The Practical Implications of [redacted] Project: Key Practitioner-Oriented Findings and Open-Access Deliverables

• In Event: The PASS Project: Reflections on a Decade of Research (Division J, Vice Presidential Session)

Abstract

Purpose: The final presentation will discuss key actionable findings that developed over the course of the decade, explain how campuses have made sense of and utilized findings, and share the wide range of open-access resources housed on the project website.
Perspective: As part of our actionable approach over the past decade, we have remained committed to providing avenues for program directors and staff, campus leadership, and system administrators to engage with emerging research findings and offer feedback on research activities and project deliverables. We have continued to create and revise materials in response to requests from practitioners and sought their feedback on our analysis. Our campus partners have been integral in ensuring the utility and trustworthiness of research findings–supporting data collection activities, providing critical feedback on analysis, and suggesting ideas for dissemination. In many instances, the research team simply reflected the effective work our campus partners were doing, in other instances, we helped practitioners develop new language to describe their work and/or provided suggestions on how to improve their approaches.
Methods/data sources: The final presenters will highlight key findings that have emerged over the decade. For each finding, we will articulate the methods and data sources from which the finding derives. For example, our findings around well-being are based on analysis of pre/post-test data, time use survey data, longitudinal interviews with students, and interviews with practitioners. As another example, findings around at-promise student professionalism were influenced by observations, in addition to interviews.
Results: Over the course of ten years, we have developed a number of briefs, essays, reports, infographics, animated videos, conference presentations, and a book focused on at-promise students in higher education. These resources include key takeaways based on study evidence, make recommendations for practice, and offer questions to guide practice. This presentation will chronicle how campuses are integrating findings into practice and how a series of professional learning communities created a mechanism for spreading knowledge about research findings, in particular, about the concept of ecological validation – and the value of process (i.e., it’s the “how” that matters more than the “what”). We will walk the audience through the wide range of resources we have housed on the project website.
Significance: Our record of dissemination is significant, with over 54 peer-reviewed articles published, 35 practitioner-oriented pieces created, and 78 conference presentations–and counting. These dissemination activities would not have been possible without the generous support of our funder. Few research studies have the capacity to employ graphic and web designers and commit to attending a wide range of academic and practitioner conferences.

Authors

• Zoë Corwin, University of Southern California

• Amy Goodburn, University of Nebraska - Lincoln