Principal, educator, researcher and soon to have her doctorate, Jodee Prudente has been awarded the prestigious American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) Research Proposal of the Year Award for her innovative dissertation on improving instructional practices for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

"It is an honor to be recognized by the ACRES community and others in the field for the work that I am doing. An important part of the work that I am doing is to close the research-to-practice gap. I want to be able to show educators how the research can be used to influence what they do in classrooms and how it will help student achievement." Prudente said.

Her dissertation focuses on training teachers to train paraprofessionals using a pyramidal approach, specifically employing a training method called behavioral skill training (BST) derived from applied behavior analysis.

Overall, Prudente's research delves into the implementation of systematic instructional plans that incorporate research-based components for teaching students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These plans include the use of response prompting methods, such as the constant time delay technique, which teaches discrete skills to students.

The primary goal of her work is to demonstrate that the implementation fidelity of teaching plans can be significantly improved when paraprofessionals are trained using the BST method. By enhancing the fidelity of implementation, it is expected that student skills will also improve, leading to enhanced student outcomes and achievements.

"As with anything we do in schools, we hope that it will have an impact on student achievement. I hope that this training method will also show us improved student outcomes so that professionals are more inclined to use the method in the future."

Receiving the ACRES Research Proposal of the Year Award holds immense significance for Prudente, who sees it as a testament to her commitment to bridging the research-to-practice gap. By demonstrating the practical implications of research findings, Prudente aims to empower educators to implement evidence-based strategies that positively impact student achievement.

Her career has been dedicated to bringing research and evidence-based practices into the classroom, witnessing firsthand the transformative power they hold for students. She firmly believes that research should be conducted within school settings, ensuring that the practices recommended can be realistically implemented by teachers facing real-world challenges daily.

"As a teacher, I saw the difference that research and evidence-based practices made in my classroom with my students, and I want to continue to bring that into the field." She continued, "I think it is important to do the research in the schools with the students and teachers that need the support. Teachers need to see that the practices can be implemented in real-world situations that they encounter daily."

Prudente became the Principal at Marvin Picollo Elementary School in July, is set to defend her dissertation in August, and formally graduate in December of 2023 with her Ph.D. in Education: Special Education & Disability Studies.