Designing Actionable Research: Collaborative Refinement and Deliberate Data

• In Event: Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Improving Districts: Organizational Climate, Leadership, and District-Wide Efforts

Abstract

Schools and districts often face an evidence gap between their desire for research-driven decision-making and the relevant knowledge base readily available to them, one which is particularly difficult to bridge given short time frames for setting policies. San Francisco Unified School District and Stanford University have been exploring a new model of research-practice partnership to enable faster and more actionable research to inform district policy, through creating an Action Research Team of doctoral students who conduct research to support implementing the district’s strategic plan. Lessons learned from these projects highlight the need for collaborative design of the research questions as well as the data collection systems to better serve both groups’ needs.

Author

• Norma Ming, San Francisco Unified School District