Making teacher engagement with research a reality

Jane Flood explores the wide range of factors which influence teachers’ engagement with research, and the dynamic relationship between knowledge mobilization and impact on pedagogic practice. She concludes by providing a practitioner’s checklist to help make research engagement a reality.

Connecting educational research and practice

In recent years the call for teachers to become more evidence informed has grown in strength in an attempt to improve school standards and develop a 21st Century workforce equipped with the complex skills to meet the needs of a developing knowledge society.

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      string(418) "... these questions, options referencing research evidence were presented alongside a variety of other potential influences, such teachers’ own ideas, information from training/continuing professional development (CPD), ideas from other schools, and guidance from official bodies. The questions were framed so that they were not biased towards answers that referenced research ..."
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      string(5957) "article). For these purposes, it was appropriate to draw a random sample of schools from the population of schools in England and it was sufficient to have 300 responses at respondent (teacher) level. We did not need to achieve a representative sample of teachers; just a sample that covered the range of responses required to undertake factor analysis.On analysis of the data, we realised that the pilot had yielded some interesting results, which were worth exploring further. The EEF therefore commissioned the NFER to explore the findings from the pilot study in order to understand the levels of current teacher research engagement. Recognising that we could not be certain that the teachers who responded to this survey were representative of the entire teaching workforce (the sample was not designed in this way), we calculated confidence intervals. As a result we can say that, assuming no sampling bias, we are 95 per cent confident that if we were to collect results from all teachers in England, the results would be within six percentage points of the results presented in this report8.Our findingsTeachers had a positive view of research, and generally saw themselves as research engagedWhen we asked teachers a series of questions about academic research, and how they felt it influenced their practice, the majority (typically two thirds) said they valued it, engaged with it, and used it to change classroom practice. Figure 1 provides an illustration of a series of questionnaire items that reflect this finding.   Figure 1 – Teacher views on the value and use of research evidence Figure 1 shows that much larger proportions of respondents ‘strongly agreed/agreed’ with the statements than ‘disagreed/strongly disagreed’ with them. For example the following proportions of teachers ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that:I am able to relate information from research to my context (77 per cent).I know where to find relevant research that may help to inform teaching methods/practice (70 per cent).Information from research plays an important role in informing  teaching practice (69 per cent).I use information from research to help me decide how to implement new approaches in the classroom (68 per cent).I feel confident about analysing information from research (66 per cent).When compared to other sources of information, research had a relatively small impact in informing teachers’ decision makingTeachers were also asked questions about the sources of information they consulted when developing approaches to teaching and learning. In these questions, options referencing research evidence were presented alongside a variety of other potential influences, such teachers’ own ideas, information from training/continuing professional development (CPD), ideas from other schools, and guidance from official bodies. The questions were framed so that they were not biased towards answers that referenced research. When the use of research information was considered in relation to other sources, rather than viewed in isolation, we found that teachers consulted it relatively rarely. This is illustrated in Figure 2, which summarises teachers’ responses to a question asking them to identify up to three sources that were most important to them when deciding on an approach to improve pupil progress. Figure 2 – Sources consulted by teachers when developing approaches to support pupil progress Figure 2 shows that:sources generated by teachers/schools had a large influence on decision making: own ideas (67 per cent); ideas from other schools (33 per cent); and action research conducted by respondents or their colleagues (17 per cent)sources generated by external education professionals also had a large influence: information gathered through training/CPD (43 per cent); literature based on teacher experience (14 per cent)academic evidence had only a moderate influence on decision making: literature based on academic research (16 per cent); and online evidence platforms, such as the Sutton Trust/EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit9 (eight per cent)sources generated by policy and examinations organisations had a small influence: guidance from official bodies such as the DfE or Ofsted (10 per cent); advice from academy chains or local authorities (eight per cent); and guidance from examination boards (five per cent).Additional survey data showed that the sources that teachers found easiest to understand were: colleagues in their own schools; pupil performance data; CPD information; and colleagues in other schools. Teachers considered information based on academic research less easy to understand.How we interpret these findings:These findings illustrate the different impressions we can form about teachers’ research engagement when we ask explicit questions about the use of research, compared to exploring the use of research evidence relative to other influences. It is perhaps not surprising that research emerges as a less prominent influence when it is measured alongside other important sources. The survey indicates that teachers tend to listen to other teachers, and that schools tend to draw on the support of other schools. This suggests that an important mechanism for embedding EIP is via peer-to-peer support and school networks. Drawing on these findings, the EEF is increasingly collaborating with practice partners to help disseminate and apply research knowledge, through initiatives like the Research School network. Teachers had mixed levels of research knowledge In addition to capturing"
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Leadership

Teacher research engagement: what do we know and what can we learn?

20 Jun 2017

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      string(5895) "may wish to be actively engaged in research and to develop their own practice. Teachers may be part of a teacher-research network already, or studying for a Masters qualification, in which case the ‘areas for further research’ on existing MESHGuides would be of interest. Feedback from teachers’ findings would be very welcome: teachers are encouraged to feed into the existing knowledge base so it can be further developed. We suggest teachers browse the list of Guides and read the ones most relevant to them and their learners.School leaders and professional development leaders may find it useful to take certain sections of guides to shape professional development sessions in school. For example, one head teacher said he intended to use the guidance on identification of ‘reluctant writers’ to prompt discussion and analysis in a staff session reviewing children’s progress. In particular, the head wanted to draw attention to the interventions that teachers could make in the classroom that research has found to be effective in supporting reluctant writers. Another found the English as an Additional Language (EAL) guide invaluable in helping staff to understand how to support EAL learners. The pedagogic interventions outlined in the guides to support teachers’ classroom practice are underpinned by research in the field, which has been published previously in academic journals and quality assured. Policy makers may find that the guides provide summaries to a range of topics of interest. The guides provide a visual way to navigate around a complex topic, thus providing insights into how a topic can be approached.Previous research about teachers’ perceptions of MESHGuides (Procter, 2014; Jones, Procter and Younie, 2015) has provided suggestions as to how practitioners could consider using the MESHGuides. In their research a range of practitioners including classroom teachers, heads of departments and head teachers from both primary and secondary settings were asked for their opinions of the MESHGuides approach in an online survey. Respondents stated they would use the guides to focus their practices and to back up their decisions related to their teaching practices. Equally, supporting teachers’ planning was seen to be important. Respondents were also interested in using guides collaboratively in peer INSET training, for use with student teachers and staff CPD to encourage teachers to understand what evidence can say about practice.Although we have presented our research findings of how we think practitioners could engage with the MESHGuides, teachers are creative people and will use resources in innovative and creative ways. The following section proposes one way of engaging teachers with the guides so that these creative practices can be captured and shared for the benefit of the broader teacher community.Looking to the future- MESHConnect: developing a teacher researcher networkMESHConnect operates like a professional social networking site that facilitates an online interactive space for collaboration between teachers and researchers. It supports partnerships, co-research and collaborative networking for innovative educators engaged in improving the quality of education. New community work spaces can be rapidly set up to respond to the needs of members, and membership is open to anyone interested in education.The MESH strategy of participatory knowledge mobilization provides an online environment that brings together and supports a sustainable worldwide network of educators (teachers and researchers) who wish to collaborate in using evidence-based research to improve their professional practice. The online tools underpinning this have facilitated teachers and researchers connecting together for the production of MESHGuides. The challenge now is how to turn this into a sustainable ecosystem so that practitioners can add to the development of new knowledge, thereby truly embedding translational research in the field of education.We argue that online publishing of research summaries and collaboration between researchers and teachers make knowledge management in education a real possibility. Imagine if teachers: Could easily contribute to and access research-based pedagogic knowledge and tools, including barriers to learning threshold and troublesome concepts; diagnosis and intervention strategies – in every concept and subject, for every type of learner across all key stages.Could easily contribute to and access an evidence base for effective practice that is founded on cumulative research over years, providing a wider foundation for practice, rather than being small scale and rarely useful to teachers.Applied the full Stenhouse model for action research – scaling up case studies across different settings.Could educators across schools, sectors, regions and countries work together to achieve this vision? 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HR and Staff Wellbeing

Engaging teachers with research

20 Jun 2017

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      string(389) "... call: using specialists effectively. Professional Development Today Vol, 16. Issue 2. ■ CUREE (2003) The impact of collaborative CPD on classroom teaching and learning. A CPD Review produced by  the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE) for the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and ..."
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      string(5911) "often reaffirmed, and an identity and dynamic that are continually replenished. Partnerships depend on the adherence and obligation of their members, and thrive on the continuing housekeeping attention that partners invest in them.ReferencesArhar, J.; Niesz, T.; Brossman, J.; Koebly, S.; O’Brien, K.; Loe, D.; and Black, F. (2013) Creating a Third Space in the context of a university-school partnership: supporting teacher action research and the research preparation of doctoral students. Educational Action Research, 21:2, 218-236. ■ Baumfield, V. and Butterworth, M. (2007) Creating and translating knowledge about teaching and learning in collaborative school–university research partnerships: an analysis of what is exchanged across the partnerships, by whom and how, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 13:4, 411-427. ■ Bell, D. (2013) Working with Schools in STEM Public Engagement. Guidelines for research centres. Wellcome Trust. July 2013. ■ BERA-RSA (2014) Research and the Teaching Profession: Building the capacity for a self-improving education system. Final report of the BERA-RSA Inquiry into the role of research in teacher education. BERA and RSA. ■ Bickel, W.E. and Hattrup, R.A. (1995) Teachers and Researchers in Collaboration: Reflections on the Process. American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring, 1995), pp. 35-62. American Educational Research Association. ■ Campbell, C. and Levin, B. (2012) Developing Knowledge Mobilisation to Challenge Educational Disadvantage and Inform Effective Practices in England, discussion paper, University of Toronto. Paper written to stimulate debate at three Evidence in Action seminars organised by the EEF in Autumn 2012. ■ Chambers, J. (2014) SUPI Coordination Day. Presentation by Jenni Chambers, Senior Policy Manager, RCUK PER. Research Council UK. ■ Cochran-Smith, M. and Lytle, S.L. (1999) Relationships of Knowledge and Practice: Teacher Learning in Communities Review of Research in Education, Vol. 24 (1999), pp. 249-305. American Educational Research Association. ■ Cordingley, P. and Buckler, N. (2014) Who you gonna call: using specialists effectively. Professional Development Today Vol, 16. Issue 2. ■ CUREE (2003) The impact of collaborative CPD on classroom teaching and learning. A CPD Review produced by  the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE) for the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordination Centre (EPPI), in association with the NUT and GTCE. June 2003. ■ Day, C., Gu, Q., McIntyre, J., Brown, E. and Curtis, B. (2010) Partnership for Education, Wellbeing and Work: Models of University Service in the Community. HEFCE. ■ Firestone, W.A. and Fisler, J.L. (2002) Politics, Community, and Leadership in a School-University Partnership. Educational Administration Quarterly Vol.38, No.4 (October 2002) 449-493. ■ Goodlad, J. (1988) School-university partnerships for educational research: Rationale and concepts. In School university partnerships in action: concepts, cases and concerns, ed. K. A. Sirotnik and J. Goodlad, 32-66. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Gross, T. L. (1988). Partners in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. ■ Gu, Q., Rea, S., Hill, R., Smethem, L. and Dunford, J. (2014) Teaching Schools Evaluation: Emerging Issues from the Early Development of Case Study Teaching School Alliances (Research Report). London: Department for Education. ■ Handscomb, G. (2014) The power of reflection. Professional Development Today Vol,16. Issue 2. ■ Handscomb, G. Gu, Q. and Varley, M. (2014) School-University Partnerships: Fulfilling the Potential. Literature Review. Institute of Education, London Centre for Leadership and Learning, University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University. National Coordinating centre for Public Engagement.   www.publicengagement.ac.uk/sites/default/files/publication/supi_literature_review.pdf ■ Hargreaves D. H. (2011) Leading a Self-improving School System. National College for School Leadership. ■ Hay Group (2000) Decisive Collaboration and the Rise of Networked Professionalism. Hay Group. www.haygroup.co.uk ■ HEA (2012) Collaboration and partnership working in a competitive environment. A literature synthesis of widening Access, Student Retention and Success. National Programme Archive: Higher Education Academy (HEA) Report. ■ James, M. and Worral, N. (2000) Building a reflective community: development through collaboration between a higher education institution and one school over 10 years. Educational Action Research, 8:1, 93-114. ■ Johnson, B; Wetherill, K.; High, H. and Greenebaum, H. (2002) Teacher Socilaization : Opportunities for University-School Partnerships to Improve Professional Cultures. The High School Journal, Volume 85, Number 4, April-May 2002, pp23-39. The University of Carolina Press. ■ Jones, C. (2015) Leadership of professional development and learning. Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL); Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE); and Teacher Development Trust. ■ Klein, A., and Dunlap, W. P. (1993) School \ university partnerships : A response to education reform. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 20 (1): 55-59. ■ Levin, B. (2010) Leadership for evidence-informed education. School Leadership and Management, 30 (4): 303-315. ■ Levin, B. (2012) System-wide improvement in education. UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP)and The International Academy of Education (IAE). ■ Lieberman, A"
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Professional Development

School-university partnerships – fulfilling the potential

19 Nov 2018

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      string(431) "... action be effective in helping teachers develop and scale up research-informed practices?. Teaching and Teacher Education, 72, 144-154. ■ Cain, T. (2015). Teachers’ engagement with published research: addressing the knowledge problem. The Curriculum Journal, 26(3), 488-509. ■ Cain, T. (2019). Becoming a research-informed school: Why ..."
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      string(6090) "(1996). In this conceptualization, student teachers select the research that is most appropriate and useful for their own purposes, and interpret and use this along with their own, situated knowledge (e.g. Hammersley 2002), guided by the professional values that are acquired through processes of socialisation (e.g. Kelchtermans & Ballet 2002). Such a conceptualization sees research as influencing teachers’ thinking and thus influencing practice indirectly, rather than the direct influence implied by the research-into-practice approach, described above.At this point, I should put my cards on the table: I much prefer the latter approach. The problem with the ‘theory into practice’ version of research use, as I see it, is that it assumes a single line of influence, from research into practice. Whilst there might be a place for this in ITE, I think that place should be quite small; otherwise there is a danger of repeating mistakes of previous generations, of giving teachers courses in ‘educational research findings’ as wholly disconnected from the actual, experienced problems of practice. The research I have done in both ITE (e.g. Cain et al. 2007) and CPD (e.g. Cain & Milovic 2010; Cain 2015) has demonstrated that teachers and student teachers are capable of perceiving problems in their own practice and using research to solve these. (The detail of how this occurs is summarized in Cain 2019). The ‘research informs reflection’ approach accepts that student teachers can perceive their own problems and take steps to address these; it accords them the power to use research to find answers to their problems, rather than assuming that the research itself will have all the answers.This ‘research informs reflection’ approach is therefore a two-way process: student teachers perceive problems, engage with research that might address these problems, then experiment, in a careful and principled way, using ideas from the research in their own teaching. They also find ways to evaluate the positive and negative consequences of these ideas; ideally involving other colleagues as ‘critical friends’. This process has much in common with the ‘plan-act-observe-evaluate’ cycle that underpins action research, with the difference that the action research is explicitly informed by a research literature. Concrete examples of this approach are explored in Cain (2019).Implications for teachers’ professional developmentProbably, what is true for ITE is also true for teachers’ professional development. Recent empirical studies (e.g. Cain 2015; Brown & Flood 2018) have shown that experienced and capable teachers, including school leaders, can learn about teaching through reading and discussing research, and by reviewing their own practice in the light of the research. Specifically, the research texts give teachers material to think about including focuses for inquiring into their own practice, and challenges to their thinking and practice. Research publications can provide teachers with new educational concepts, and can help them to develop their existing concepts. Research texts can also suggest ideas for action. Importantly, published research can influence how teachers think: it can encourage them to be more willing to experiment, and more critical; it can develop their understanding of evidence and also their ethical awareness. In short, engagement with research can encourage teachers to think more like researchers, whilst also improving as teachers. The influence from research comes not only from research findings but the whole papers, including literature reviews and discussions of findings. Cain (2019) provides evidence that it is possible for experienced and capable teachers to improve their teaching through reading and discussing research, and relating their own practice to this research in individual and social reflections. This process is quite complex and time consuming; it is better for addressing important and persistent problems than for minor problems which can be addressed by ‘trouble-shooting’. Nevertheless, experienced teachers, as well as student teachers, have become better teachers through such a process (Cain 2019). The process typically involves the following stages:Teachers identify a persistent problem (e.g. how to motivate low-achievers) and preferably discuss this with colleagues to fully articulate the problem.Through collegial discussion, they formulate questions about the problem (e.g. what motivates students to be interested in subjects perceived to be ‘boring’).They search the research literature for possible answers (e.g. extrinsic rewards).They plan improvements (e.g. consistent use of extrinsic rewards).They self- and peer-monitor their use of these improvements.They plan and undertake an evaluation of their improvements (e.g. ‘before and after’ surveys of students).As this process illustrates, taking a ‘research informs reflection’ approach to professional development is undoubtedly challenging but, as many teachers can testify, it is not impossible.ReferencesBrown, C., & Flood, J. (2018). Lost in translation? Can the use of theories of action be effective in helping teachers develop and scale up research-informed practices?. Teaching and Teacher Education, 72, 144-154. ■ Cain, T. (2015). Teachers’ engagement with published research: addressing the knowledge problem. The Curriculum Journal, 26(3), 488-509. ■ Cain, T. (2019). Becoming a research-informed school: Why? What? How?"
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Leading Professional Development

Using research for teachers’ professional development

13 Feb 2019

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      string(428) "... research-engagement. The terms ‘research-engaged’, ‘enquiry-led’ and ‘evidence-informed’ are often used interchangeably. They do however, imply quite different understandings of the professional practice of teaching. It can be useful to think of them as ranged on a spectrum, with ‘evidence-based’ at one end and ‘research-engaged ..."
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      string(6027) "hullabaloo that seems to overpower much of the educational discourse on social media. The evolving climate is certainly challenging the idea of a collective and shared body of professional knowledge and giving way to a market-place of competing ideas for which there are no commonly-agreed evaluation criteria or standards. So how, as leaders and teachers, do we make sense of the sometimes noisy and competing claims made by those promoting research engagement?I want to explore two ideas. The first is a reflection on what it means for a school to be research-engaged. The second is the idea of a what a genuine professional body, of the type we see in Medicine and Law, might have on the quality of professional dialogue in education.What do we mean by research engagement?For those schools with a desire to become more research engaged it can be useful to spend some time thinking about what is meant by research-engagement. The terms ‘research-engaged’, ‘enquiry-led’ and ‘evidence-informed’ are often used interchangeably. They do however, imply quite different understandings of the professional practice of teaching. It can be useful to think of them as ranged on a spectrum, with ‘evidence-based’ at one end and ‘research-engaged’ / ‘enquiry-led’ at the other.  At one end, ‘evidence’ is presented as a kind of consumable knowledge product, while at the other, ‘enquiry’ foregrounds the process of research as an evidence-informed and evidence-seeking activity.Professor Lesley Saunders (2015) suggests that an enquiry-based approach, “fits very well with the deliberative nature of pedagogy and the need to exercise nuanced professional judgement in deciding between courses of action”. She argues that the creation of expert professional knowledge is not a matter of simply ‘applying’ evidence designed and created elsewhere by others, as if it were a pill or patch. Lesley describes research-engagement as a combination of individual and collaborative learning through experience and critical reflection, informed by scholarly knowledge. The use of evidence as being a matter of simply ‘applying a patch’ is something that Dylan Wiliam also cautions against. His often quoted “Everything works somewhere – nothing works everywhere,” suggests that engagement is about investigating if a strategy will work for me, in my subject, with my students. It almost goes without saying that even where there is good evidence of efficacy, such as assessment for learning, the strategy can be enacted well or badly. We know that when done poorly it can be counterproductive to effective learning. He suggests that the best thing school leaders can do is to create a positive learning environment for teachers, saying “just as we can’t do the learning for our students, we can’t do the learning for our staff” (Wiliam, 2003).A culture in which reflective professionals critically consider evidence and use it to explore how their pedagogy might be enhanced or extended through experimentation is desirable.Cultivating Enquiring MindsPerhaps a useful way to think about research engagement is to seek to create a culture where you are always working at getting better at something. Some years ago I helped to devise the ‘Enquiring School’ programme for The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). It is a CPD programme based on teachers identifying the genuine learning needs of students, reflecting on their own pedagogic repertoire, considering the evidence-base and designing micro-projects to test promising strategies out in their classrooms. These enquiries usually take place over two or three terms. A network of schools across the UK have now adopted these cycles gf enquiry as part of their CPD offer. I was inspired by the research of Cordingley and Bell (2007) and their work Transferring learning and taking innovation to scale.Philippa has done much work around the features of professional learning that most improve learning and teaching. The key principles I took from that work being professional learning:takes place over time and is not a one-off event; happens in real classrooms with real pupils;    is evidence-informed and involves an element of collaborative enquiry or experiment between teachers who are trying to solve a problem or improve an approach.Similar principles are found in the research commissioned by the Teacher Development Trust (TDT) (2015) and conducted by an expert team including Philippa, Steve Higgins and Rob Coe of Durham University, and Toby Greany of the UCL Institute of Education.So rather than seeing the application of evidence as something that is a quick-fix, engagement with research entails cultivating certain intellectual and ethical dispositions, which are integral to the development of extended professional expertise.  Honesty, thoroughness, perseverance, careful attention to reasoned argument and evidence, open-mindedness, humility with regard to one’s own knowledge, modesty about one’s research and its claims, responsiveness to criticism and respect for the opinion of others are often cited as important dispositions for a research engaged profession.This type of engagement with research certainly feels very different to the kind of debate currently being played out on much of social media.Enquiry, evidence and changeFew teachers wake up in the morning and think ‘if only I was a better researcher’. The main motivation for teachers to engage with research is to make a positive difference to"
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Professional Development

Seeing through the hullabaloo – cultivating a culture of enquiry

13 Feb 2019