Roles and Responsibilities of Researchers and Practitioners Translating Research to Practice

1. Roles and Responsibilities of Researchers and Practitioners Translating Research to Practice Mark D. Shriver, Ph.D. Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation University of Nebraska Medical Center The Wing Institute Summit on Evidence-Based Special Education

2. Overview • My roles and responsibilities • Role and responsibilities of practitioners • Role and responsibilities of researchers • Role and responsibilities of trainers • Administrators/Policy Makers • Next steps toward Evidence-Based Practice

3. Definitions • Role: What part do you play. A function assumed by someone (Websters 3rd College Ed.) • Responsibility: Actions that you take for which you are accountable

5. My Interest in Evidence-Based Practice • Practice and Research roles • Editor of research to practice journal: Journal of Evidence Based Practices for Schools

6. Journal Overview • 1998 Proven Practice: Remediation and Prevention Solutions for Schools was published • Stated objective: “disseminate effective application of ecologically valid behavioral technology toward the prevention and remediation of school problems.” (p. 1, V1, n1).

7. Definition of Terms in Objective • Dissemination: “… the journal’s goal of making empirically supported prevention and remediation practices accessible to school personnel. To meet this goal, articles published in the journal will (1) outline the proven practice, (2) describe the literature supporting the effectiveness and theoretical underpinnings of the practice, (3) describe findings of a study in which the practice was implemented in a school setting, and (4) provide professionals with the information they need to implement the practice in their own settings.”

8. Journal of Evidence Based Practices for Schools • “The mission of the Journal of Evidence Based Practices for Schools is to positively influence the daily practice of school psychologists and educators through dissemination of studies demonstrating the successful application of an evidence-based practice for an educational setting.” (from front matter)

9. Journal of Evidence Based Practices for Schools • “They [the editors] seek articles using non-technical language that (1) outline an evidence-based practice, (2) describe the literature supporting the effectiveness and theoretical underpinnings of the practice, (3) describe the findings of a study in which the practice was implemented in an educational setting, and (4) provide readers with information they need to implement the practice in their own schools in a section entitled Implementation Guidelines. The Journal of Evidence-Based Practices for Schools differs from other scholarly journals in that it features articles that demonstrate empirically-based procedures for readers to apply the practice in their setting.” http://www.rowmaneducation.com/Journals/JEBP/Index.shtml

10. Research to Practice Articles • Research to practice studies are based on a relatively large and robust body of previous applied/basic research • Research to practice studies are conducted in applied settings under “normal” conditions

11. Research to Practice Articles • Research to practice studies demonstrate successful implementation of the practice • Research to practice studies provide clear description of procedures, not so the study can be replicated, but so the practice can be implemented by another practitioner

12. Research to Practice Articles • The goal of a research to practice study is not necessarily to extend research but to improve or extend practice

13. The Wing Institute Road Map

14. Role of Researchers • The role of researchers is the production and dissemination of research • Data and Information

15. Responsibilities of Researchers • Conducting research in collaboration with graduate students and other research colleagues. • University based. • Identify question/ gap in literature • Develop research design, procedures • Seek funding • Implement procedures.

16. Responsibilities of Researchers • Disseminate in peer-reviewed scholarly journal • Promotion and tenure are largely dependent upon publishing in top notch scholarly journals

17. Evidence-Based Practice:Roles and Responsibilities of Researchers • Role does not change • Produce and Disseminate Research (data and information) • Responsibilities expand • Research to practice studies • Disseminate data and information to practitioners

18. What Needs to Change for Researchers? • Type of Research Questions (Source?) • Dissemination Efforts • Where information is published • How information is written • Funding Priorities • Promotion and Tenure criteria • Graduate research training

19. Next Steps for Researchers • Dissemination • Journals • Web • Collaboration • Training • Advocacy

20. Role of Practitioners • Practitioners are the on-site school personnel with direct interaction with students (teachers, aides, psychologists, counselors, speech/language pathologists, OT’s, PT’s…) • Consumer of Research (Data and Information)

21. Role of Consumer • The term Consumer implies that information will be used, implemented, and/or applied. • Research as a product to be consumed.

22. Product Marketing • Product marketers want you to buy the product and use it so that you need to buy more. The assumption is that using the product will be beneficial (reinforcing). • Is implementation of research based practice in a classroom consistently reinforcing (noticeable effect on student, reduction of teacher effort) for teachers to buy the product again (e.g., return to the research for answers)?

23. Product Marketing • The information that is disseminated to teachers/consumers must be beneficial or effective (e.g., increase student performance, reduce or at least not increase teacher effort, not use inordinate resources/time) for teachers to continually “buy” research.

24. Responsibilities of Practitioners • Improve student performance • When problems arise, seek assistance • Typically do not read research on an on-going or proactive basis • Might look for research when problems arise (reactive), but typically seek consultation from others

25. Evidence-Based Practice: Roles and Responsibilities of Practitioners • Not consumers of primary research, but consumers of research to practice • Informed consumers match research to practice (does this fit my need?) • Student characteristics • Setting characteristics • Practitioner characteristics

26. Student Characteristics • Problems • Populations

27. Setting Characteristics • Resource availability • Time availability

28. Practitioner Characteristics • Practitioner Skills • Protocol/Manual • Training and expertise • Supervision • Consultation/collaboration • Personality

29. Evidence-Based Practice: Roles and Responsibilities of Practitioners • Implementation • Progress Monitoring • Data-based Decision Making • Sustainability

30. What Needs to Change for Practitioners • Access to Information • Centralized access • Trusted source • Type of Information • Research to practice • Implementation guidelines • Data-based decision making

31. What Needs to Change for Practitioners • Training • Graduate, in-service, professional development • Informed, critical consumers of research • Modeling/Practice/Feedback

32. Next Steps for Practitioners • Improved access to research to practice information • Weekly/monthly meetings • Accountability

33. Roles and Responsibilities of Trainers • Role: Teach research and practice • Trainers are often University based and Researchers • Responsibilities: • Teach principle or protocol? • Teach consumption and production

34. Roles and Responsibilities of Administrators and Policy Makers • Different Roles • Similar Primary Responsibility: Resource Allocation • Increased emphasis on accountability

35. Next Steps for Administrators and Policy Makers • Increased collaboration with researchers • Increase in-service training in research to practice to help encourage proactive consumption of research not reactive • Implementing models for accountability and data-based decision making

36. Accountability: Getting to Outcomes (Wandersman, Imm, Chinman, Kaftarian, 2000) • Needs. What are the underlying needs and conditions that must be addressed? • Goals. What are the goals and objectives that will address the needs and change the underlying conditions? • Best Practices. Which science (evidence)-based models & best practice programs can be used to reach the goals?

37. Accountability: Getting to Outcomes • Fit. What actions need to be taken so that the selected program “fits” the community context? • Capacities. What organizational resources are needed to implement the plan? • Plan. What is the plan for the program?

38. Accountability: Getting to Outcomes • Process Evaluation. Is the program being implemented? • Outcome Evaluation. How well is the program working? • Improve. How can the program be improved? • Sustain. If successful, how will the initiative be sustained?

39. Survey Comments • Campbell, R.F. (1962). The role of school study councils and local school districts in the dissemination and implementation of educational research. In K. Goldhammer & S. Elam (Eds.), Educational research: Dissemination and implementation (pp. 79-104). Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. • From a 1961 symposium at the University of Oregon on the dissemination and implementation of educational research in educational practice.

40. Survey Comments • I have found that many of the teachers do not use research findings because they do not always understand the language they are written in, and also because they are printed at random in many different places. Perhaps if a small bulletin, which summarized research findings in a few concise sentences were sent out regularly by a school system or by the state to various schools, teachers could make better use of them. Too much of their knowledge of findings comes by word of mouth in a second- or third-hand manner that is not always accurate.

41. Survey Comments • Other than subscribing to all of the many journals and publications, I feel that each school should have available to the teachers on a loan basis a good cross-section of the journals pertaining to the level of instruction (intermediate, primary, junior and senior high) rather than having them available thru a central (district) professional library, and having them rotate from teacher to teacher and from school to school. The books spend more time on the go than in the hands of teachers and frequently you don’t get an issue until several months have elapsed.

42. Survey Comments • The greatest block is the lack of understanding of the research findings by the classroom teacher. • Not enough staff personnel who are free to encourage adaptation; not enough free time for teachers to plan for taking on new practices. Too often it is difficult to locate research studies and sometimes when they are located they become of little value until their practical applications have been isolated. To do this in many cases as we would like requires more time than it is possible for us to put in on the problem.

43. Survey Comments • Time to review the available research publications of various types in order to glean those few studies and findings that meet such criteria as (a) meeting the standards of good research; (b) dealing with problems of direct concern to personnel of this district. • Time to abstract and report. • Time of busy school administrators and supervisors to read and follow up on the selected research reports they are sent. Also, a certain lack of reciprocity on their part to educational research.

44. Survey Comments • One of the chief roadblocks to the dissemination of research findings and their application is the lack of time for in-service education because of the tremendous load teachers and administrative staff are already carrying. Under present circumstances most of this type of thing is done in addition to teaching a full load.

45. Survey Comments • The chief road block that we find in applying some of our findings from our action research are (1) the lack of necessary appropriations; (2) the failure on the part of school personnel to accept the findings of our research endeavors; (3) the faith that people have in the practices that have been established over a period of many years.

46. Survey Comments • I don’t believe that it is enough to make the material available to individual teachers. Even granting that they can be enticed into reading these findings, it is a task of immense magnitude to change attitudes that have crystallized. It has been my experience that even after the tremendous effort that has been expended over the past five years in bringing findings of the various curriculum research groups in mathematics to the attention of teachers via almost every conceivable medium, there still exists a very large group of our teachers who have not budged one iota in their thinking.

47. Survey Comments • There is difficulty in making proper generalization on the basis of research materials. Too often there will be too wide a generalization based upon limited research. When this application breaks down in practice, then the prestige of research suffers considerably.

48. Survey Comments • I am continually looking for newer and better methods for doing things in schools, and believe that this field has a long way to go and that teachers are not always able to utilize a child’s mind in teaching to the extent that could be done. Perhaps the trouble is that the pendulum of what is popular usually swings from one extreme to the other and throws out the old before evaluating the new, and utilizing the good points of the old.

49. Survey Comments • Unless research (quality) programs are established such that the teachers are required to have an active part in the program, I am doubtful if anything will be accomplished. On the other hand, we have had most encouraging results when we established research projects in which teachers participated as responsible investigators.

50. Survey Comments • Graduate schools and colleges of education need to do more than they are now doing to build up the importance of the intelligent consumption of current educational research. They also need to emphasize the obligation of researchers to spend more time on the “So what?” section of their research reports. Time for accomplishing the above could be achieved by cutting some of the time now given to making every graduate student thing he must be a producer of research.