in the first series of research notes represent a progression of questions commonly asked by Head Teachers and others who are unfamiliar with technology in teaching. They include:
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| • | Why do we need technology? |
| • | Why do we need to use handhelds in the classroom (rather than in a computer suite)? |
| • | What are the effects of using handheld technology on motivation? |
| • | What could be the pedagogical value of TI-Nspire vs. conventional graphics calculators? |
