The Power of Evidence-Based Practices in Improving Student Outcomes

Name Institutional Affiliations Date Boys and Girls Club Paterson and Passaic Agency Evidence-Based Practice in Education Services Micro-Practice Evidence-based practice is an approach that requires professionals and all decision-makers in an agency or an organization to pay close attention to evidence to inform their decision-making. In most cases, the evidence-based practice aims to eliminate outdated practices and replace them with updated and more effective ones through defined shifts from traditional decision-making approaches to scientific research. Education is one of the areas in that most professionals have based their practices on expertise derived from experiences and passed down in the form of tradition. It is a poor practice that remains unjustified by evidence fostering poor academic performances for many students. However, with evidence-based practices, the new phase in education brings a change in expertise which improves teachers' and students' performances significantly. Then what is this evidence-based practice in teaching, or what is evidence-based education? According to Wiltshire, 2007), evidence-based education practice is an educational approach that is always backed by rigorous and high standard research, consistently replicated with positive outcomes, and supported by the effects of student outcomes. It is a practice that allows educators to eliminate guesswork from their teaching approaches and instead provide specific approaches and programs to improve student performances. It is imperative to note that in America, evidence-based teaching has dominated the field of education since the 21st century after the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) included the practice as part of education law applied to all schools receiving federal funding (Song, 2019). Evidence-based practices in education enable the teachers to avoid frustrations associated with implementing unjustified teaching programs that lead to students' failure. Evidence-based practices are grounded on justified evidence, making finding and implementing an effective practice less frustrating and have proven outcomes on students' performances (Wiltshier, 2007). EBPs use evidence from interventions where one group of students uses a specific intervention over a period of time and academic performances compared to students who have been studying without any intervention. If results show educational improvements in the controlled group, then such intervention becomes substantial evidence of the applicability of such a teaching strategy for the benefit of students. For instance, in spaced repetition evidence-based learning technique, the students can improve their learning rates as the content under study remains exposed to their memory from time to time, which enhances a psychological spacing effect, thus improving performance in the long run. Another excellent example of evidence-based education practice is when a teacher asks many questions and observes students’ responses. Such an approach enables learners to connect new materials with earlier learning. To enhance students’ performance in such a case, the teacher provides step-by-step demonstrations to work out the problem and guides the learners by asking good questions and giving feedback. Chances of forgetting such content are minimal, positively impacting such students’ academic performances. As applied in different areas, evidence-based practice enhances effectiveness in operation management and the general performances of the persons cared for and the professionals in general. For instance, in the health/social work and education sector, which best conside