Classroom behaviors that enable academic learning are the focus of this article. A brief perspective is offered on the development and validation of one enabler--engagement in academic responding--and recent findings are provided of an effort to bridge the gap between research and practice by employing this knowledge in Title 1 elementary schools…

This article first assesses the existing "state of awareness of the research to practice gap" among 111 preservice educators. It then discusses the potential benefits associated with the improvement of this knowledge and describes a variety of programmatic options, structural and instructional, that may enhance preservice educators' knowledge,…

Reports on the initial results of a four-year longitudinal study of the model used by the Juniper Gardens Children's Project, which was designed to make research more trustworthy, useful, and accessible. The successful collaboration between the University of Kansas researchers and eight local inner-city elementary schools in Kansas City is…

This article considers reasons for the gap between research and practice in special education including the unique separation of the research and practice communities in special and general education, the limited relevance of educational research, the failure to articulate manageable research-validated interventions, and the weak opportunities for…

Reflects on the motivating conditions, goals, works, and aspirations of the Juniper Gardens Children's Project (JGCP). The JGCP was established in 1964 to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty of a 10-square-mile urban area in Kansas City, Kansas, by improving developmental and educational experiences within the community. (CR)

This paper identifies nine lessons learned from five federally funded special education research to practice projects. Four projects are school-university collaborative partnerships and one is local-school- based. Both models stress research-validated practices to improve performance of students with and without disabilities across multiple years.…

This introductory article notes the special issue's purpose of highlighting ways to close gaps between research and practice in special education from the perspective of teacher preparation, inservice training, professional development, and collaborations between researchers and teachers in local schools. (DB)

This article describes a multistep method for identifying effective teacher-developed instructional procedures and translating them for wide-scale use. The method employs both objective and naturalistic assessments of academic gain and engagement and was used to identify effective practices of teachers of 59 fourth- and fifth-grade students with…

A study investigated how phonemic-awareness research and intervention knowledge was successfully translated for teacher implementation in two kindergarten classes (n=27) over three years. Research-validated strategies were first identified, the research was translated into teacher friendly materials/procedures, teachers participated in choosing…

A study investigated the multiyear effects of evidence-based literacy practices and a program to prevent early reading failure in one elementary school. Results indicate teachers did implement new evidence-based practices, use of these practices resulted in increases in silent reading, and growth in reading fluency was substantial overall.…

Comments on several papers addressing professional development and instructional improvement for students with learning disabilities in regular classrooms. It urges the linking and alignment of professional development, classroom practice, and changes in student performance with measurement and training that expect the influence of one on the…