Best Practices in Education (Research Paper Sample)

Best Practices in Education
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Best Practices in Education
Introduction
In the past centuries, education was grounded in teaching students what was commonly referred to as the 3R's. The 3Rs include reading, writing, and arithmetic. In the traditional approach, an educator taught the content by repetition, which made teaching and learning less appealing. However, learning in the past two decades since the dawn of the 21st century is student-centered rather than the previous teacher-centered approach, which was typically rote learning. Student-centered learning identifies the importance of preparing students for their future and is often informed by best practices. Best practices describe an inherent part of the school curriculum that focuses on exemplifying the connection and associated relevance identified in educational research. In most cases, best practices in education are applied to interject rigor in the school curriculum through facilitating effective teaching and learning. The paper argues while best practices have the potential of transforming educational practices and subsequently, outcomes, many educators and school leaders fail to incorporate and integrate these practices.
Current Best Practices in Education
The term best practice is used to describe "what works" effectively in a particular situation or environment. Best practices in education, therefore, describe activities that facilitate quality educational outcomes CITATION Are18 \l 1033 (Arendale, 2018). As the education field develops new and better ways of engaging students, it is vital for educators to keep pace with these changes to avoid instances where they are applying absolute approaches to teaching and learning. Currently, it is crucial for educators to be very clear and explicit about the learning process, which encompasses modeling the process and the product. Indeed, the current alternative ways to teacher certification are embracing equal rigor to the traditional programs which ensure every educator meet specific pre-determined standards and measures to acquire professional teaching license CITATION Ali15 \l 1033 (Alismail & McGuire, 2015). Moreover, research emphasizes the importance of the students engaging in and participating in discussions, which allows them to test their ideas in addition to learning communication skills that enable them to voice both agreements and disagreements effectively. Undeniably, many schools are currently embracing the concept of cooperative learning and peer tutoring, which stresses the importance of students working together to assist one another to learn the materials in class CITATION Foo12 \l 1033 (Fook, 2012).
Currently, regular and immediate feedback is vital since it allows the students to stay on top of their school work. The application of formative assessment approaches will enable students to gauge what they know and what they do not know and as such, provide an opportunity for them to inquire about what they do not know. The project-based learning insists on the benefit of student-centered learning activities with the argument that the teacher can be actively involved in the learning process of a student through acting as a coach, a facilitator or a co-learner CITATION Foo12 \l 1033 (Fook, 2012). Moreover, many learning institutions, educators and students have in recent years embraced the concept of metacognition which facilitates individualistic thinking and instills confidence that enables the students to discuss their thoughts and strategies applied therein to arrive at these thoughts.
Additionally, in recent years, many learning institutions in the USA from elementary school to high schools and institutions of higher learning are embracing block scheduling. Block scheduling describes the practice where these institutions are discarding the traditional six or eight-period schedules in favor of three or four more prolonged periods of daily instruction. Research indicates block teaching increases the span of teaching time, which is beneficial for both the students and the educators CITATION Cru10 \l 1033 (Crum, Sherman, & Myran, 2010). The current society supports the idea of community schools, which allows learning institutions to be centers of the community where they are open to everyone in a bid to increase their overall impact in the society. Many schools are also embracing the year-round education rather than the traditional 180 days with the idea that shorter breaks increase the students' ability to retain what they have learned. Policymakers and school administrators are also emphasizing the importance of cultural competency which facilitates accomplished teaching in addition to acknowledging and embracing the current demographic changes in the United States CITATION Cru10 \l 1033 (Crum, Sherman, & Myran, 2010). Many learning institutions focus on recruiting and retaining highly qualified diverse teaching force to ensure teachers match the diversity of students in the schools.
Although best practices have the potential of improving educational outcomes, many educators, in addition to school leaders, fail to implement research-supported best practices. The biggest hurdle to educators implementing education research is the difficulty in reading and interpreting research articles since they are not designed and written for the audience of educators and school leaders CITATION Han14 \l 1033 (Hanover Research, 2014). Additionally, many educators and school leaders alike do not have time to concentrate and read research-supported best practices. Educators are committed to teaching full-time in school with the associated pressures of marking, assessment, and planning and as such, have very little time to engage and apply educational research. Similarly, school administrators manage the day to day running of the institution, therefore, lack sufficient time to engage with any educational research which provides the avenue for their application. While some school has formal mechanisms for disseminating research, very little time is committed to this endeavor each term.
Additionally, many teachers focus on their professional judgment with the idea that no set of policies or pre-determined directions have the potential of addressing all the situations that teachers encounter in delivering knowledge and skills CITATION Foo12 \l 1033 (Fook, 2012). For instance, even when teachers are aware of the best practices associated with grading, they do not necessarily adhere to them in efforts of maintaining fairness. To ensure research-based best practices are applied by educators and school leaders to improve educational outcomes in the current society, it is necessary for researchers to do more to reach the practitioners and the learning institutions to dedicate more time on disseminating the research.
Contribution of best-practices in Education
As mentioned, research-supported best practices in education describe a wide variety of activities that have been rigorously evaluated to achieve positive changes not only in academic outcomes but also in student attitudes. Research-supported best practices contribute positively to education since they contain a detailed description, critical elements for implementation, essential resources in addition to the processes utilized to gather impact data and as such can be effectively applied in any learning institution CITATION Cru10 \l 1033 (Crum, Sherman, & Myran, 2010). Apart from their application in learning institutions, research-supported best practices are often used in policymaking as such has potential to inform educational activities, approaches, and policies at state and federal level with outcomes that have the potential to impact the entire education system in a country. Undeniably, the term itself, "best practices" illustrates the behaviors or policies that intend to create positive changes in academic outcomes.
Future Educational Trends
The current society is facing unparalleled challenges at social, economic, and environmental dimensions, which are fueled by hastening globalization in addition to a faster rate of technological advancements. However, these factors are also providing new opportunities for human development. While the future is uncertain, the developments associated with the first two decades of the 21st century provide an avenue for schools, educators, and policymakers to