The Healthy Learning MTL post from July 2020, Five Common Myths in Education, featured a discussion of five common myths in education. Although many more exist, the article discussed what made those specific myths believable. Most had compelling or convenient arguments, but they have been empirically debunked.
Accessing reliable and valid information is not an easy task for teachers due mostly to time and financial reasons. Specifically, it takes much time to review, process, and critique research before applying it to practice. Even if teachers had time to review research, knowing how to access the information can be a significant challenge due to paywalls and the abundance of available academic journals.
For these reasons, here are three ways that teachers can stay up to date on evidence-based teaching practices.
1. Create a Community of Learners/Professional Learning Community
One effective way to stay up to date on evidence-based practices is to identify an area of your teaching that you would like to improve. Once you do that, try to find a few other teachers, either at your school or elsewhere, who you can meet with to discuss potential solutions and approaches.
The trick here is to start small; gather a few colleagues, create a shared goal, and maintain consistency in your meetings, which can take place as often as you like. Teachers often have more expertise and experience than they give themselves credit for. Regular conversations between colleagues can bring some of that wisdom to the forefront of what happens in the classroom.
2. Partner with Other Professionals – Collaborating with other educators and professionals can help teachers to gain access to information that they otherwise may not be able to access due to firewalls, specialization, or time. Aside from speaking with other teachers, here are a few suggestions on who to talk to.
- Librarian – Your school librarian may know how to get helpful resources from credible sources.
- School Psychologist – School psychologists have access to resources regarding learning, cognitive and academic development, and resources that may be helpful in the classroom. They are also trained on how to evaluate research and can be an asset in determining what practices are shown to be effective and practical.
- Administrator – Administrators can help to coordinate professional development, leadership, and learning opportunities. Among those opportunities might be providing funding to access journals or resources that are reliable and credible.
There are many other professionals who can be assets in helping teachers to expand their practices and determine which teaching and pedagogical practices are well-supported by evidence. Among them are behaviour techs, resource teachers, and university researchers.
3. Use online resources – Here are a few online resources that summarize research reviews for different pedagogical practices.
- What Works Clearinghouse : This website includes a database of different evidence-based practices that includes a summary of the evidence for teachers. There are also videos reviewing individual studies. The website is free and provides teachers with an opportunity to explore research findings in an effective manner.
- IDEAs That Work : The IDEAs That Work website provides resources for educators and families. It is American-based, so it presents information within that context. However, there are clear definitions of evidence-based practice, treatment implementation, and treatment fidelity (i.e. how closely do you follow the instructions).
- Evidence-Based Teaching : This website provides helpful articles regarding different aspects of education and a free crash course in evidence-based teaching.
Professional development is an ongoing endeavour. However, the more resources that are available to you, the more easily you can find helpful and targeted information that can contribute to your teaching practice. If you have suggestions on how to access evidence-practices in education, please reach out to healthylearningmtl@gmail.com.
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