Post-Doctoral Research Training Program in Special Education: Evidence-Based Practice in Early Intervention and Early Learning

Co-Principal Investigator: Greenwood, Charles

The University of Kansas postdoctoral research program will provide postdoctoral fellows with training related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of early intervention and early learning research in community-based settings. The overarching goal of this program is to prepare four fellows (with 2 years of training each) to conduct, translate, and disseminate methodologically rigorous research with high relevance to early intervention and early learning practice and policy standards.

The program will support the acquisition of competencies related to carrying out measurement and intervention research in early childhood. These competencies fall under the following domains: (1) content knowledge (e.g., multi-tiered system of supports; language, social-emotional, and early literacy development), (2) measurement and research methods (e.g., rigorous experimental study designs and growth modeling techniques), and (3) professional skills (e.g., research communication, grants management, collaboration). Fellows will work with their mentors to develop an Individual Fellowship Plan based on their strengths and needs relative to each of the competency domains, research interests, and career goals. Some aspects of the plan will be standardized (e.g., course in evidence-based practice, courses in statistical analysis) and others will be customized for the individual fellow (e.g., short courses in single-case design or sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) design). The major components of the training include (a) mentorship in designing, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating early intervention / early learning research; (b) didactic coursework in early intervention / early learning and research methods; (c) early intervention /early learning research-to-practice / policy colloquia; and (d) situated learning within the context of federally-funded early intervention / early learning research projects. Fellows will be involved in up to two research projects that currently include (but are not limited to) the following: (1) a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of a professional development intervention to promote early literacy; (2) a project that is developing and testing a tiered model for promoting the social-emotional growth of infants and toddlers; (3) a project that is developing and testing a web-based tool for supporting practitioners' use of data to individualize services for children at risk for cognitive delays; and (3) a measurement project aimed at providing preschool teachers informational support for treating children who are not responding to intervention. In addition, over the 2-year fellowship, fellows will design and implement independent research studies culminating in peer-reviewed publications and practice briefs.