Too often, educational research is chronically absent from classrooms. According to a 2019 survey, Only about 16 percent of teachers use research. to inform your practical decisions.
Torrey Trustprofessor of Learning technology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, spends time understanding the causes of the research-practice gap and has developed strategies that classroom educators and researchers can implement to bridge it.
Below are some key takeaways from that work.
Why is there a gap between research and practice?
“Too often, academics conduct research in K-12 schools as 'external experts' who come in, collect data, and analyze it,” Trust says. “They rarely collaborate with K-12 teachers during the research process. Then, they take that data from K-12 schools and publish their work in top-tier academic journals, which often hide research articles behind paywalls that K-12 teachers don't have access to or can't afford.” .
These papers are then presented at academic conferences for other academics, not K-12 teachers, Trust says.
On the other side of the equation, while professors receive some training in research analysis, they often don't have time to sift through jargon-filled articles.
“I really think there is a need for teacher education programs to incorporate opportunities for current and future teachers to learn to read and critically examine research,” she says. “Otherwise, we will end up with schools that promote things like growth mindset, sandand learning styles, and make purchasing decisions without realizing that research on these topics is fallible.
What can teachers do right now to close the gap between research and practice?
“I would recommend that K-12 teachers select a topic that interests them, like perhaps ChatGPT in education, then go to Google Scholar and set up an alert to receive an email when a new study is published on that topic,” Trust says . . “I do this for several topics and it's amazing that the research shows up in my inbox instead of having to search for it.”
Trust adds that educators can learn a lot even by simply reading the titles and summaries included in the Academic google Alert emails.
Beyond this, more can be done to support teachers as they try to stay up to date with the latest research. “I think educators need time, training, and support to learn how to critically read research and determine whether and how to change their practice based on the research they read,” she says. “This could be done in research-based professional learning communities within schools or districts.”
What can researchers do?
While there are many different steps researchers can take to best disseminate their work, the first step the Trust recommends is also the easiest. “Write titles and summaries of journal articles that are easy to understand,” he says. “Often, K-12 teachers just look at those two aspects of a magazine, especially if it's behind a paywall. “I see too many research articles published with very long titles and jargon that don't seem at all attractive to read, but actually contain really important information for teachers.”
Next, Trust suggests that researchers look for ways to present their work at conferences attended by K-12 teachers, such as ISTE, NSTA, NCTE, and CUE, as well as through webinars. They should also promote their work on social media and by writing professional-focused articles or blog posts.
“I try to publish my work in at least one top-tier journal because it is highly regarded by my colleagues and the university, and then I try to write a practitioner-oriented journal article, an open-access journal article that everyone K-12 students and teachers have access to a blog or other type of publication to share the work widely,” he says. “I know a lot of academics don't like self-promotion, but it's really essential to disseminate your work more widely.”
What are other ways to foster greater collaboration between teachers and researchers?
Because education is so context-specific, even a “proven” teaching method might not work in certain cases.
“For example, a new digital tool works, but only in a classroom where all students have Chromebooks and high-speed Wi-Fi at home,” Trust says. “So even if a research study says something works, it may not work for all K-12 teachers. That can be a point of frustration if K-12 teachers turn to research for advice.”
He adds: “I believe that to remedy this, we need all K-12 teachers to become active researchers, collecting data from their own classes and working with scholars from local universities to analyze, make sense of, and publish the data. “This keeps K-12 teachers informed, allows them to become researchers, and begins to close the gap between research and practice.”
