The challenges of research transfer in college pedagogy : understanding the issues surrounding a little-known gap

Abstract

"If you were asked to picture a researcher, what image would come to mind? A man in a white lab coat and safety goggles in a laboratory? A professor doing statistical calculations in the comfort of his dusty university office? A conference speaker who, in a neutral voice, makes observations and recommendations on how you should do your work—but offers few concrete suggestions on how to go about it? Admittedly, these images are still fresh in the minds of many college teachers and reinforce the idea that education research is a complex and mysterious process far removed from the classroom.

This perception sometimes makes life difficult for those working in the field of pedagogical research at colleges, because even if a certain legitimacy surrounds the research process, the use of research data remains an issue in the network. In other words, there is still a long way to go.

This gap between scientific and practical knowledge is a well-known reality. This is why the concept of "knowledge transfer" is becoming increasingly important. Originally, this concept of transfer was simple: it consisted of "pushing" research knowledge down to the community in a "top-down" manner, also known as the expert or science-push model. It’s a picture that often persists in our minds when we think about the links between research and practice. However, the limitations of such models have long since been demonstrated, and new ones have emerged. In today’s models, transfer is primarily an interaction based on frequent, mutually beneficial exchanges between the research community and the user community, i.e. the people who use the research. Especially in health-related research fields, new actors have emerged: knowledge brokers (yes, it’s a real profession!)." -- AQPC