ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on a research journey undertaken by the first two authors to set up sustainable research informed practice through in-school Teaching and Learning Communities (TLCs). In particular it reports on the school’s involvement in a nationwide project, Closing the Gap: Test and Learn. This project was designed to use Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) to test whether a selected group of interventions could close the gap in attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The school’s involvement in Closing the Gap: Test and Learn led them to join The Early Adopter programme, a spin-off from the Closing the Gap project, where 50 research projects were funded by the National College for Teaching and Leadership for schools to try out their own small-scale RCTs. The chapter describes the two small-scale RCTs conducted by the first two authors and how these were used to add to the evidence base the TLCs were drawing on to inform practice. The third author was invaluable in helping with the reflective process and putting the research in a wider research context. The chapter ends with a reflection on the problems and possibilities for conducting small-scale RCTs in schools into the future.
