rtc logo

The major aim of the Research and Training Center (RTC) on Early Childhood Development is to implement a coordinated and advanced program of applied research on knowledge and practice that improves interventions associated with the healthy mental, behavioral, communication, preliteracy, social-emotional, and interpersonal development of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with or at risk for developmental disabilities.

This information is designed specifically for parents, therapists, early childhood educators, and early interventionists, as well as researchers, and includes information about effective early childhood intervention practices based on research.

The Puckett Institute is pleased to announce that all Research and Training Center materials are now available from Winterberry Press. Visit Winterberry Press to order digital or hard copy versions of all RTC materials.

The RTC is a major initiative of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute. The RTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Research-to-Practice Division.

 

Evidence-Based Practices

Practice-based research syntheses are conducted using a methodological approach that examines the characteristics and consequences of practices, how practice and outcome variables are related, and how this relationship informs what parents and practitioners can do to implement practices based on available research evidence. Read more about the RTC definition of evidence-based practices in our Centerscope article Volume 1, Number 1.

 

Products

Centerscope Logo spacer Centerscope articles provide detailed information about the conceptual and operational framework used to guide Research and Training Center activities. Articles also describe the history of evidence-based practice, evidence-based strategies for dissemination and utilization, and the results of field tests that have been conducted by RTC staff.


Bridges Logo spacer Bridges are practice-based research syntheses of topics related to early childhood development. These syntheses involve systematic analysis and integration of small bodies of research that have investigated the same or similar practices leading to the same or similar outcomes.


Bottomlines Logo spacer

Bottomlines are one- to two-page summaries of the practice-based research syntheses. Bottomlines describe the practice and inform the reader about the available research evidence to support the practice. These summaries, written in a user-friendly format, are designed specifically for practitioners and parents.


If It Fits Logo spacer If It Fits ideas pages are two-page newsletters packed with creative ideas and suggestions for using evidence-based early childhood practices.

Cornerpiece Logo spacer Cornerpiece brochures offer a concise description of an evidence-based practice, how to carry it out, and how to tell if it is working.

 

Solutions Collections include descriptions of methods and strategies that can be implemented to achieve an effect similar to that reported in a particular research synthesis. Solutions include user-friendly brochures, newsletters, video tapes, and PowerPoint presentations where the relationship between characteristics of the practice and the results that can be expected is carefully explained. Solutions are designed to be used by parents and early childhood practitioners.


Research Syntheses

Research syntheses and research summaries are prepared in the following categories of practice:

Dissemination and Utilization

Background papers, research syntheses, and practice guides are prepared for parents, practitioners, researchers and others interested in evidence-based practices. Our products are disseminated primarily through our web site, e-mail announcements to practitioners, presentations at national conferences, and publications of RTC findings. Our user-friendly products are designed specifically for practitioners and parents and are available at our products page.

Center for Practical Evaluation

Practical Evaluation Reports - Available in downloadable/printable PDF format.