With teachers, for teachers: An opportunity to provide feedback on an innovative learning platform for educators meeting the needs of all learners

Background: Translating research findings into the classroom is notoriously difficult. One-off professional development events are neither efficient nor effective in supporting educators to adopt and consolidate new teaching practices such as those used to make adjustments and meet the needs of students with autism. However, in order for research to have a genuine impact in supporting teachers and students with autism, it is critical that successful knowledge translation occurs. The successful implementation of socio-technical systems, such as the online platform to be presented, rely on co-design with users.

Objectives: To engage educators in the testing of an online professional learning (PL) platform which has been co-designed with Australian educators to support teaching and learning of students with autism. It will be presented with the specific aim of eliciting feedback.

Methods: Using participatory research methods, a series of online co-design sessions were facilitated by an expert professional and academic designer. Educators, school administrators and education policy makers across Australia participated.

Results: Four broad themes drove the design: 1) a strong foundation, 2) efficient discovery, 3) supported implementation and 4) learning community. Teachers wanted a platform that was underpinned by the evidence-base from research in autism but had applicability to all learners. Following validation of these themes with the initial participants, content is currently being developed and uploaded.

Conclusions: During an interactive presentation of the platform using de-identified case-studies, participants will be asked to provide feedback on the platform using a downloadable app. Key learning outcomes: Educators will be made aware of, and engage with, an interactive PL platform developed with teachers, for teachers and have the opportunity to engage with user-testing.Expected impact on educational practice for students on the spectrum: Teachers will actively engage with the platform to support their own professional learning.