How well am I doing as an evidence-informed practitioner

1. +
How well am I doing as an evidence-informed
practitioner?
Dr Gary Jones, August 2015
Evidence
Informed
Practice

2. +
By the end of this session I hope to
have
 Provided a working definition of evidence-informed/based
practice
 Evaluated two frameworks for evaluating the use of evidence
 Offered an alternative evaluative-check list
 Shared a technique for asking well-formulated questions
 Generated curiosity

4. +

5. +

6. +
Dr. Chris Brown and Dr. Sue
Rogers, Institute of Education,
University of London
 Knowledge creation as an
approach to facilitating
evidence informed practice in
early years settings:
examining ways to measure
the success of using this
method with early years
practitioners in camden
(London).

7. +

8. +
Levels of expertise
 Non-use to novice – I have made concrete plans to use
research evidence – I am waiting for the opportunity
 Competent – I now regularly use research findings in my day to
day practice
 Expert – I frequently use research evidence in my practice,
often in an intuitive manner

10. Level of
Expertise
Descriptor
Novice A novice is someone who has identified a professional problem and begins to use readily available
evidence to engage in professional dialogue that leads to minor changes in practice.
Advanced
Beginner
An Advanced Beginner is someone who routinely seeks out evidence for use in professional dialogue
aimed at improving practice, sometimes involving reference to experienced colleagues beyond their own
setting (e.g. Fellows, university personnel, UoB librarians, TeachMeet or ResearchEd colleagues). This
results in more refined changes in practice.
Basic
Competence
Someone who has achieved Basic Competence is consistently using evidence to improve professional
practice, has a growing awareness of authoritative sources of evidence (e.g. online journals, university
partnership staff, MESHguides, the RSA, NFER, EEF). They regularly use these as part of well
structured changes that are monitored as part of a planned evaluation process. At this level
practitioners may begin to write up the results of their intervention as part of a contribution to wider
professional development.
Proficiency Someone who has achieved proficiency will have a well developed knowledge of evidence sources and
have a broad network of contacts to approach for guidance and advice; they will have a growing
appreciation of good quality evidence and systematically incorporate this into development planning,
using sophisticated evaluation processes. At this level, practitioners periodically contribute their
findings and reflections in appropriate media.
Expert An expert in this field will be an authoritative figure within a network of research-aware professionals who
works intuitively to access and use high quality research evidence; they will take a lead in both
formulating and implementing proposals with a rigorous research focus. They regularly speak and write
on the issue of evidence informed practice. They are happy to share their expertise beyond the
Fellowship and provide guidance and advice to others.

11. +
Levels of expertise – Advanced
Beginner
 Someone who routinely seeks out evidence for use in
professional dialogue aimed at improving practice, sometimes
involving reference to experienced colleagues beyond their
own setting (e.g. Fellows, university personnel, UoB librarians,
TeachMeet or ResearchEd colleagues). This results in more
refined changes in practice

12. +
Level of expertise – basic
competence
 Someone who has achieved proficiency will have a well
developed knowledge of evidence sources and have a broad
network of contacts to approach for guidance and advice; they
will have a growing appreciation of good quality evidence and
systematically incorporate this into development planning,
using sophisticated evaluation processes. At this level,
practitioners periodically contribute their findings and
reflections in appropriate media.

13. +
Levels of expertise - Expert
 Someone who is an authoritative figure within a network of
research-aware professionals who works intuitively to access
and use high quality research evidence; they will take a lead in
both formulating and implementing proposals with a rigorous
research focus. They regularly speak and write on the issue of
evidence informed practice. They are happy to share their
expertise beyond the Fellowship and provide guidance and
advice to others.

14. +
Limitations of existing definitions of
EIP expertise
 Little or no reference to pupils’ preferences
 Over-reliance on research evidence at the expense of other
sources of evidence
 Mis-interpretation and mis-application of research evidence
 Nature of evidence-informed practice makes it difficult to be an
intuitive process
 No reference to favourable outcomes for pupils or others
 Inherent limitations with the Dreyfus model

15. +
How well are you doing as an
 Evidence-informed practitioner
 Leader and teacher of
evidence-informed practice

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Five steps to evaluate your practice
as an evidence-informed
practitioner
 Step 1 - converting the need for information into an answerable question.
 Step 2 - tracking down the best evidence with which to answer that
question.
 Step 3 - critically appraise the evidence for its validity impact and
applicability.
 Step 4 - integrating our critical appraisal with our teaching expertise and
taking into account our pupil’s values, circumstances and preferences -
alongside the views of other important stakeholders.
 Step 5 - evaluating our effectiveness and efficiency in executing steps 1 to
4 and seeking ways to improve next time (Adapted from Straus et al 2011,
p3).

17. +
Self-evaluation of converting the
need for information into an
answerable question
 Am I asking questions about either my teaching and/or
management practice?
 Am I asking focused and answerable questions?
 How do I go about systematically identifying the gaps in both
my knowledge and skills?
 If stuck, how do I go about 'unstuck' when asking questions?
 How do I go about saving my questions for future investigation.

18. +
Asking better questions
 A question root (who, what,
how, when, how ) with a verb
 An issue or matter of interest
 How does homework improve
student achievement?
 What are the benefits of e-
learning?
 When is the best-time to give
students diagnostic tests?
 Who is best placed to undertake
performance reviews and
appraisals?
 Where can you find examples of
effective 'flipped' learning
Background questions Examples

19. +
Asking better questions
 Asks far more specific
questions about a
particular action,
intervention or
innovation,
 Does 24/7 access to
iPads as compared to
Chromebooks, improve
the timely completion of
homework tasks?
Foreground questions Examples

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The PICO format
 P — Pupil or Problem. How would you describe
the group of pupils or problem?
 I — Intervention. What are you planning to do
with your pupils?
 C — Comparison. What is the alternative to the
intervention/action/innovations
 O — Outcomes. What are the effects of the
intervention/action/intervention?

21. +
Using the PICO format
 For pupils requiring additional learning support (P) how does
the provision of 1 to 1 support (I) compared with group support
(C) affect achievement rates.
 For pupils aged 16 who failed to achieve at least at a grade C
in GCSE English (P) and subsequently retake GCSE English (I)
at the end of the academic year, how well do they achieve (O)
compared to students who have been prepared and entered for
iGCSE English (C)

22. +
A moment of reflection
 P — Pupil or Problem. How would you describe the
group of pupils or problem?
 I — Intervention. What are you planning to do with
your pupils?
 C — Comparison. What is the alternative to the
intervention/action/innovations
 O — Outcomes. What are the effects of the
intervention/action/intervention?

24. +
Self-evaluation of changing
teaching or management practice
 When the evidence
suggests a change in
teaching or management
practice am I identifying
'inhibitors and nourishers' for
this change.
 Have I evaluated the impact
on pupil learning outcomes
of any changes in practice?
 Am I considering the
sustainability of any
changes I am putting into
practice?
 Am I teaching and modelling
the integration of pupil's and
other stakeholder's
preferences within my own
teaching and managerial
practice?
 Am I developing new ways
of evaluating the
effectiveness of my teaching
of evidence-informed
practice?
 Am I working to create a
mutually supportive yet self-
critical network of
colleagues in both schools
and other settings?

26. +
Some final comments
 Development of expertise takes time
 Development of expertise requires practice
 Think big, start-small
 It’s about pupil learning and outcomes STUPID

27. +
jones.gary@gmail.com
http://evidencebasededucationalleadership.blog
spot.co.uk
@DrGaryJones

29. +
The PICO format
 P — Pupil or Problem. How would you describe
the group of pupils or problem?
 I — Intervention. What are you planning to do
with your pupils?
 C — Comparison. What is the alternative to the
intervention/action/innovations
 O — Outcomes. What are the effects of the
intervention/action/intervention?

30. +
Using the PICO format
 For pupils requiring additional learning support (P) how does
the provision of 1 to 1 support (I) compared with group support
(C) affect achievement rates.
 For pupils aged 16 who failed to achieve at least at a grade C
in GCSE English (P) and subsequently retake GCSE English (I)
at the end of the academic year, how well do they achieve (O)
compared to students who have been prepared and entered for
iGCSE English (C)

31. +
A self-evaluation in teaching of
evidence-informed practice
 Am I teaching and modelling the integration of best evidence
within my teaching or managerial practice?
 Am I teaching and modelling the integration of pupil's and other
stakeholder's preferences within my own teaching and managerial
practice?
 Am I developing new ways of evaluating the effectiveness of my
teaching of evidence-informed practice?
 Am I working - through the use of evidence-informed practice - to
create mutually supportive yet challenging relationships with
colleagues within the school?
 Am I working to create a mutually supportive yet self-critical
network of colleagues in both schools and other settings?