How is a resource for changing teachers’ assessment practice in primary science successfully disseminated, shared and enacted within a primary school?

Many researchers in the field of education aim to inform and improve the pedagogical practice of in-service practitioners through the successful dissemination of their research outputs. Commonly used modes for dissemination include online availability and face-to-face presentation. It is not known which dissemination modes are most effective for a research team, nor what social learning opportunities, characteristics within a teacher workforce, or wider workplace factors might influence how practitioners respond to and engage with such research outputs. This three-part mixed methods study addresses these wider issues through the evaluation of the dissemination of the TAPS pyramid, a resource designed to help primary practitioners to evaluate and improve their assessment practice in primary science. It is situated within sociocultural assumptions of learning as a socially constructed process and draws upon King’s (2003) three levels of dissemination activity as a theoretical framework. Quantitative analyses of download and dissemination event data demonstrate a positive interaction between both online dissemination and dissemination by event; analyses of survey data show variation in engagement with the resource based on job role and experience; expansive workplace characteristics are shown to be significantly linked to reports of whole school use; transactional communication is shown to enable the transfer of new knowledge; and informal learning contacts are valued by participants. The findings are used to elaborate King’s model of dissemination by specifying the activities, inhibitors and enablers of dissemination for action. It is concluded that dissemination of research outputs is facilitated by interactive communication at each stage, entails formal and informal learning opportunities, and its success can be enhanced by the evaluative and leadership skills of the knowledge broker, as well as the wider characteristics of the school as a workplace