Doctor Clare

            Much emphasis has been made about the use of evidence-based practices in the classroom. Additionally, the concept of Action Research has brought the process of conducting and using research in the classroom environment to classroom teachers in schools around the globe. But what about the space between? For teachers who are not yet ready, or don’t feel they have a need of enough significance to warrant, action research, but who nonetheless want research solutions to classroom problems, there is still a solution. A research solution.

Why Use Research in the Classroom

            In the course of running a classroom, planning lessons, administering interventions, monitoring behavior and classroom procedures, teachers may run into a variety of problems. Students may be struggling with material mastery. Morale may be low or behavior problems may be increasing. Students may feel isolated or struggle to engage in positive, prosocial behavior. Evidence-based practices may offer the solution, those founded on repeated research that has demonstrated positive results.

            Of course, many teachers are equipped with a wealth of knowledge and strategies to serve their students. That’s part of every teacher preparation program, and also the subject of many school-wide and even district-wide training days and personal development programs. Still even implementing these known intervention may not produce meaningful, effective results.

            Even in cases where an known intervention is producing some kind of results, it may not be the desired results. If students are regularly scoring below mastery levels on curriculum-based assessments, it may not be enough to raise scores by a point or two. If students are feeling disengaged and unmotivated in the classroom, it may not be enough to get them to just stay in their seats. When more is required, more must be delivered, which can require new approaches from new sources.

Identify and Describe the Problem

            Key to intervening in a problem is understanding it. The first step is to clearly understand what the problem is, be it academic (reading speed is too slow, math work showing too many mistakes), behavioral (disrupting class, missing work) or social (students have difficulty getting along with others, sharing, or taking turns.) Break a problem down into its component parts. If students aren’t performing well on tests—what does that look like? Examine the tests to make sure they are being completed, all questions answered, and analyze for patters of error. Also, consider whether the problem is affecting all students, some, half, or fewer.

            Once you have a clearer idea of the problem, examine potential causes. Does it seem that students are not mastering the classroom instruction, or is the mode of assessment itself the problem? Chapter tests could incorrectly cover different content than was emphasized in class. Question wording can be tricky, resulting in comprehension errors before the students even attempt to answer the questions. And behavior problems may be the results of other factors going on for students, such as time of day, time of year, events at school or in the lives of students. Additionally, consider supports currently in place in class. Were students given notice of the assessment with ample time to plan and study? Are students taught study skills and test-taking strategies? Was there sufficient time to succeed? Answering these questions will give additional insight into necessary components of the classroom structure and supports, to determine where best to plot the next course of action.

Find Research to Use

            With a clear understanding of the problem at hand, and some ideas as to its causes, the next step is to find research—and the evidence-based practices therein—to use in the classroom. Strategies supported by research evidence can be found in a variety of places. A good place to start is the classroom curriculum. Besides already being in place and approved for classroom use, it is easy to access. Many packaged curriculum programs and even supplemental and intervention programs will contain additional supports for building student skills. An academic curriculum may suggest extension and support activities or refer to its research base, which may include more on the subject. Additional accompanying printed materials or online resources may offer suggestions for just the extra supports needed.

            If the curriculum itself does not offer supports, considering looking at outside sources. Colleagues can be a great source of ideas, but take care to research whether their suggestions are research-validated or just “conventional wisdom.” Teacher training materials, such as course textbooks, readers and articles from credential classes may provide a wealth of knowledge and ideas. They may provide the inspiration to look at some other nonconventional sources as well. And, finally, consider making use of online aggregate sites that compile intervention research, such as the What Works Clearinghouse and Intervention Central. These repositories contain a variety of vetted resources, supports, interventions, skills instructional materials and other tools to support classrooms and students.

Make Your Choice

            When making a choice among all of the research on a particular topic, it is worthwhile to consider several factors regarding implementation. First, consider the time involved in an intervention. If it will take a significant amount of time to learn to implement a strategy, if standardized training is involved, that may be too high of a barrier to implement on short notice, although it may be a worthwhile pursuit over the winter or summer school recess. Additionally, the classroom time spent on intervention may prove too dear; make sure that there is time to conduct the activities of the intervention during class time.

            Consider what materials may be necessary for the successful implementation of the intervention. Budget is a concern if the number of accessories, printings, manipulatives, maps, and books gets too excessive or precious. On the subject of cost, some interventions are sold as a promotional package, which itself is an expense. It may be worthwhile to see if the home school or district has room in the budget to assist with these expenditures. However, if they do not, it may be best to find another cheaper solution.

Plan Your Intervention

            With the final decisions made, it is time to plan for implementation. Identify the key features to the intervention, if you are putting together your own, or review the highlights of a packaged or premade option. Gather any and all materials. If possible, it may be helpful to run a practice session, especially if the skills required to run the intervention are new and different to the normal classroom curriculum. Write notes or a script as a part of preparations. Invite colleagues to sit in and collaborate, or to offer feedback before the program is rolled out in the classroom.

Implement Your Plan

            Time to implement! Carry out your intervention with your students, pay special attention to several features. Strive for implementation fidelity of the highest degree you can manage. This will help to ensure that any results that you get can truly be attributed to the new methods or changes in teaching or structure. Additionally, monitor for participant feedback. Make sure the students are on board, enthusiastic or at least accepting about the changes, and seeing positive results for themselves. It may be worthwhile to get an affective read, ask how they feel about the changes, what they like and don’t like. Ask yourself the same questions. Finally, find a way to track both your challenges and wins. This may be through a teaching journal, event recording, or just a system of plusses and minuses in your planning book. Taking data allows teachers to see patterns and those patterns can inform future interventions or support the rationale for additional changes, or become material for the next staff meeting discussing interventions and successes.

Evaluate, Revise, Repeat

            The last step in any intervention is to evaluate it. Gathering data, through progress monitoring, looking at work samples, test scores, office referrals and the like will give an idea of whether the intervention was successful. Look to see whether students have met their goals or are improving, adding to their skills and continuing their growth. If they are, keep going If they are not, consider ways to revise and improve the intervention. Decide if students just need more time to adjust. Add additional supports or adjust the supports currently in place. Add more time, if schedules allow, or make time for small group or individual interventions. With this analysis, comes revisions, then ongoing intervention.

Conclusion

            Research can offer such promising ideas for instructional and behavioral or social intervention, but it can be hard to know where to get started. It isn’t always intuitive to translate findings from the lab into the real classroom. With an organized approach, however, along with careful planning, data collection and thoughtful analysis, teachers can implement innovative, evidence-based strategies in their classroom to the benefit of all of their students.