Abstract
The purpose of TEACHING Exceptional Children (TEC) is to offer guidance on methods and materials demonstrated through research to be effective in the classroom. As the academic editor, I get many questions from prospective authors related to the research and whether or not it is OK if the research described is not exactly for the population of students (i.e., students with a specific disability or who are gifted) on which the manuscript is focused. Sometimes authors ask if it is OK that the research describing the strategy is in a different context (e.g., middle school vs. college) than what is being presented in the “how-to” components of the manuscript. I also read a lot of reviewer comments that indicate there is not sufficient research to support a practice or that the research does not align to the practice described. These inquiries and an interesting quote I came across in an article I read by Buysse and colleagues (2006) caused me to reflect on what is really meant by the phrase research to practice. Buysse and colleagues stated, “Practitioners do not turn routinely to research knowledge to solve practice dilemmas, nor do researchers routinely pose questions or produce findings that are relevant and useful to consumers” (Buysse et al., 2006, p. 5). The quote made me think about what is involved in the research-to-practice process. It is not just about selecting an intervention and implementing it. There is a lot more to it.
Evidence-based interventions address a specific context, and because of this narrowed specificity, there may not be sufficient research to determine whether it will work in a specific context or with a specific population of students. This is a limitation of the empirically supported interventions in the field of special education. Compared to other fields (e.g., health care), research in the field of special education is still emerging. Some areas are researched far more than others. As an example, this issue is focused specifically on arts and education. Although many would argue this is an important topic that should be addressed in schools and a content area students with disabilities should have access to, there is limited research in this area. On the other hand, other academic interventions to support students with disabilities, such as reading strategies, are well researched.
Informing practice when evidence for interventions is sparse can be challenging. Clearly, practitioners cannot sit back and do nothing. An effective practitioner does not throw their hands in the air and say, “There’s nothing here to choose from, so I can’t do anything.” Effective practitioners draw from more general practices, or practices that have worked in other contexts, and use data-based decision making to fill in the gaps. As Cook and Cook (2013) point out, to adequately support students in achieving positive outcomes, there is a need for both empirically validated interventions and a sound data-based decision-making process. “Data-based decision making” refers to collecting, analyzing, and reporting data to drive in-school and postschool outcomes of students with disabilities (Dahlkemper, 2002). Data-based decision making requires an understanding of students’ needs and values while making decisions that puts the research evidence front and center (Buysse et al., 2006; Cook & Cook, 2013; Spencer et al., 2012).
Professional judgment is extremely important in this process. Practitioners are presented with a broad array of intervention options available to support students. If they restrict their choices exclusively to interventions or curricula where research has produced favorable outcomes in the context only where they are working (e.g., the art classroom, inclusive social studies classroom, career technical education), choices will be limited. A practitioner’s experience working with a specific child with a disability, their understanding of interventions that have been effective in the past, and their awareness of the environment in which the intervention would be implemented are all crucial in helping to identify which practice might be most useful. Because research is ongoing and effective practices continue to evolve, a practitioner’s professional judgment extends to their awareness of additional research support beyond the available sources of evidence-based practices in their particular field of study.
Professional judgment is certainly more than just relying on your “gut” to tell you what to do. It involves (a) integrating information about a student’s unique history, (b) an awareness of research findings that go beyond the Results and Discussion sections of the research article, and (c) the need to make data-based decisions (Cook & Cook, 2013, 2016). There will never be a list of empirically validated interventions to address every practical problem practitioners will face. In addition, it is simply not efficient to have to refer to a list each time the opportunity for selection of an intervention or curricula arises. Understanding the principles behind what and why you are using the interventions, methods, and specific curricula with students is important because it provides a basis for professional judgment. A practitioner does not willy-nilly change things; they always use data to guide decisions, regardless of how much research evidence a practice has to support its effectiveness.
There are no guarantees a practice will be effective with every student in every context. It is essential to use data to evaluate effectiveness of interventions and to drive future educational decisions for each student. As Cook and Cook (2016) point out, results of the empirically validated studies allow practitioners to determine if the intervention actually causes improved learner outcomes under controlled conditions. As practitioners, this provides confidence this intervention is a good place to start with students. However, it will be up to practitioners to explore if and how the practice works in authentic settings (i.e., with specific students in specific classrooms; Cook & Cook, 2016). Data-based decision making informed by research helps practitioners (a) make informed decisions that lead to improved student outcomes, (b) gain an objective picture of what needs to be improved, (c) focus on what is important, (d) discover what is working and what is not, and (e) monitor and celebrate movement toward desired outcomes. This new understanding of the context, if shared with researchers and other practitioners, will in turn inform future research, further reducing the research-to-practice gap (Cook & Cook, 2016).
