Translational research originated in the medical field during the 1990s to describe taking discovery based research through the steps of applying it to clinical research and patient-oriented care. This model is implicitly linear, depicting the flow of information from researchers' bench, to a clinical trial bedside, to a primary care physician's…

Data-based decision making should be the driving force in any early care and education setting. Data usage compels early childhood practitioners and leaders to make decisions on the basis of more than just professional instinct. This article explores why early childhood schools should be using data for continuous quality improvement at various…

This essay briefly describes some of the early AERA presidents who were empiricists, several of them directors of research, and how their work connects with some of the issues of design, measurement, analysis, and interpretation today. Beginning with the first president of AERA, a number of presidents through the late 1940s are highlighted, as…

The Culture of Data Use Workshop Toolkit helps school and district teams apply research to practice as they establish and support a culture of data use in their educational setting. The field-tested workshop toolkit guides teams through a set of structured activities to develop an understanding of data-use research in schools and to analyze…

Sixty-seven deaths per week, nine per day, one every two hours: Motor-vehicle crashes are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States, and although fatalities have declined in recent years, almost 3,500 teenagers still die every year in motor vehicle crashes (NHTSA 2011). In fact, 35% of all deaths among 16- to 19-year-olds are…

We have created an inventory to characterize the teaching practices used in science and mathematics courses. This inventory can aid instructors and departments in reflecting on their teaching. It has been tested with several hundred university instructors and courses from mathematics and four science disciplines. Most instructors complete the…

The authors argue for a reconceptualization of rigor that requires sustained, direct, and systematic documentation of what takes place inside programs to document how students and teachers change and adapt interventions in interactions with each other in relation to their dynamic local contexts. Building on promising new programs at the Institute…

The field of education is asking how research and evidence can bolster the knowledge of its practitioners. Educators increasingly are asked to use research and evidence to support their choices of programs, practices, and processes. The promise of using research in this way is more effective teaching and learning. But not all research and evidence…

This keynote address discusses previous and ongoing efforts to reduce the persistent gap between research and practice in social work and offers recommendations for further bridging that gap. Key among those recommendations is the need to conduct descriptive outcome studies of efforts to adapt research-supported interventions in everyday practice…

Challenging the "bridge metaphor" theme of this conference, this article contends that current practice-research integration strategies are more like research-to-practice "pipelines." The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the potential of clinical data-mining studies conducted by practitioners, practitioner-oriented PhD…

The significance of biorepositories has been known for many years but the latest advances in clinical and translational research and increased collaborations among investigators have made biorepositories even more prominent. Biorepositories collect and store human tissue and serum samples used in both the research and treatment of disease. In…

This report was commissioned by the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) Board of Directors and a workgroup comprising seven special education researchers (Bryan Cook, Chair; Virginia Buysse; Janette Klingner; Tim Landrum; Robin McWilliam; Melody Tankersley; and Dave Test) who developed, vetted, and piloted the new standards for determining…

The Metropolitan Studies Institute (MSI) at the University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate) demonstrates a robust and unique record of community impact through community indicators research and other translational research. The MSI's work drives programmatic priorities and funding decisions, generates revenue, and increases the community's…

Estimates of the mental health needs of adolescents far outstrip the resources of traditional mental health. The field of adventure therapy has the potential to help meet these unmet needs. It is argued that particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom, for adventure therapy to become a formal part of the mental health delivery service…

This article seeks to answer the following questions: (1) What is keeping educators from moving districts and schools to high-performing data cultures? and (2) What vital role does leadership play? Three years ago, as a senior designer and facilitator, Jennifer Unger developed a data leadership academy to address challenges for leaders, whether…