JISD Professional Development Newsletter - August 2011

My Three Favorite Things: Data, Data, and Data!

Educators, as a breed, are afraid of data. We shy away from them, shun them, and generally treat them like contagious numerical pathogens. After all, for decades -- centuries, even -- we have been the evaluators, assigning grades and pointing out errors our students make but now we are the evaluatees, often left to the mercy of unpleasant school designations and ugly press descriptions.

But those fears and mistrust are misguided. Earl and Katz (2006), in Leading Schools in a Data-Rich World,state flatly,

"Data, by themselves, are benign. Meaning is brought to data by the human act of interpretation."

So what we really fear and mistrust are politicians and newspaper reporters. Some big revelation.

Data are wonderful things, and in the right hands they can help school officials and teachers make tremendous decisions to support the learning goals of their students. And, last I checked, that was still one of the major tenets of the American public school system.

DEFINITIONS WE NEED TO KNOW

Data are bits of information, nothing more. Remember, they are benign. Number of items correct, percent of students scoring 75 or higher, number of minutes spent teaching math, words correct per minute, angle of a sharpened pencil All of them are simply information, facts awaiting analysis, evidence of learning anticipating scrutiny, details pending examination. They sit there, in rows and columns, on spreadsheets or notepads, patient and passive while we determine their purpose.

Formative data are bits of information that we use to guide future decision-making. In the real world, they are the results of a medical exam from which a doctor can determine the cause of abdominal pain and prescribe a course of treatment. In a school setting, they are the results of an introductory literacy assessment from which a teacher can plan instruction to help the student improve reading comprehension strategies. student writing

Summative data are bits of information that we use to perform a final analysis. They are the equivalent of an autopsy, which is an all-too-familiar metaphor to principals of schools designated "failing" by a certain Federal accountability program. Summative data give us final grades and tell us how much in taxes we owe. By the time they show up on the scene, it's too late to do anything about them.

SO WHY DO I LIKE DATA?

Data provide us with feedback and guidance. They awaken us to our successes and failures, sharing information that allows us to alter our paths or to forge forth, depending on the scenario. But in order for the data to be truly useful, we need to remember one fundamental law of data existence: We are in charge of the data, not vice versa.

Data that arrive on our doorstep unannounced and uninvited we should repel -- they are pretentious little bits of information that know not their own boundaries. Data that land upon our laps out of thin air we should also buck -- they are no more than overstepping parasites wishing to feed upon our decaying academic flesh.

No, for data to be beneficial to us, they should agree with their fate and wait for us to engage in "the human act of interpretation." We should hunt them down in a giant numerical and informational big-game safari. We should identify, track, and hone in on specific bits of information that we need to answer questions we have, then target those data in our scopes and fire booksaway.

Here are the questions we need to answer in order to acquire the data we need -- so we can all share love with data.

  • What data do we need? What are we trying to determine? What do we want to know? Do we need formative data or summative data? Are we evaluating the implementation of a new program, are we preparing to design instruction for a third-grade science unit, or are we crafting interventions for students struggling with reading fluency? Only when we know what we need the data for should we even begin identifying them.
  • What data will answer these questions? What information works to support these needs? Will assessment scores provide accurate data, or do we need more objective information? Would a combination of assessments provide well-rounded data sources that address the issues at hand? Do we even have the tools that return such information, or should we continue to seek for the data sources that can fulfill the task? After we have found the proper data sources, we can begin to collect the bits of information we need to proceed.
  • Did we collect enough data? Are there bits of information missing that are essential to fully answering the questions that began this quest? Are the data reliable (duplicable) and valid (accurate)? If necessary, retrace the steps and obtain more or critical pieces that complete the puzzle. Then, we can hire the data into their ultimate employment as we take the next step: data analysis.
  • What do the data tell us? When we put the data to the test, do they answer our questions fully? What conclusions can we draw from the data we have collected? Could contrarians refute the conclusions based upon the same data, or are our interpretations inescapable? According to our readings and calculations, what would be a prudent next step? What action should we take now?

Data should not be feared. There is no logical reason to fear information itself. The conclusions we draw, however, may give us ample cause to develop hives and tremors; but those fears are based upon the errors present in the activities prior to data collection. We shake because our reading program is ill-equipped to handle students of various backgrounds; we become anxious because we do not adequately differentiate our instruction for children of poverty; we grimace because a high percentage of students failed to complete simple algebraic equations correctly. These are not data-based fears, they are behavior-based fears.

  • Data are bits of information. Only when we scrutinize them and make sense of them do they take shape. Then, we become knowledgeable. Then we can act. Then we can succeed in our tasks.

Don't you think it's time you found some data and thanked them for their presence and help?

Article by Pete Hall. Education World ® Copyright © 2006 Education World

 

JISD Curriculum & Instruction
District Initiative 2011-2012:
Checking for Understanding

Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher** tell us that checking for understanding is an impappleortant step in the teaching and learning process. The background knowledge that students bring into the classroom influences how they understand the material you share and the lessons or learning opportunities you provide. UNLESS you check for understanding, it is difficult to know exactly what students are getting out of the lesson.

Research suggests that an important part of the learning process in ALL CONTENT areas is IDENTIFYING and CONFRONTING MISCONCEPTIONS that can interfere with learning. Consider, for instance, how appreciating and addressing students' misconceptions can inform instruction in the following areas:

  • Science student's misconception that larger objects are heavier than small ones (Schauble, 1996)
  • K-3 students' beliefs that Native Americans who lived in tepees did so because they were poor and could not afford a house (Brophy & Alleman, 2002)
  • Mistaken beliefs about living creatures, for example, that flies can walk because they have suction cups on their feet (Smith, 1920)

The act of checking for understanding not only corrects misconceptions; it can also improve learning. It can provide students with a model of good study skills. When their teacher regularly check for understanding, students become increasingly aware of how to monitor their own understanding. Checking for understanding is a systematic approach to formative assessment.

It's free, you can use it in any learning situation and is one of the single greatest tools an educator can use!

*Watch for more Checking for Understanding on the PD Blog and in next months PD Newsletter!
**Taken directly from Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom: Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey, 2007

Student Engagement Toolbox

Here's a great idea to add to your Student Engagement Toolbox:toolbox

Anticipation Reaction Guide

Anticipation Reaction Guide, developed by Bean and Peterson, can be completed in its usual written form or students who cannot read yet can signal with hand signals or signal cards which of the statements they think is true or false.

Purpose:

  • To establish a purpose for reading
  • To access prior knowledge
  • To help students reframe their thinking as necessary

Process:

  • Prepare a series of statements related to the reading or other input source.
  • Have students, before reading, indicate whether they think the statement is true or false.
  • Have students read the selection or watch the video or demonstration.
  • Have students, after reading, answer the same questions again.
  • Have students discuss where they found the information that changed their thinking.

Example: ______________________________________________________________

Earthquakes

Anticipation Reaction Guide

Before Reading                                                                         After Reading

______1. Earthquake experts are called meteorologists.    __________
______2. Most earthquakes happen along a fault.                __________

______3. California has 5-10 earthquakes each year.         __________

______4. Most earthquakes are felt by humans.                   __________

______5. Missouri has suffered more major earthquakes    __________                  than California.
________________________________________________________

Classroom Management Quick-Tips!

Convenient Class Listsstar
 Create a copy of your class list in a narrow column. Copy the column and paste it onto another page three or four times. Print the page, make multiple copies, and cut the pages into strips -- one column per strip. You can use each of these narrow-column class lists for a wide variety of purposes. For example, attach a copy of the list to a stack of class assignments; the checklist will give a quick view of those students who did not hand in the assignment. Use a copy of the list to record returned permission slips, students you call on each day, students whose parents you've been in touch with this month and for 100 other purposes.

Group Dynamics
If you seat students in small groups, consider rearranging the groupings on a monthly basis. On the day you plan to introduce new groupings, have each student write a thank-you note to each member of his or her current group. In those notes, students should share something positive about each person -- something they gained from being seated near that person, something they learned from the person, or something they really appreciated about the person.

A Month of Assignments
Keep a laminated generic calendar page that can be marked up to reflect the current months dates. Mark all homework assignments on the calendar. That way, when a student returns from an absence, all he or she needs to do is check the calendar for missed assignments. Keep a second laminated calendar page so students can look back at assignments for several weeks.

Famous Pairings 
Looking for an easy way to establish pairs of students for a classroom activity? Create a set of Famous Pairs cards. You will need one card per student. On each card, write a word that represents one half of a famous pair. For example, on one card you might write peanut butter and on the matching card you would write jelly. Other famous pairs might include Adam and Eve; bow and arrow; Calvin andHobbes Distribute a card to each student and have students find the other half of their famous pair. (You might use this list of famous pairs from Wikipedia as a source for the activity.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editor: Dee Thomas, JISD Professional Development Coordinator