The research to practice gap in education has been a long-standing concern. The enactment of No Child Left Behind brought increased emphasis on the value of using scientifically based instructional practices to improve educational outcomes. It also brought education into the broader evidence-based practice movement that started in medicine and has…

This paper makes a case for the existence and study of the wisdom of practice by looking at educational practitioners' concepts as its locus and source. (These concepts may also be described as the accumulated "folk wisdom" of the teaching community). These communal concepts, part of an accumulated lore regarding teaching and education…

In 2002, the RAND Corporation launched a project to understand how educators are responding to the new accountability requirements in California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania--three states that represent a range of approaches, regions, and student populations. The researchers aimed to identify the factors that enhance the implementation of SBA…

The concept of knowledge utilization and the nature of practical decisions are analyzed to investigate how research knowledge and effective teaching practice are related. It is argued that the personal commitments of teachers, common sense, and normative requirements can also be valid bases for action. The author points out that an over-reliance…

Increased demands for colleges and universities to engage in outcomes assessment for accountability purposes have accelerated the need to bridge the gap between higher education practice and the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation. The "Handbook on Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education" provides higher…

A 1968 appraisal of the effectiveness of the school research office as a channel for the dissemination of research and development information to school personnel is the main concern of this report. The paper is a product of the Communication Program at Far West Laboratory which is designed to fill three main research needs: the investigation of…

Component-building research on practical issues of instructional design can make a substantial contribution to research-based school improvement. Component-building research consists of rigorous within-school experiments that test various components of instruction for effects on student achievement. Research would address practical issues that…