Commentary: Pilot studies

As its label implies, a pilot study or project is a trial of an idea that may be a new instructional model, innovation, technique, or curriculum reform. Originally it was used for trials of large-scale research designs. Pilot studies and their close relatives, feasibility studies and demonstration projects, have had a varied pattern of use since the 1960s. Kamin et al. (2001) have provided us with an excellent example of how a pilot project can be undertaken to identify the strengths and weaknesses of an instructional model prior to widespread and/or permanent adoption of its use.