Reflection PaperJulia Hart

Evidence-based practices (EBP) have come to be expected in American classrooms. Educators should strive to root their teaching practices to current research findings. It is expected that teachers read professional journals and keep informed of the latest research findings in their field. Teachers should be critical consumers of research articles. They should understand the markings of a well-conducted study and be able to decipher how a studys results may play out in their own classroom. Special education is a field that is particularly driven by evidence-based practices because our field is continually evolving. Educating children with disabilities is a relatively new occurrence, compared to the history of general education, so practices are still being developed and refined at a brisk pace. Because many our students are so complex and often have multiple factors affecting their success, it is important to note that some experimentation may be required to find an effective program for a particular child. When determining an intervention for a given student, Cook and Cook (2011) wrote, EBPs afford the highest likelihood of increasing a targeted outcome, but educators cannot have abject faith that an EBP will work for any given individual student (p. 6). This quote demonstrates one way in which education is a science; it requires experimentation and much trial and error. Education is also an art, with intuition and creativity influencing a teachers effectivenessIn addition to being consumers of educational research, teachers can become researchers or welcome researchers into their classrooms to further the collective knowledge of best practices in education. Gast and Tawney (2010) wrote:It cannot be overstated that practitioners are often confronted with issues or problems overlooked by researchers. Thus, if practitioners collaborate with researchers, or acquire the skills to conduct their own research, they can generate answers to questions that will improve educational practice. (p. 24)Participating in research studies or conducting their own research will help teachers and practitioners connect to education as a form of science. Mandating a scientific view of education, however, may meet with lots of opposition. Most people tend to be set in their ways and forcing change upon the masses would be challenging. Pressley, Graham, and Harris (2006) noted that educational theorists tend to hold on to theories, despite evidence to repudiate them. Similarly, educators tend to practice what they know, rather than adopting new methods. By asking teachers to participate in research, and to work to solve the problems that they face in the classroom, teachers may be more likely to adapt to a scientific view of education. Many educators naturally employ the scientific method to solve problem behaviors in their classrooms or to find new ways to help their students learn. To overcome the barrier between research and practice, teachers will need to be shown how this new way of thinking will help them in their teaching and ultimately help their students. Rather than mandates or forced implementation of a new way of thinking, teacher education and professional development will be necessary for educators to accept a more scientific view of education. Teachers can be shown the benefits of EBPs and will likely be willing to adapt because ultimately, teachers are in the field because they want to help children learn and EBPs seem to be the best way to help our students. Once attitudes change, the greatest challenge to implementing EBP use widely will be finding a way to disseminate the information to educators and practitioners.