Research, Practice and Translation in Educational Psychology

Question 1

Researchers

Answer 1

• cognitive psychologists (study the mind including learning, attention etc)
• researchers in educational psychologists
• neuroscientists

Question 2

Practitioners

Answer 2

• teachers
• educational psychologists
• policy makers

Question 3

Efficacy

Answer 3

Evaluating interventions under ideal conditions e.g. RCT

- allows exploration of causal relationships between interventions and outcomes

Question 4

Effectiveness

Answer 4

Evaluating interventions in real world scenarios.
- strong external and ecological validity

interventions can reflect effectiveness and efficacy but sometimes they can work in a controlled setting but not real world

Question 5

Why do we Need to Bridge The Gap Between Research and Practice?

Answer 5

• practitioners may be missing out on new interventions
• practitioners could be using methods proven ineffective
• risk of pseudo-science e.g. neuromyths, brain-training

Question 6

Why is there a Gap Between Research and Practice? Production of Research

Answer 6

• it is complex research dealing with real children; there are ethical and practical constraints
• there is limited funding for research because it is difficult to control in real-world settings therefore the results may be inconclusive which limits the incentive to fund

Question 7

Why is there a Gap Between Research and Practice? Use of Research

Answer 7

• people don’t fully use resources that exist to share findings due to limited funding, financial/political interests or ineffective use of resources
• limited support/encouragement for practitioners to actively use research: lack equipment, encouragement and support

Question 8

Why is there a Gap Between Research and Practice? Production and Use of Research

Answer 8

• limited collab between practitioners and researchers

- motivations may be different: teachers deal with immediate demand whereas researchers work more slowly

Question 9

Broekkamp and van Hoult-Wolters (2007) 4 Theoretical Models for Bridging the Gap: Research Development Diffusion Model (RDD Model)

Answer 9

Mediators should select, combine and adapt research results and diffuse them to practitioners

Question 10

Broekkamp and van Hoult-Wolters (2007) 4 Theoretical Models for Bridging the Gap: Evidence-Based Practice Model (EBP Model)

Answer 10

Mediators should disseminate empirical evidence of what works, they should share research that has been shown as effective in practical situations

Question 11

Broekkamp and van Hoult-Wolters (2007) 4 Theoretical Models for Bridging the Gap: Boundary-Crossing Practices (BCP)

Answer 11

Emphasises the value of combining expertise of different professions, either teachers should carry out research or groups from different professional backgrounds (teacher, policy-maker and researcher) should form

Question 12

Broekkamp and van Hoult-Wolters (2007) 4 Theoretical Models for Bridging the Gap: Knowledge Communities Model

Answer 12

Encourages links between researchers and practitioners in the form of professional networks where people profit from each others expertise and generate new knowledge