A comparison of the effectiveness of two teaching styles for teaching games (Skegness Grammar School, Lincolnshire); Does increasing awareness of and skills in observation strategies enhance effective teaching at key stage 2? (St Richard’s RC School, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex).

Early years

Identifying parent and staff strategies for improving children’s learning (Pen Green Centre, Corby, Northamptonshire); Finding ways of improving nursery children’s language using role-play (Westwood Primary School, Leeds); The effectiveness of a programme of structured visual activities for developing mental arithmetic with infants (Peacehaven Infant School and Balfour Infant School, East Sussex); Joined handwriting in the infant school - a comparison of French and British methods (Herne CE Infant School, Herne Bay, Kent).

Science

Raising the achievements of bilingual pupils (Wolsey Junior School, Croydon); The effectiveness of the CD-Rom as a teaching aid (Hyde Technology School, Tameside, and Manchester Grammar School); Raising pupils’ attainment by increasing the range of teaching and learning styles (Mary Linwood School, Leicester); Using IT to improve GCSE students’ learning and performance (The Cornwallis School, Maidstone, Kent); The impact of primary science teaching on children’s attitudes to and understanding of health and environmental issues (Brockworth Primary School, Gloucester).

Maths

Raising achievement and confidence in mathematics: research into the teaching and learning of functions using graphics calculators (Sarah Bonnell School, Stratford, London); Improving pupils’ understanding through mathematical language (King Alfred’s School, Wantage, Oxfordshire); An exploration of the contribution language can make to the development of mathematical understanding (Chipping Norton School, Oxfordshire); The connection between teaching methods and pupils’ understanding of number at key stage 2 (Mereway Middle School, Northampton).

Special educational needs

How the attitudes and practices of teachers and learning-support assistants affect the progress of children with special needs (Kingfisher School, Abingdon, Oxfordshire).

Very able pupils

Raising achievement of more able children (Cranford Park Primary School, Harlington, Hayes); Teaching strategies to enable very able students to achieve their potential in mixed-ability classes (Crown Hills Community College, Leicester).

Mentoring

Can mentorship improve the quality of teaching and learning? (Ratton School, Eastbourne); An evaluation of the success of teacher-pupil mentoring in raising standards of achievement (Newlands School, Maidenhead, Berkshire).

LiteracyEnglish

Identification of factors which influence children’s reading success and the strategies which can be used to maximise these (Mereway Middle School, Northampton); An investigation into paired spelling technologies to improve the use of written vocabulary (Kestrels’ Field Primary School, Leicester); How is pre-20th-century literature taught, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the methods used? (Kingsland School, Hackney, London).

Target-setting

Investigating target-setting as a means of improving teacher-effectiveness (Rushden School, Northamptonshire).

School transfer

Investigating the effects of pupil-transfer between primary and secondary schools (Hainault Forest High School, Ilford, Essex).

Pupil characteristics

An investigation of the links between student characteristics and their academic progress from Year 7 to GCSE (John Mason School, Abingdon, Oxfordshire).

Sixth-formers

An analysis of motivation and quality of learning among sixth-formers (Denbigh School, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire).