BUILDING A VIRTUAL/ONLINE KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION LABORATORY

Moving evidence-based research into practice has proven challenging in many fields, and education is no exception. The Evidence-based Education and Services Team (E-BEST) at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) identified this research-practice gap more than a decade ago, and has engaged in a number of activities and service options designed to encourage research use. For the past three years, E-BEST has built and supported a Knowledge Mobilization Lab (KM Lab) to better understand and meet this challenge. KM Lab monthly meetings provide a platform for members both within and external to HWDSB, to discuss research in knowledge mobilization, provide consultation to administrators and educators hoping to mobilize knowledge, and learn from leading researchers on relevant topics. This presentation will detail preliminary outcomes from the creation of online/virtual KM Lab, and discuss the implications of those findings.

The KM Lab consists of a core membership and peripheral visiting members. Two members from Ottawa and Vancouver participate electronically through audio and video links. Initially, the KM Lab was constrained by technology with only one remote video feed, and the quality was often poor. In addition to improving the quality of communication for current members, funding from the Knowledge Network in Applied Educational Research (KNAER) has enabled the KM Lab to connect with many more researchers, educators, and administrators through the creation of an online/virtual KM Lab.

We are aware that many school district professionals, particularly board researchers, have an interest in knowledge mobilization. We hypothesized that the enhanced technology we were able to purchase with the KNAER funding would provide capacity to extend the KM Lab to include participants from other school districts in Ontario and across Canada. Further, recording KM Lab conversations and sharing the learning and discussions through brief video clips would make the learning available to a much broader audience via the web. This will support strengthening research brokering. Initial observations regarding the impact of the online/virtual KM Lab include broadening of the lab’s membership, increased use of virtual resources and more in-depth conversations about KM within HWDSB.