Developing pre-service teachers' research capabilities using LAMS

This paper examines the impact of a LAMS activity designed to develop the research-based thinking capabilities of pre-service teachers. Diploma of Education students were required to formulate a research question regarding an educational question of interest and then design a LAMS sequence that could be used to investigate their question. The approach resulted in small but significant shifts in students’ perceptions of the importance of research in learning and teaching, as well as improvements in their understanding of research issues. The technology-enabled research designs that students created revealed a range of student difficulties, including the creation of a measurable question, alignment of the methodology with that question, and the effective selection and use of technologies to implement the research designs. Eighty-four percent of students surveyed indicated that they experienced success in creating a technology-enabled educational research study, and the same proportion indicated that as a result of the exercise they would be more likely to integrate research-based investigation in their professional learning practices.