Research and evidence‐informed practice: focusing on practice and practitioners

This article explores issues raised in knowledge transformation processes through three separate, but related lenses. It starts with a discussion of the relationship between knowledge transformation and research outputs. In so doing, it encompasses both direct research outputs, that is research reports and papers in journals, and indirect outputs, such as practitioner research summaries and web and paper based resources specifically designed to engage teachers with research. The paper then moves on to explore the implications of transforming research knowledge in relation to the environment in which such knowledge is to be used. In particular, the paper focuses on the learning processes involved in the progression from reading research texts to putting them to work in classrooms. It also considers the contribution that evidence about Continuing Professional Development (CPD) can make to our understanding of the process of transforming knowledge into practice. Finally, the paper concludes with a case study of the specialist skills involved in brokering and mediating this process. The article proposes that the transformation of knowledge from research into classroom practice involves a mix of complex processes, some of which need specialist mediation and dedicated resource. It proposes, too, that reflecting on knowledge transformation as CPD and learning helps to elucidate some of the steps on the way.

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