Participatory knowledge mobilisation: an emerging model for international translational research in education

Research alone does not inform practice, rather a process of knowledge translation is required to enable research findings to become meaningful for practitioners in their contextual settings. However, the translational process needs to be an iterative cycle so that the practice itself can be reflected upon and thereby inform the ongoing research agenda. This paper presents the initial findings of a study into an international, participatory model of knowledge mobilization in the context of translational research in the field of education. Using a mixed methods approach, the study draws upon data collected from the Education Futures Collaboration (EFC), an educational charity, which has developed an international knowledge mobilization strategy. Through the innovative use of technologies this initiative improves the link between research and practice by finding new and practical ways to improve the knowledge base for practitioners. The EFC has developed two work strands within the international knowledge mobilization strategy, which utilise two complementary digital platforms. The first is the online MESHGuides (Mapping Educational Specialist knowHow), a collaborative tool for connecting educators with visual summaries of educational research from which practice can be developed. The second is the online Education Communities of Practice network, which is used to support international partnerships for collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Findings indicate that utilising web 2.0 tools to develop translational research through MESHGuides is significantly groundbreaking in its vision and scope with respect to practitioners accessing and building the knowledge base of the teaching profession internationally and strengthening the link between researchers and practitioners, thereby increasing the impact of research in education

Supporting Research Informed Teaching using a Mobile Application

A repositioning of research within teacher education is vital to the profession. Supporting teachers becoming active agents and producers of research within their school settings, is pivotal to their professional development and the development of the teaching profession. In this chapter we present how the European Union-funded project, Building a Research Infrastructure for School Teachers (BRIST), progressed through the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter presents a retrospective of the teaching and teacher education in fulfilling the project objectives which was designed to develop technology to coordinate and support teacher-research at a European level. The principled participatory design collaborative project, across five national jurisdictions, engaged with teachers and teacher education stakeholders in developing a mobile application to support teacher research. The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic are captured, along with the innovative approaches in overcoming these roadblocks to progress the research

Research-Informed Teaching in a Global Pandemic: "Opening up" Schools to Research

The teacher-research agenda has become a significant consideration for policy and professional development in a number of countries. Encouraging research-based teacher education programmes remains an important goal, where teachers are able to effectively utilize educational research as part of their work in school settings and to reflect on and enhance their professional development. In the last decade, teacher research has grown in importance across the three i’s of the teacher learning continuum: initial, induction and in-service teacher education. This has been brought into even starker relief with the global spread of COVID-19, and the enforced and emergency, wholesale move to digital education. Now, perhaps more than ever, teachers need the perspective and support of research-led practice, particularly in how to effectively use Internet technologies to mediate and enhance learning, teaching and assessment online, and new blended modalities for education that must be physically distant. The aim of this paper is to present a number of professional development open educational systems which exist or are currently being developed to support teachers internationally, to engage with, use and do research. Exemplification of the opening up of research to schools and teachers is provided in the chapter through reference to the European Union-funded Erasmus + project, BRIST: Building Research Infrastructures for School Teachers. BRIST is developing technology to coordinate and support teacher-research at a European level

Participatory Knowledge Mobilization: An emerging model for international translational research in Education.

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The publisher's final version of record can be found by following the DOI link.Research alone does not inform practice, rather a process of knowledge translation is required to enable research findings to become meaningful for practitioners in their contextual settings. However, the translational process needs to be an iterative cycle so that the practice itself can be reflected upon and thereby inform the ongoing research agenda. This paper presents the initial findings of a study into an international, participatory model of knowledge mobilization in the context of translational research in the field of education. Using a mixed methods approach, the study draws upon data collected from the Education Futures Collaboration, an educational charity, which has developed an international knowledge mobilization strategy. Through the innovative use of technologies this initiative improves the link between research and practice by finding new and practical ways to improve the knowledge base for practitioners. The EFC has developed two work strands within the international knowledge mobilization strategy, which utilise two complementary digital platforms. The first is the online MESHGuides (Mapping Educational Specialist knowHow), a collaborative tool for connecting educators with visual summaries of educational research from which practice can be developed. The second is the online Education Communities of Practice network, which is used to support international partnerships for collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Findings indicate that utilising web 2.0 tools to develop translational research through MESHGuides is significantly groundbreaking in its vision and scope with respect to practitioners accessing and building the knowledge base of the teaching profession internationally and strengthening the link between researchers and practitioners, thereby increasing the impact of research in education.N/

Mapping Educational Specialist knowHow (MESH): The Building of a Knowledge Management System

In this invited article the authors present an evaluative report on the development of the MESHGuides project (http://www.meshguides.org/). MESHGuides objective is to provide education with an international knowledge management system. MESHGuides were conceived as research summaries for supporting teachers’practice to make it evidence-based. The aim is to enhance teachers capacity to engage actively with research in their own classrooms. The original thinking for MESH arose from the work of UK-based academics Professor Marilyn Leask and Dr Sarah Younie in response to a desire, which has recently gathered momentum in the UK, for the development of a more research-informed teaching profession and for the establishment of an on-line platform to support evidence-based practice (Leask and Younie with 2001), supported by OECD (2009) . The focus of this article is on how the MESHGuides project was conceived and structured, the technical systems supporting it and the reality for academics and teachers of composing and using MESH guides. The project and the guides are in the early stages of development, and discussion indicates future possibilities for more global engagement with this knowledge management system

Developing Evidence-informed practice: engaging teachers with research

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version.The field of education is awash with research. What is important for teachers however is accessing the right research, in the right way, at the right time. This paper presents an innovative way forward for teachers who want to develop evidence-informed practice and for those who want to be engage further with research. We start with explaining the concept of translational research, which is a systematic approach to the practical application of research knowledge. We have followed this approach in the development of the MESHGuides project, which provides research summaries for teachers. The research evidence is presented in a visual format so that it is accessible and can inform teacher’s professional judgements and practices. This approach is informed by initiatives adopted in the field of medicine. Furthermore, we are developing the MESHConnect initiative that aims to create and engage communities of teachers both in and with research. This initiative aims to develop teachers by engaging them in the broader community of researchers in education, so that they are able to develop a critical perspective on research to inform their own professional practices

Pedagogic development of a gamified approach to enhancing engagement in interprofessional education

Inter-professional education (IPE) is an integral part of learning for undergraduate healthcare students. From the evidence in the literature about the benefits of linked learning, collaboration between the health professions early in student development can lead to improved patient outcomes. This article reflects on the adoption at Keele University in the United Kingdom (UK), of a novel approach to introducing inter-professional education – with the intention of increasing interest in undergraduate health students across the Health faculty. A card-based scenario game (a ‘Braincept’ game) in the style of a pub quiz introduced elements of gamification, in order to engage students and increase their awareness of various healthcare professionals’ roles and interactions. This article assesses the impact of using gamification elements and outlines pedagogic principles underpinning development of this novel intervention

Study protocol:the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of an employer-led intervention to increase walking during the daily commute: the Travel to Work randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity increases the risk of many chronic diseases including coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. It is recommended that adults should undertake at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity throughout the week but many adults do not achieve this. An opportunity for working adults to accumulate the recommended activity levels is through the daily commute. METHODS: Employees will be recruited from workplaces in south-west England and south Wales. In the intervention arm, workplace Walk-to-Work promoters will be recruited and trained. Participating employees will receive Walk-to-Work materials and support will be provided through four contacts from the promoters over 10 weeks. Workplaces in the control arm will continue with their usual practice. The intervention will be evaluated by a cluster randomized controlled trial including economic and process evaluations. The primary outcome is daily minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Secondary outcomes are: overall physical activity; sedentary time; modal shift away from private car use during the commute; and physical activity/MVPA during the commute. Accelerometers, GPS receivers and travel diaries will be used at baseline and one year follow-up. Questionnaires will be used at baseline, immediately post intervention, and one year follow-up. The process evaluation will examine the context, delivery and response to the intervention from the perspectives of employers, Walk-to-Work promoters and employees using questionnaires, descriptive statistics, fieldnotes and interviews. A cost-consequence study will include employer, employee and health service costs and outcomes. Time and consumables used in implementing the intervention will be measured. Journey time, household commuting costs and expenses will be recorded using travel diaries to estimate costs to employees. Presenteeism, absenteeism, employee wellbeing and health service use will be recorded. DISCUSSION: Compared with other forms of physical activity, walking is a popular, familiar and convenient, and the main option for increasing physical activity in sedentary populations. To our knowledge, this is the first full-scale randomised controlled trial to objectively measure (using accelerometers and GPS receivers) the effectiveness of a workplace intervention to promote walking during the commute to and from work. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN15009100 (10 December 2014)

Systematic review: what interventions improve dignity for older patients in hospital?

Aims and objectives. To review the evidence for interventions to improve dignity for older patients in acute care.Background. High profile cases have highlighted failure to provide dignified carefor older people in hospitals. There is good evidence on what older people con-sider is important for dignified care and abundant recommendations on improvingdignity, but it is unclear which interventions are effective.Design. Narrative systematic review.Methods. The Cochrane library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, BNI andHMIC electronic databases were searched for intervention studies of any designaiming to improve inpatients’ dignity. The main population of interest was olderpatients, but the search included all patients. Studies that focused on ‘dignity ther-apy’ were excluded.Results. There were no intervention studies found in any country which aimed toimprove patient dignity in hospitals which included evaluation of the effect. Anarrative overview of papers that described implementing dignity interventions inpractice but included no formal evaluation was, therefore, undertaken. Fivepapers were identified. Three themes were identified: knowing the person; part-nership between older people and health care professionals; and, effective commu-nication and clinical leadership. The effect on dignity of improving these isuntested.Conclusions. There are currently no studies that have tested interventions toimprove the dignity of older people (nor anyone else) in hospitals. Furtherresearch using well designed trials of interventions is needed. There is also a needto develop and validate outcome measures for interventions to improve dignity.Relevance to clinical practice. At present nurses lack robust evidence on how to improve dignity. There is ample evidence on what undermines patients’ dignit