Differentiated instruction has been shown to meet the needs of diverse learners, and can meaningfully improve individual student learning, however many teachers find it challenging to implement. This paper reports on a targeted professional development programme which was undertaken as a collaborative action research project. Results show many…

The language wars have driven decision-making and educational options for D/deaf and hard of hearing children for over a century, yet we still have not made sufficient progress in closing the linguistic and educational gaps between D/deaf and hard of hearing children and their hearing peers. Perhaps it is time to abandon the bifurcated approach…

This paper presents the Faces of Informed Research, an information literacy (IL) framework that aims to enhance researchers' capacity to participate productively in collaborative interdisciplinary partnerships. Universities and funding bodies increasingly require collaborative approaches to research initiatives. Beneficial for advancing shared…

Research conducted by Universities of Applied Sciences (UASs) is frequently driven by professional practice where researchers are challenged with finding solutions to real-life problems. These real-life solutions are significantly enhanced by the participation of stakeholders. Through this inclusion and the resulting interactions, activities, and…

Background: A number of ways to conduct research are designed to maximise the likelihood that evidence from research is quickly transferred into practice. This includes action research and partnership research between researchers and policy makers. Such approaches focus research effort on questions of highest relevance to practice and policy so as…

This article provides an appraisal of collaborative conceptual modelling (CCM) as a tool for research translation. First developed by Newell and Proust (2012), CCM draws on the tools and frameworks of systems thinking as a way of addressing transdisciplinary problems. We applied CCM in two separate workshops - one discussing 'Digital Cities', and…

It is widely agreed that the availability of high quality evidence does not translate readily into influence over policy decisions. This insight has generated long-running debates about the most effective way to 'bridge the gap' between policy research and policymaking, and to increase policy research 'uptake'. The proposed remedies (for example,…

Background: Brokers, intermediaries, and boundary spanners (BIBS) bridge research and policy or practice, and can elevate the role of evidence in decision making. However, there is limited integration of the literature across different sectors to understand the strategies that BIBS use, the skills needed to carry out these strategies, and the…

Background: We are witnessing increasing demand from governments and society for all sciences to have relevant social impact and to show the returns they provide to society. Aims and objectives: This paper reports strategies that promote social impact by Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) research projects. Methods: An in-depth analysis of six…

Given the hegemony of developmentalism in early childhood education and care, this article uses a poetic juxtapositional approach to bewilder Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Critical consideration of how the theory of cognitive development has contributed to the imagining of a universal, ahistorical child and childhood(s) are discussed…

The William T. Grant Foundation has sought to support new research on ways to promote the use and usefulness of research evidence to improve youth outcomes for over a decade. They have funded numerous studies aimed at identifying and testing strategies to improve the use of research evidence (URE) in policy and practice decisions that affect young…

The present study focused on determining how public health workers access and utilize research in their daily practice and how they can better utilize research in order to improve practice, policy, and training as it relates to minority health care. We interviewed 13 community health workers utilizing a semi-structured interview protocol. Data…

A focus on research impact is influencing the way research is undertaken in Australian higher education institutions. Research activities are planned, funded, conducted, assessed and reported in a way that highlights the real-world impact of research on society. The contemporary prioritisation of research impact, beyond scholarly contribution,…

This article draws on the notion of communal constructivism to explore its potential to frame and facilitate the development of evidence-informed practice. The explicit aspiration to nurture a research-informed workforce is prominent in discourse across policy makers, educational researchers and teacher professional groups in England; however,…

This post is one in a series highlighting MDRC's methodological work. Contributors discuss the refinement and practical use of research methods being employed across the organization. Across policy domains, practitioners and researchers are benefiting from a trend of greater access to both more detailed and frequent data and the increased…