Wearing Two Hats: Bridging Research and Practice

Working as both a practitioner and a researcher enriches both aspects of my professional life. Being a practitioner grounds my research in reality, helping me understand the constraints of the school system, the daily pressures teachers face, and the nuanced ways students engage with learning. My experiences in supporting students have highlighted how educational research can sometimes overlook the practicalities of the classroom and the realities both students and teachers encounter. It also reinforces the idea that engaging in educational research should not be an additional burden for educators but a supportive tool that integrates directly with their existing practices.

My time in the research lab has also shaped my approach to educational support. The iterative nature of academic research—where hypotheses are tested, results analyzed, and strategies refined—parallels the continuous cycle of improvement in educational practices. Being more directly involved in research has enhanced my ability to be critical of fleeting educational trends that often lack substantial backing, and helped me to identify evidence-based strategies that genuinely work, which I can then bring to Trafalgar.

Rachael Diamant (far right) with colleagues in the Trafalgar School for Girls library.

Over the past year, I’ve had the chance to bring together my interests in research and teaching through the CoLab. One of our main objectives has been to develop a process for evaluating and approving potential research projects at Trafalgar. To support this goal, I drafted a research proposal based on my work at McGill, which we then used to refine our process for future proposals and applicants. This was new territory for me, requiring numerous revisions to the proposal template, navigating various school committee approvals, and at times feeling like we’d never reach the finish line.

One of the biggest challenges was creating a research proposal that was comprehensive enough for academics, yet clear and practical for educators and students. Being able to wear both hats enabled me to draw on the perspectives of both researcher and practitioner, ensuring that the project I am proposing is grounded in evidence and theory while being deeply attuned to the realities of the educational landscape. Navigating these challenges has been both a demanding and enriching process, one I'm excited to keep exploring as I continue to learn and grow in the Colab’s  dynamic intersection of research and practice.