Engaging with evidence
by Institute for Effective Education
This guide sets out to build educators' confidence about identifying evidence that will help answer questions about practice.
The guide is clear and well set out. It is an easy starting point for anyone seeking some simple tips on how to identify good evidence.
It focuses on evidence in the form of "a published article from outside the school".
It makes the important point that no one kind of evidence is always better than another – there are good and bad examples of every kind of evidence.
Different kinds of evidence, different uses
The guide summarises the different kinds of evidence and the different kinds of research. It then looks at when each kind of evidence is useful and suggests ways to check the value of a particular example.
It also provides help to answer three concluding questions that inevitably follow all investigations into evidence:
- Am I convinced by the evidence?
- Is the evidence relevant to our school?
- Should I apply this evidence in our school?
Reference
Institute for Effective Education. (2019). Engaging with evidence. York: Institute for Effective Education
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