Postdoctoral Research Training Program in Early Interventions Within Research-Practice Partnerships

Co-Principal Investigator: Crawford, April

This training program will provide fellows with extensive research training (related to intervention development, initial efficacy, and measurement) concentrated on developmental and academic outcomes of preschool and early elementary children with or at risk for disabilities. The overarching goal of this program is to prepare four fellows (with 2 years of training each) to lead rigorous and relevant research within research-practice-partnerships (RPPs).

Training activities will be organized across four strands: (1) developing RPPs to ensure meaningful and feasible research, (2) ensuring excellence in education research and writing skills, (3) building leadership and management skills within active projects, and (4) enhancing professional skills across a national network of scholars and via guided practice in disseminating findings to practitioners and policymakers. Each postdoctoral fellow will be matched with a primary mentor who will support the development and implementation of an Individualized Training Plan in the determined specialty area of interest. Fellows will engage in rigorous research within at least one of four active projects that aim to: (1) expand a statewide screening and progress monitoring measurement system, (2) develop a Tier 2 intervention for kindergarten children with or at risk for literacy disabilities, (3) evaluate an adaptive PD intervention for kindergarten teachers of children at risk for language and reading disabilities, or (4) evaluate the cost effectiveness of three scalable professional development models for pre-kindergarten teachers of children at risk for academic difficulties. Fellows will also engage in a 4–6-month RPP with a partner organization to develop and execute a short-duration original research project. The training program will also provide fellows with a variety of professional development opportunities, including directed readings, school observations, meetings with expert researchers and policymakers, training on the IES Standards for Excellence in Education Research, workshops, webinars, and coursework.