Using Research to Solve Problems
Educational leaders are notoriously busy; too busy to keep up with educational research just for their own edification and enjoyment. Leaders need to be able to locate research that they can use to make choices about program implementation. They also need to be able to communicate effectively about these choices to key stakeholders through presentations, reports and conversations.
Research that is easy to locate and provided in a usable format, such as brief summaries or presentation slides, can help educational leaders solve a variety of problems they encounter every day.
For example, one problem educational leaders often face when seeking support for professional development programs is the need to present data showing the impact of the programs on student achievement. A direct cause-and-effect relationship between professional development and student outcomes is difficult to determine through indisputable scientific methods, especially using broad measures such as standardized test scores. For this reason, demonstrating the direct effects of such programs on students can be challenging.
A research-based solution for this problem could take the form of a focused summary of what can be shown about the impact of a particular program on student outcomes. The solution might also provide links to correlating research about the difficulties of measuring professional development effects on students. The solution might even include a presentation slide with summary bullets that could be used verbatim in an educational leader's report or presentation.
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