T-REX: the Teachers Research Exchange. Overcoming the research-practice gap in education

Abstract

This paper introduces the Teachers Research Exchange (T-REX), an online community of practice that is currently being deployed on a pilot basis nationwide in Ireland as a response to the research-practice gap . The system includes collaborative, educational, and technical components. The technical aspect is the social networking and sharing platform for educational research stakeholders of all kinds. Tools for collaboration and learning available on the platform are designed for a range of users from different professional backgrounds. Crucially, these resources are complemented by a programme of structured collaborative activities to foster a novel community of practice involving pre-service teachers, practising teachers, researchers in higher education, and other educational research stakeholders. Several examples of current use are outlined to illustrate the potential for this model to support collaboration between otherwise siloed professional groups.