Earlier this summer the Education Endowment Foundation published independent evaluations of two pilot programmes designed to find the best ways to bridge the gap between academic research and classroom practice.
Results
Sir Peter Lampl believes the impact of classroom practices such as marking and feedback can be improved by better use of research.
The EEF’s earlier research found that many teachers want to put academic research into practice but struggle to interpret and act upon findings. As a result, the charity has suggested that senior leaders should do more to help teachers understand and implement research.
Two pilot trials were conducted by the charity:
- Research into Practice
- Ashford Teaching Alliance Research
Research into Practice
Ten Rochdale-based schools took part in the trial with teachers receiving half-termly training sessions with a ‘Research into Practice lead’ that focused on a particular area of research and how it could be applied to specific interventions to real classroom issues.
The independent evaluation found:
- Teachers’ attitude towards academic research had improved
- The proportion of teachers who said they could relate to academic research had improved
Ashford Teaching Alliance Research Champion programme
Five schools took part in the research with a senior teacher being selected as the ‘research champion’. They worked with teachers, researchers and senior leaders to promote engagement with research in a number of different ways, from:
- Research symposia
- Twilight forums
- Bespoke research brokerage
The independent evaluation found:
- No evidence that teachers’ attitude towards research had changed
- Time constraints meant engagement from staff was sometimes low
Sir Kevan Collins, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “Teachers and school leaders now have access to a significant and growing body of academic research with enormous potential to improve pupil attainment and save schools money. But to do this, we need to make sure that research findings get into the hands of teachers in ways that are most likely to have an impact.
“Today’s two reports tell us just how crucial it is that school leaders are on-board with their staff’s professional development needs, providing time for them to learn more about using research to inform their classroom teaching.”
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