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Implementation Science at UW

Keywords: Jill J. Locke

✪ Exploring Factors Across Levels Impacting Educators’ Selection of Evidence-Based Practices for Autistic Students

Authors:

Maria L. Hugh, Olivia G. Michael, Mahima M. Joshi, Alyssa M. Hernandez & Jill J. Locke

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

✪ Open Access

Published: November 2025

Read the full text in the open access journal Implementation Science Research and Practice

Abstract:

Introduction

Front-line implementers report that selecting an evidence-based practice is the most challenging aspect of supporting Autistic students, which may contribute to the long-standing implementation gap. There is a need to understand educators’ (special education teachers’, general education teachers’, and paraeducators’) decision-making and determinants of their evidence-based practice (EBP) selection.

Method

This study aimed to identify educators’ decision-making factors, focusing on (a) information sources and (b) factors within the student, intervention, educator, and classroom levels. Eighty-one educators (general education teachers, special education teachers, and paraeducators) participated in semistructured interviews regarding their EBP selection for a specific student they served in inclusive classrooms.

Results

General and special education teachers cited EBP sources from their teacher preparation and colleagues with autism expertise, while paraeducators relied on existing classroom practices and guidance from other educators. EBP decision-making frequently revolved around student and intervention characteristics, focusing less on educator, environment, and resource determinants. Educators made individualized EBP decisions for each student, selecting EBPs that served all students. They also shared that their decision-making was most supported through collaboration, despite limited opportunity.

Conclusion

The study provides insights into key team members’ EBP selection for Autistic students to aid in the development of implementation supports.

**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**

✪ Centering School Leaders’ Expertise: Usability Evaluation of a Leadership-Focused Implementation Strategy to Support Tier 1 Programs in Schools

Authors:

Vaughan K. Collins, Catherine M. Corbin, Jill J. Locke, Clayton R. Cook, Mark G. Ehrhart, Kurt D. Hatch & Aaron R. Lyon

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

✪ Open Access

Published: March 2024

Read the full text open access in the journal School Mental Health

Abstract:

Although there are a growing number of implementation strategies to increase the adoption, fidelity, and sustainment of evidence-based practices (EBP), they are often complex and bulky, which can interfere with their widespread application. To address these challenges, the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) strategy was created as an adaptation of the evidence-based Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation (LOCI) implementation strategy to enhance elementary school principals’ use of strategic implementation leadership to support the adoption and delivery of Tier 1 (i.e., universal social, emotional, and behavioral) EBP. In service of its iterative development, a human-centered design methodology was employed to increase the successful uptake and use of HELM. The Cognitive Walkthrough for Implementation Strategies (CWIS), a novel mixed-methods approach to evaluate implementation strategy usability, was applied to identify and test HELM strategy tasks of critical importance. A sample of 15 elementary school principals participated in group cognitive walkthrough testing as either school principal recipients or HELM coaches. Both user types rated the strategy as acceptable (principal M = 77.8, SD = 15.5; coach M = 87.5, SD = 7.9). Five usability issues were identified using a highly structured common usability issue framework and provided direction for the generation of redesign solutions to be incorporated in a subsequent version of the HELM strategy. The evaluation of the strategy’s usability improved its alignment with user needs, expectations, and contextual constraints, rendering a more usable strategy and broadly applicable information surrounding the development of psychosocial implementation strategies in real-world settings.

**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**