Larysa V. Lysenko

• PhD
• Researcher at Concordia University

Good teachers are a major predictor of students’ success in school and beyond it. Finding ways to increase the quality of teaching has been a concern for educational systems across various income contexts and, particularly, in the Global South. This paper discusses the iterative design of an online teacher professional development program geared to...

While countries in sub-Saharan Africa have made significant progress towards achieving universal school enrolment, millions of students lack basic numeracy skills. This paper reports the results of a pilot study that aimed at using the Emergent Literacy in Mathematics (ELM) software to teach mathematics in early primary grades in Kenya. Designed as...

This paper explores factors to increase the likelihood that the implementation of ABRACADABRA, a technology-based approach to teaching and learning literacy, endures and expands beyond the initial research. Started as a pilot study in 12 classrooms, the implementation spread to more than 500 primary classrooms over six years in five areas of Kenya....

To align with Kenya 2030 Vision of education for self-reliance, there is a growing need for classroom instruction that develops students’ capacity to be in control of their learning. This paper reports a two-year study that tested feasibility of implementing ePEARL, an e-portfolio, in the context of Kenyan public schools. By design, the digital por...

This study was undertaken to learn about the impact of using the web-based Inquiry Strategies for the Information Society of the Twenty-First Century (ISIS-21), software developed by the authors, to improve the information literacy (IL) skills of late elementary students (10-12 years). Using a series of multi-media and learning strategies design pr...

Due to the wide application of high and new technology in weapons and equipment, modern weapons present the characteristics of complexity and systematization, and their effectiveness analysis and evaluation are paid more and more attention, which has become an arduous and urgent task in the research of weapon equipment system. Only by using scienti...

Lay Description What is known about the subject matter If well‐designed and ‐implemented, computer‐based instruction can have positive effects on learning. Early literacy instruction could substantially benefit from technology use. Among offline and online computer applications targeting literacy, ABRA is a top‐rated software. 17 field studies of...

Many external technology-based educational initiatives in the developing world are short-lived. We explored factors and strategies that have potential to increase the likelihood that LTK+ implementation goes beyond the initial project and becomes part of the instructional routines in Kenya classrooms. Based on existing research about sustainability...

Recent international assessments of the performance of secondary school students have revealed important gaps in fundamental literacy, numeracy, and scientific reasoning skills. Indeed, what these findings may suggest is that the students lack sophisticated strategies for learning how to learn, also known as self-regulation strategies, proven to ha...

This two-phase study was designed as a quasi-experiment to learn about the impacts of the interactive early literacy software and the library of digital books and stories on primary students’ reading abilities and reading instruction in Kenyan schools. For more than a term 1899 students from 48 classes learnt to read with the software. A standardiz...

This pilot project investigated the effects of ABRACADABRA (ABRA), a web-based literacy program developed by the Centre for the Study of learning and Performance (CSLP) at Concordia university, on primary school children in Hong Kong. A total of 125 Primary 2 students participated in a 14- week long study. Five classes were randomly assigned to eit...

The pilot research presented here explores the classroom use of Emerging Literacy in Mathematics (ELM) software, a research-based bilingual interactive multimedia instructional tool, and its potential to develop emerging numeracy skills. At the time of the study, a central theme of early mathematics curricula, Number Concept, was fully developed. I...

This paper summarizes the results of a pan-Canadian online survey study that investigates the extent to which school practitioners (N = 1,153) use research to inform their practice. The self-reports indicate that the majority of the respondents used educational research, yet this engagement was infrequent. Although the respondents shared neutral at...

This paper summarizes the results of a pan-Canadian online survey study that investigates the extent to which school practitioners (N = 1,153) use research to inform their practice. The self-reports indicate that the majority of the respondents used educational research, yet this engagement was infrequent. Although the respondents shared neutral at...

This meta-analysis summarizes research on the effects of a comprehensive, interactive web-based software ABRACADABRA (A Balanced Reading Approach for Canadians Designed to Achieve Best Results for All) on the development of reading competencies among kindergarteners and elementary students. Findings from nine randomized control trials and quasi-exp...

This meta-analysis summarizes research on the effects of a comprehensive, interactive web-based software AbrACAdAbrA (A balanced reading Approach for Canadians designed to Achieve best results for All) on the development of reading competencies among kindergarteners and elementary students. Findings from nine randomized control trials and quasi-exp...

This study investigates the predictors of school practitioners’ (N = 2,425) use of educational research. The suggested model explained significantly but modestly the infrequent use of educational research by practitioners. The latent factor opinions about research had the most explanatory power. The results are discussed in connection with existing...

The research explores the impact of interactive, multimedia literacy software (ABRA) on the reading skills of early elementary students in Kenya. Twelve grade two English teachers and their students from six schools were randomly divided in half: an experimental group (N=180) where ABRA was part of their English Language instruction and a control g...

The research presented here explores the impact of two web-based applications (an interactive, multimedia literacy software and a digital process portfolio) on early elementary students' reading comprehension. Two studies were conducted during the 2010–2011 and the 2011–2012 school years, targeting 26 teachers from elementary schools (grades 1–2),...

The research presented here explores the impact of two web-based applications (an interactive, multimedia literacy software and a digital process portfolio) on early elementary students' reading comprehension. Two studies were conducted during the 2010-2011 and the 2011-2012 school years, targeting 26 teachers from elementary schools (grades 1-2),...

An evidence-based, learner-centred digital portfolio based on the cyclical, socio-cognitive model of self-regulation was designed to accommodate teacher professional learning and development. The results of the pilot study indicate that ePEARL Level 4 allowed student teachers (n= 43) to align their work with professional competencies, keep track of...

The trend towards using research knowledge to improve policies and practices is on the rise. However, despite considerable effort and notable progress in recent years, it seems that school practitioners continue to make little use of research and it is not clear what conditions would facilitate or obstruct this use. This review focuses exclusively...

The trend towards using research knowledge to improve policies and practices is on the rise. However, despite considerable effort and notable progress in recent years, it seems that school practitioners continue to make little use of research and it is not clear what conditions would facilitate or obstruct this use. This review focuses exclusively...

Depuis leur apparition sur le marché de l'éducation, les portfolios électroniques sont très en demande et peuvent rencontrer les besoins d'une grande variété d'utilisateurs, incluant de jeunes enfants et des enseignants expérimentés. Les portfolios électroniques peuvent être conçus spécifiquement pour appuyer la formation des enseignants en intégra...

Entre 2002 et 2008, 197 écoles de l’enseignement secondaire (collèges et lycées) accueillant les élèves des milieux les plus défavorisés de la province de Québec (Canada) ont été appelées à accroître leur potentiel éducatif en vue d’améliorer la réussite de leurs élèves. Elles devaient s’engager dans une démarche collective rigoureuse: mobilisation...

Although insufficient use of the results of educational research in educational practice is among the deterrents to school progress, literature suggests that some groups of practitioners can be more prone to use research findings and school data. The purpose of this pan-Canadian online survey study is twofold: to explore if schoolteachers, administ...

Increasing knowledge and improving quality of life are the general expectations that society attaches to research findings in general. If used, educational research, in particular, is postulated to make a difference in what teachers know and how efficiently they teach, and, consequently, how efficiently their students learn. However, empirical evid...

Because of its traditional role as an enabler of knowledge dissemination, education is expected to contribute substantially to the development of the knowledge economy. This means applying the knowledge that it generates through research to its own practice. Yet the literature shows that school practitioners do not express much demand for research...

100-120 words): The paper presents the results of the study measuring determinants of research usage by various categories of school practitioners. The responses of 2425 practitioners to a self-reporting behavioral and attitudinal questionnaire have been analyzed. Practitioners reported low-criterion uses of research both general and locally produc...

An attitude and self-reporting behavioural measure, the Questionnaire about the Use of Research-based Information (QURBI), was developed to survey school practitioners in the province of Quebec. The responses of 2425 school practitioners allowed exploring the principal dimensions about the use of research-based information: type of research used, t...

Analysis of the questionnaires of research utilization by school practitioners revealed a complex of flaws in these instruments. In their majority, being designed for descriptive purposes, these tools lack psychometric properties. Some reduce research utilization to instrumental use; others inquire only about practitioners’ attitudes towards resear...