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The article argues that adult ESL programs often lack research-informed decision making due to time, distance, information gaps, goal mismatch, and limited face-to-face interaction. 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She also cites reasons adult-education practitioners do not access research, including distance, time constraints, information gaps, goal mismatch, and lack of face-to-face interaction.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What skills did the author gain in her MA TESOL program that changed her practice?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"She learned how to navigate academic databases, critically analyze research articles, and integrate findings into her work. This training shifted her understanding so she could build decisions on evidence rather than only on practical experience.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How did research-based evidence influence the author’s teaching and administrative work?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Research served as a mentor, giving access to a larger support and “best practices” resource bank for classroom teaching. It also provided leverage for department-level proposals in an administrative role.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},597942,1792189155,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":34,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962090760608,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","LISA GONZALVES  \nAlameda Adult School, Berkeley City College  \nProfessional Development Through Graduate Study: Using Academic Research to Inform Professional Practices  \nIn this article, the author discusses how learning to effectively conduct, analyze, and present research has had an impact on her academic success, her ongoing development as an ESL teacher, and her proposals and protocols as the ESL department coordinator at an adult school in the Bay Area. The author triangulates these 3 areas of impact to demonstrate how the ability to employ research as a tool has provided her more knowledge and authority as a teacher and administrator.  \nIntroduction  \nAdult ESL programs lack research-informed decision making. In a field  \nin which hands-on experience is often seen as the best indicator of  \nwhat works, many TESOL practitioners understand research as cumbersome, clinical, and disconnected from reality. The latest research seldom surfaces in lesson planning or in teachers’ lounge conversations. In a climate of limited time and even further limited funding, most teachers prefer to implement practical, already existing materials. As an ESL teacher and department coordinator, I understand this perspective and have lived this disconnect, but after completing my graduate studies, I began to notice the effect that the absence of research has on adult ESL programmatic planning. In my MA TESOL program, I received training in how to conduct academic research, and this skill has since informed the decisions I make as a learner, teacher, and administrator.  \nFor many years, researchers have discussed the benefits of connecting research and practice. Focus on Basics, a quarterly publication of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, focuses on connecting teachers with research, and researchers with the classroom. It recognizes the wealth of knowledge that teachers and their colleagues possess, but it also asserts that their practice will improve if they incorporate research findings into their work. Garner, Bingman, Comings, Rowe, & Smith (2001) have noted that many instructors do not actively search out research findings themselves but instead find out about research in a more passive manner—they are informed  \n92 • The CATESOL Journal 23.1 • 2011/2012  \nby a trusted colleague, they meet a researcher, or they are invited to participate in a research study. Another study published by Focus on Basics shows there are five reasons adult-education practitioners are not accessing research or professional development in general: distance, time constraints, information gaps, goal mismatch, and a lack of face-to-face interaction (Wilson & Corbett, 2001) . Given this reality, it is clear that many ESL professionals are not accessing resources that could measurably improve their techniques. Hull (1997) makes the need for a research-practice connection clear: “Qualitative research can inspire us to action—to teach better, to imagine more helpful research, to do what we can to make our institutions more responsive”(Conclusion section, para. 1) .  \nIn this article, I discuss how I learned to use academic research in my graduate studies and how this skill set supports and moves forward my teaching and administrative careers. With specific examples, I illustrate how integrating research into my repertoire of skills helped me become a more confident teacher and department coordinator and allowed me to stay connected with the TESOL field at large.  \nIncorporating Research Into Professional Practices  \nI have taught ESL for a number of years in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2008 I enrolled in a rigorous MA TESOL program that guides us through the creation of a research-heavy thesis. It is common for students to view a thesis as purely an academic assignment, disconnected from the practice of teaching. I had a similar viewpoint in the beginning of my graduate studies. I felt removed from the research process and unsure of how","cbCairYCD9ruKkeG","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairYCD9ruKkeG","pdf",524178,"English","# Introduction\n## Incorporating Research Into Professional Practices\n## Teaching Methodology","[{\"question\":\"Why does the author say adult ESL programs often lack research-informed decision making?\",\"answer\":\"The author explains that many TESOL practitioners see research as cumbersome and disconnected from reality, and that limited time and funding push teachers toward practical existing materials. She also cites reasons adult-education practitioners do not access research, including distance, time constraints, information gaps, goal mismatch, and lack of face-to-face interaction.\"},{\"question\":\"What skills did the author gain in her MA TESOL program that changed her practice?\",\"answer\":\"She learned how to navigate academic databases, critically analyze research articles, and integrate findings into her work. This training shifted her understanding so she could build decisions on evidence rather than only on practical experience.\"},{\"question\":\"How did research-based evidence influence the author’s teaching and administrative work?\",\"answer\":\"Research served as a mentor, giving access to a larger support and “best practices” resource bank for classroom teaching. It also provided leverage for department-level proposals in an administrative role.\"}]","Professional Development Through Graduate Study - Using Academic Research to Inform Professional Practices | PDF",1792085996,18]