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Evidence-Based Practice—Wanted, Needed, and Hard to Get
Council for Exceptional Children
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While the law requires teachers
to use evidence-based practices in their classrooms, the field
has not yet determined criteria for evidence based practice nor
whether special education has a solid foundation of
evidence-based practices. Also, those teaching strategies that
have been researched are difficult for teachers to access.
On the topic of evidence-based practice, there is one point
of agreement: The law says teachers must use evidence-based
teaching practices (EBPs) to ensure their students receive the
highest quality instruction. From there the discussion splinters
into a myriad of issues, ranging from how much evidence is
needed to give a practice credibility to acceptable research
methods to the lack—or abundance--of research on students with
special needs. Then there are the questions concerning EBPs in
the classroom: how do teachers access EBPs, do teachers use the
methods correctly, and how can teachers meld EBPs and the craft
of teaching.
While these issues may not be resolved they are important,
because EBP and high quality teaching go hand-in hand. Teaching
techniques that have been proven to be effective can help
students make more progress in shorter amounts of time. When
these practices are added to teachers’ professional skills and
knowledge of their students, you have a winning combination when
it comes to teaching and learning.
While this seems pretty straightforward, the difficulty lies in
making the concept a reality. Special education, and education
in general, is struggling to define and standardize EBPs. The
next hurdle to be overcome is getting EBPs to the teachers. And
finally, teachers need to have the time, tools, and resources to
implement the practices.
Evidence-Based Practice—Where We Are
The Research
The very concept of EBP raises a host of unresolved questions.
The foremost is what type of information counts as evidence for
good practice. The Department of Education’s Institute for
Education Sciences has stated that the randomized control trial
(RCT) is critical to establishing evidence of an instructional
technique’s effectiveness. These are studies that measure the
effectiveness of a strategy by randomly assigning students to a
control or intervention group.
While special education researchers agree that RCT is a valid
and important measure, many say it is only one method that
should be considered for students with disabilities. Because of
the complexity of disability population, other types of research
can offer valuable information about the effectiveness of a
teaching strategy.
“In special education, many issues are complex: the type of
disability, the setting the student is in, the content we teach,
the available supports,” says Rachelle Bruno, professor at
Northern Kentucky University and chairperson of CEC’s
Evidence-Based Practice Workgroup. “Large scale studies don’t
take that into account.”
Therefore, special educators say we need to also consider other
types of research. Experimental or single or group design
research, in particular, can yield valuable information on the
effectiveness of a teaching strategy. In single or group design
research, an individual or set of individuals participate in a
study that measures their performance before and after a
strategy is implemented. Other research methods, though they may
not have as direct a relationship, can still yield important
information on effective instructional strategies for students
with disabilities. These include research methods such as
correlational research, which shows an association between two
factors, such as class attendance and grades, and qualitative
research, which describes a phenomena and involves techniques
such as observation, oral histories, interviews, and content
analysis.
A second issue involves the lack of standards for EBPs. While
one researcher may decide a teaching strategy has enough
evidence to give it high marks, another researcher, using
different criteria, may give the research a lower rating.
Some also question whether enough research has been done on
students with disabilities. One concern is that much educational
research, particularly large-scale studies, has not included
students with special needs. However, others say special
education is ahead of the game. Because special education has
conducted 20-30 years of research, we have a solid, empirically
supported series of practices in assessment and instruction that
special education teachers can rely on, according to Doug Fuchs,
professor at Vanderbilt University and CEC’s 2004 Outstanding
Research Award Recipient.
“Special education researchers, in partnership with
practitioners, have been involved in developing evidence-based
practice long before No Child Left Behind,” says Fuchs. “As a
result, there is a considerably strong and impressive literature
base on instructional practices and behavior support for
students with disabilities.”
Evidence-Based Practice in the Classroom
Even with the above issues resolved, some roadblocks still deter
teachers from using EBP. EBP is not easily accessible to many
teachers, particularly after they have completed their formal
preparation program. Current sources for EBPs include a few
books; professional development events such as CEC’s convention
and division and state/provincial conferences; educational
journals such as TEC, EC, and CEC’s division journals; and a
small number of Web sites.
But having the information available is only part of the
solution. It needs to be in a format teachers can grasp quickly
and easily, and that is rare. Teachers say they need information
that tells what the practice is, the students for whom it is
effective, how to implement the practice, and how the practice
is rated (good, okay, don’t go there). (The Practice Alerts
produced by CEC’s Division for Research and Division for
Learning Disabilities and the practices on CEC’s Web site best
meet these criteria).
“The field is at a point where it is elaborating and identifying
practices that have evidence of being effective,” says Sam Odom,
Otting Professor of Special Education at Indiana University.
“There may be a lag between needing to use it (the research) now
and the research being accumulated and available.”
Another issue that arises with EBP is that of fidelity, or
whether teachers correctly implement the strategy. Some fear
that EBPs aren’t effective if teachers don’t use the procedures
as they are designed. That can be difficult for teachers to do
if their only contact with a strategy is by reading. Though
training, which can be problematic for teachers to attend, gives
teachers more insight into a strategy, some teachers say even
that isn’t enough. For teachers to use EBPs with fidelity, they
need to have the support of an expert in the strategy as they
implement it in their classes, says Connie Miller, CEC’s 2006
Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year.
“That is the way you get the strategy going in daily instruction
and you have the materials to do so,” she explains. “You must
make it real practical for teachers.”
A final issue is how teachers are to wed EBPs and the craft of
teaching. There often comes a point when teachers modify the
strategy for one or all of their students. While that may
compromise the integrity of the strategy, many researchers do
not find it surprising, especially in special education. After
all, the basis of what we do in special education is to
individualize according to students’ needs, says Odom. He
recommends that teachers begin using a strategy exactly as it is
proposed. As the teacher gains experience and collects
information about the students’ performance, he or she may make
modifications where needed.
What Teachers Say about Evidence-Based Practice
Special education teachers believe in EBP. They want it, look
for it, and use it. In fact, special education teachers are
always searching for new ways to help their students succeed.
They look for conferences that present research-proven
techniques. Or, they find a strategy that looks interesting, and
then delve deeper to find the research on it.
“Every good teacher uses evidence-based practice,” says Jane
Humphrey, CEC’s 2004 Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year. “….You
are preparing your students for something further on…. My job is
to help my students get there, and evidence-based practice helps
me get them there.”
Though teachers value EBPs, they differ in the amount of
evidence they require before trying a particular technique. Some
prefer to use strategies that have a large amount of research
behind them, sometimes as much as 10 years’ worth. Even then,
the teachers may not give the strategy a go. Instead, they will
augment the written literature with other teachers’
recommendations and insights on a researched strategy’s
effectiveness. This also allows teachers to prepare for any
pitfalls or negative effects on particular students that may
occur with a new teaching technique.
“I want to see evidence, because these are my babies,” says
Carol Dinsdale, CEC’s 2005 Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year. “I
won’t try a strategy with them if I don’t see some evidence that
it will work.… I won’t jump into a new strategy”
Others will try an intriguing technique that sounds promising
even if it has little research evidence to back it up. They are
unwilling to wait for several years for the research to be
verified.
“Who are we to say that because a technique hasn’t been proven
with a huge population that it isn’t successful?” says Miller,
who implemented a video-teaching technique though it didn’t have
a lot of evidence behind it with great success. “We can’t be
closed-minded.”
Whether they require a lot or a little research, teachers use
research-based strategies to improve their students’ success.
When Miller wants to try a strategy that is new but shows
promise, she gets permission from her students’ parents. She
tells them she learned of this new strategy, that she’d like to
try it, and how she will implement it. Dinsdale even informs her
grades 2-3 students with behavior disorders that the strategies
they are using are research-based. While she now has to contend
with questions such as “Where did you find this information?”
and “Is it based on research?” she says it gives her students
more confidence in the strategy and they buy in to using it.
Finally, the research often validates the work the teachers are
already doing.
However, many special education teachers say they rarely stick
to the letter of an EBP. Rather, once they learn the core
principles of the research, they usually tweak the strategies to
fit their students. For instance, the research for the video
strategy Miller used was based on teaching functional skills.
She modified the strategies to teach her students to read.
As important as EBPs are to special education teachers, most
said getting access to it is difficult. While many teachers read
research journals, they find the articles difficult to translate
into usable terms, especially given their limited time.
Therefore some teachers rely on their state departments and
districts, who have textbook adoption committees to ensure that
materials and texts chosen for classroom use are evidence-based,
according to Matty Rodriguez-Walling, CEC’s 1994 Clarissa Hug
Teacher of the Year. Additionally, because of time and budget
cuts, it is often difficult for teachers to attend professional
development events, particularly if they pertain only to special
education.
One way to enable teachers to access to EBPs is for schools and
districts to support them. In her school, action research is
part of teachers’ evaluations, says Dinsdale. That is, the
teachers take an idea that was researched and use it in their
classes for improved scores and behavior. Additionally, the
school hosts a “Professional Sharing” once a month, at which
faculty members present new, researched teaching strategies.
They share whether the strategy worked in their class, if they
modified it, and its results. The school also made a
professional library for teachers to find books with researched
instructional strategies.
Another effective method of giving teachers access to research
is to involve them in it. Not only do the teachers learn the
correct way to implement the strategy, they also get the
supports, materials, and someone to talk to about the strategy.
“Give teachers the opportunity to participate in research, and
news of the strategy will travel by word of mouth,” says Miller.
What CEC Is Doing on Evidence-Based Practice
CEC is taking a leading role in defining and presenting EBP for
the field. CEC’s Professional Standards & Practice Committee has
developed a comprehensive proposal for EBP. The proposal will
select appropriate criteria to identify EBPs and develop a
process by which CEC would identify EBPs.
Additionally, CEC’s Division for Research has made
recommendations to the Institute for Educational Sciences. CEC-DR
said IES should promote research for children ages birth – 21,
not just school-age children; research should include social and
transition skills; and IES should coordinate with the Office of
Special Education Programs regarding the implementation of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, among others.
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